Facts about Basterfield House

Location

Bastefield House is a terrace block in the centre of the Golden Lane Estate, with one end forming a ‘T’ with Stanley Cohen House on the Golden Lane side of the estate.

Maisonettes

54 two-storey maisonettes, 48 two-bedroom, 6 three-bedroom near the western end.

Lower level

• Main entrance from a rear corridor
• Kitchen, dining area, and living room.
• Glazed screen between the kitchen and the dining area.
• Hardwood veneer floors.
• Staircase from the living room to the upper floor. (In the upper maisonettes, the stairs rise from opposite the front door.)
• The double height stairwell and the open tread of the staircases were designed to increase the impression of space.

Upper level

• Two bedrooms and a bathroom. (In the two western bays, on either side of the secondary access, the flats have an additional third bedroom in the space left by the stairwell.)
• Bathroom is in the centre and has “clerestory glazing” (windows above eye level).
• Balconies at the front (see below).

The overall layout

• 6 storeys, with basement stores underneath.
• “Mono pitch” (flat) roof.
• Three rows of two-storey maisonettes. (The way architects put it is that the building “presents” as three terraces of two-storey houses, one on top the other.)
• Maisonettes runs through the building from front to back.

Crosswalls and bays

• A series of crosswalls divides the building into bays.
• Each bay contains two-storey maisonettes on top of each other.
• The crosswalls and end wall were built from pink bricks with pink mortar.
• The crosswalls form the main structural support for the building, allowing the maisonettes in between them to have a mainly glass frontage.

Rear of the building

• The rear of the building faces a courtyard at street level.
• The crosswalls are replaced by wide brick piers.
• There are basement stores.
• The entrances to the maisonettes are timber doors set in pairs behind the piers, so the kitchen windows can look out in between.
• At ground level and second floor levels, corridors run along the back of the building behind the piers, giving access between the maisonettes and the main stairs of the stair case and entrance block.
• On the upper floors of the maisonettes, two outer windows extend to the front of the piers. Two inner windows are set back behind a waist-high wired glass balcony front. This forms a fire escape balcony between the bedrooms.
• At the western end of the building there in an extra set of escape stairs which take up the back half of the penultimate bay and reach courtyard level.

Windows and panels

• The crosswalls extend to the building line at the front, but most windows are set back a couple of feet behind that.
• The penultimate bay on the western end contains third bedrooms for flats on either side. The windows of these extra bedrooms are flush with the very front of the building.
• Windows are all set in aluminium surrounds.
• Upper floor bedroom windows project but the staircase windows of the lower level of each maisonette are set-back.
• Rusty red cladding panels are set in bands below the windows, which are also in the aluminium framework. Generally there are four panels for each set of two windows.
• Continuous bands of glazing and matt red panels appear on the top floor of the upper maisonettes.

Balconies for upper maisonettes

• The upper maisonettes have concrete balconies at the front, facing south.
• Each balcony run between the crosswalls with steel railings along the top.
• Each balcony has gaps for a first few inches from floor level, presumably to allow water to drain away.

Access galleries for lower maisonettes

• Each lower maisonette has an access gallery (a semi-balcony) outside the lower front windows.
• Concrete steps lead up from the front courtyard, and then steps paved in quarry tiles lead up to the access gallery
• The access gallery has a low concrete wall with metal railings set in it.
• There are glass screens between each pair of units.

Staircase and entrance

• At the eastern end is the main entrance and staircase, shared with Stanley Cohen House, which is under a flat roof structure. It's a glazed open-well staircase with storey-high glass panes set in timber frames.
• At first and second floor level there are large external metal bars, to prevent burglars probably.
• Each flight of stairs and its landing was constructed as a single pre-cast piece of concrete, with metal railings set into it.
• The staircase then opens onto the access galleries (corridors) running along the back of the building at the entrance door level of each set of maisonettes. The upper maisonettes have access via and end staircase shared with Stanley Cohen House.
• There is a lift shaft with rubbish chute set in freestanding concrete sheets.

Secondary access

• A bay near the centre contains secondary stairs.
• The staircase only takes up the back half of that bay. This leaves spare space for third bedrooms for the maisonettes on either side.
• There is a free-standing lift tower on rear (north) side of the building at the western end containing a lift and escape stairs. It connects to the building at each entrance level.

Front garden or courtyard

• The garden is about four feet down from street level and protected by black-painted metal railings.
• The garden is widest at the western end, tapering off to a narrower paved area at the eastern end.
• At the very western end of the garden there is a ramp down to a bicycle store.
• At the western end is a ramp up from the garden area up to the courtyard at the back of the building.
• The decorative paving stones are inset with patches of grass. There is a spreading tree at the western end. A lot of flower pots and terracotta containers for plants are clustered outside several of the houses.

Name

I don’t know where the Basterfield name came from.

Basterfield House flat plans

Please note. These plans are illustrations and approximations only. They illustrate types of flats. They don't show the actual demise, size, layout or dimensions of any particular flat. Individual flats may differ, or have been altered.

Facts about Bayer House

Location

Bayer House is a terrace block, with one end forming a ‘T’ with Stanley Cohen House on the Golden Lane side of the estate.

Maisonettes

30 two-storey maisonettes, 24 two-bedroom, 6 three-bedroom near the western end.

Lower level

• Main entrance from a rear corridor.
• Kitchen, dining area, and living room.
• Glazed screen between the kitchen and the dining area.
• Hardwood veneer floors.
• Staircase from the living room to the upper floor. (In the upper maisonettes, the stairs rise from opposite the front door.)
• The double height stairwell and the open tread of the staircases were designed to increase the impression of space.

Upper level

• Two bedrooms and a bathroom. (In the two western bays, on either side of the secondary access, the flats have an additional third bedroom in the space left by the stairwell.)
• Bathroom is in the centre and has “clerestory glazing” (windows above eye level).
• Balconies at the front (see below).

The overall layout

• 6 storeys, with basement stores underneath.
• “Mono pitch” (flat) roof.
• Three rows of two-storey maisonettes. (The way architects put it is that the building “presents” as three terraces of two-storey houses, one on top the other.)
• Maisonettes runs through the building from front to back.

Crosswalls and bays

• A series of crosswalls divides the building into bays.
• Each bay contains two-storey maisonettes on top of each other.
• The crosswalls were built from pink bricks with pink mortar.
• The crosswalls form the main structural support for the building, allowing the maisonettes in between them to have a mainly glass frontage.

Rear of the building

• The rear of the building faces a courtyard at street level.
• The crosswalls are replaced by wide brick piers.
• There are basement stores.
• The entrances to the maisonettes are timber doors set in pairs behind the piers, so the kitchen windows can look out in between.
  At ground level and second floor levels, corridors run along the back of the building behind the piers, giving access between the maisonettes and the main stairs of the stair case and entrance block.
• On the upper floors of the maisonettes, two outer windows extend to the front of the piers. Two inner windows are set back behind a waist-high wired glass balcony front. This forms a fire escape balcony between the bedrooms (and also in front of the escape stairs at the end).
• At the western end of the building there in an extra set of escape stairs which take up the back half of the penultimate bay and reach courtyard level.

Windows and panels

• The crosswalls extend to the building line at the front, but most windows are set back a couple of feet behind that.
• The penultimate bay on the western end contains third bedrooms for flats on either side. The windows of these extra bedrooms are flush with the very front of the building.
• Windows are all set in aluminium surrounds.
• Upper floor bedroom windows project but the staircase windows of the lower level of each maisonette are set-back.
• Brown (perhaps originally red) cladding panels are set in bands below the windows, which are also in the aluminium framework.
• enerally there are four panels for each set of two windows.
• Continuous bands of glazing and brown panels appear on the top floor of the upper maisonettes.

Balconies for upper maisonettes

• The upper maisonettes have concrete balconies at the front, facing south.
• Each balcony run between the crosswalls with steel railings along the top.
• Each balcony has gaps for a first few inches from floor level, presumably to allow water to drain away.

Access galleries for lower maisonettes

• Each lower maisonette has an access gallery (a semi-balcony) outside the lower front windows.
• Concrete steps lead up from the front courtyard, and then steps paved in quarry tiles lead up to the access gallery.
• The access gallery has a low concrete wall with metal railings set in it.
• There are glass screens between each pair of units.

Staircase and entrance

• At the eastern end is the main entrance and staircase which is under a flat roof structure. It's a part-glazed open-well staircase with storey-high glass panes set in timber frames.
• At first and second floor level there are large external metal bars, to prevent burglars probably.
• Each flight of stairs and its landing was constructed as a single pre-cast piece of concrete, with metal railings set into it.
• The staircase then opens onto the access galleries (corridors) running along the back of the building at the entrance door level of each set of maisonettes. The upper maisonettes have access via and end staircase shared with Stanley Cohen House.
• There is a rubbish chute like a huge pipe running beside the staircase and entrance block.

Secondary access

• The penultimate bay at the western end contains a secondary escape coming out of the rear of the building. It is a metal construction with glazed panels and an entry system. It gives access to the secondary stairs and also down to the basement stores.
• The staircase only takes up the back half of that bay. This leaves spare space for third bedrooms for the maisonettes on either side.

Front garden or courtyard

• The garden is about four feet down from street level and protected by black-painted metal railings.
• The garden is widest at the western end, tapering off to a narrower paved area at the eastern end.
• At the very western end of the garden there is a ramp down to a bicycle store.
• At the western end is a ramp up from the garden area up to the courtyard at the back of the building.
• The decorative paving stones are inset with patches of grass. There is a spreading tree at the western end. A lot of flower pots and terracotta containers for plants are clustered outside several of the houses.

Name

I don’t know where the Bayer name came from.

Bayer House flat plans

Please note. These plans are illustrations and approximations only. They illustrate types of flats. They don't show the actual demise, size, layout or dimensions of any particular flat. Individual flats may differ, or have been altered.

Facts about Bowater House

Bowater House is a slightly larger version of Cuthbert Harrowing House. It looks over Fann Street at the front. At the back it looks over a paved courtyard towards Great Arthur House.

Maisonettes

30 two-storey maisonettes, 24 two-bedroom, 6 three-bedroom near the western end.

Lower level

• Main entrance from a rear corridor.
• Kitchen, dining area, and living room.
• Glazed screen between the kitchen and the dining area.
  Hardwood veneer floors.
• Staircase from the living room to the upper floor. (In the upper maisonettes, the stairs rise from opposite the front door.)
• The double height stairwell and the open tread of the staircases were designed to increase the impression of space.

Upper level

• Two bedrooms and a bathroom. (In the two western bays, on either side of the secondary access, the flats have an additional third bedroom in the space left by the stairwell.)
• Bathroom is in the centre and has “clerestory glazing” (windows above eye level).
• Balconies at the front (see below).

The overall layout

• 6 storeys, with basement stores underneath.
• “Mono pitch” (flat) roof.
• Three rows of two-storey maisonettes. (The way architects put it is that the building “presents” as three terraces of two-storey houses, one on top the other.)
• Maisonettes runs through the building from front to back.

Crosswalls and bays

• A series of crosswalls divides the building into bays.
• Each bay contains two-storey maisonettes on top of each other.
• The crosswalls were built from pink bricks with pink mortar.
• The crosswalls form the main structural support for the building, allowing the maisonettes in between them to have a mainly glass frontage.

Rear of the building

• The rear of the building faces a courtyard at street level.
• The crosswalls are replaced by wide brick piers.
• There are basement stores.
• The entrances to the maisonettes are timber doors set in pairs behind the piers, so the kitchen windows can look out in between.
• At ground level and second floor levels, corridors run along the back of the building behind the piers, giving access between the maisonettes and the main stairs of the stair case and entrance block.
• On the upper floors of the maisonettes, two outer windows extend to the front of the piers, and two inner windows are set back behind a waist-high glazed front wall which forms a balcony.
• At the western end of the building there in an extra set of escape stairs which take up the back half of the penultimate bay and reach courtyard level.

Windows and panels

• The crosswalls extend to the building line at the front, but most windows are set back a couple of feet behind that.
• The penultimate bay on the western end contains third bedrooms for flats on either side. The windows of these extra bedrooms are flush with the very front of the building.
• Windows are all set in aluminium surrounds.
• Bright blue cladding panels are set in bands below the windows, which are also in the aluminium framework. Generally there are four panels for each set of two windows.
• Continuous bands of glazing and blue panels appear on the top floor of the upper maisonettes.

Balconies for upper maisonettes

• The upper maisonettes have concrete balconies at the front, facing south.
• Each balcony run between the crosswalls with steel railings along the top.
• Each balcony has gaps for a first few inches from floor level, presumably to allow water to drain away.

Access galleries for lower maisonettes

• Each lower maisonette has an access gallery (a semi-balcony) outside the lower front windows.
• Concrete steps lead up from the front courtyard, and then steps paved in quarry tiles lead up to the access gallery.
• The access gallery has a low concrete wall with metal railings set in it.

Staircase and entrance

• At the eastern end is the main entrance and staircase which is under a flat roof structure. It's a metal frame with glazed panels and stairs. At first and second floor level there are large external metal bars, to prevent burglars probably.
• Each flight of stairs and its landing was constructed as a single pre-cast piece of concrete, with metal railings set into it.
• The staircase then opens onto the corridors running along the back of the building at the entrance door level of each set of maisonettes.
• There is a rubbish chute like a huge pipe running beside the staircase and entrance block.

Secondary access

• The penultimate bay at the western end contains a secondary escape coming out of the rear of the building. It is a metal construction with glazed panels and an entry system. It gives access to the secondary stairs and also down to the basement stores.
• The staircase only takes up the back half of that bay. This leaves spare space for third bedrooms for the maisonettes on either side.

Front garden or courtyard

• The garden is about four feet down from street level and protected by black-painted metal railings.
• The garden is widest at the western end, tapering off to a narrower paved area at the eastern end.
• At the very western end of the garden there is a ramp down to a bicycle store.
• At the western end is a ramp up from the garden area up to the courtyard at the back of the building.
• The paving stones are inset with patches of grass. There is a spreading tree at the western end. A lot of flower pots and terracotta containers for plants are clustered outside several of the houses.

Foundation stone

Bowater House was the first block to be built in Golden Lane and has the foundation stone. This has a worn inscription saying: 'Corporation of London: Stone laid by Sir Noel Vansittart Bowater Bt MC: 21 July 1954: Thomas Cuthbert Harrowing late Chairman of Public Health Committee: Stanley Edward Cohen Chairman'.

Name

Bowater House was named after the Lord Mayor of 1953, Sir Noel Vansittart Bowater. There seem to have been a dynasty of Bowater Lord Mayors. Sir Thomas Vansittart Bowater MP was Lord Mayor in 1913.;  Major Sir Frank Bowater in 1938; and Sir Ian F. Bowater in 1969.

Bowater House flat plans

Please note. These plans are illustrations and approximations only. They illustrate types of flats. They don't show the actual demise, size, layout or dimensions of any particular flat. Individual flats may differ, or have been altered.

Facts about Crescent House

Location

Crescent House runs the length of the estate along Goswell Road, from just below Old Street in the north to Fann Street in the south.

Maisonettes

159 flats.

• Main entrance from a central corridor.
• Kitchen, living room, and bedroom area.
• Glazed screen between the kitchen and the dining area.
• Hardwood veneer floors.
• Head-high partition to form bedroom.
• All flats are rectangular despite being placed within a curving structure along Goswell Road.
• Flats are on one side or other of a central corridor (so, facing Goswell Road or into the estate). The access corridor is exposed to open air on top floor.

Structure and layout of building

• 4 storeys, 3 of flats, 1 of shops with stores off an access road underneath.
• “Mono pitch” (flat) roof.
• Reinforced concrete construction which is bush hammered
  The ground floor shops are set back behind pilotis (columns), which are clad in mosaic
• The block is curved along the front to Goswell Road. The back is straight.
• There is an open well at the southern end of block.
• Shops originally had entrances to the estate as well as to the estate.
• Shops have their own terrace above an access road for deliveries, which is at the level of the tennis courts.
• The concrete above the columns is pick-hammered - a forerunner of what was later done in the Barbican Estate.

Windows

• Round-arched cornices and sill bands frame the windows on upper floors, each arch (shaped like an eyebrow) covering a flat’s width.
• When I refer to a flat or a pair of flats in the next point, I mean three flats and three pairs of flats, because flats are stacked above each other on three floors – first, second and third.
• On the Goswell Street side, a pair of flats shares the same front line, and pairs are staggered at slightly different angles along the whole frontage to accommodate its curve. The angle between adjoining pairs is more acute at each end of the block.
• Each pair visibly sits under a pair of ‘eyebrows’.
• Each pair has outer windows which are more or less flush with the frontage, and two inner windows which form a single ‘box’ projecting out of the frontage.
• The windows are mainly hardwood timber windows stained dark, with pivoting centrally-hung casements and some aluminium side opening lights.

Balconies

At the southern end, there are large rectangular concrete balconies at second and third floor level, with a dividing screen, for the pair of adjoining flats.

Grade II* listing

Crescent House was constructed in 1958-62 by Chamberlin, Powell and Bon. The listing description says: “Geoffry Powell explained how important the work of Le Corbusier was to the practice at that time. His Maisons Jaoul was particularly widely admired in Britain, but its use for the curve of Goswell Road is particularly handsome in its geometry and use of a variety of timber and concrete finishes. It is grade II* [‘grade two, star’] for its place in the evolution of post war architecture and for the sophistication with which the contrasting materials and geometry of the facade are handled.”

Crescent House flat plans

Please note. These plans are illustrations and approximations only. They illustrate types of flats. They don't show the actual demise, size, layout or dimensions of any particular flat. Individual flats may differ, or have been altered.

Facts about Cullum Welch House

Location

Cullum Welch House is a terrace block. One end adjoins Crescent House; the other is separated from Great Arthur House by the way through to the inner parts of the estate.

Flats

72 bed-sit flats.

• Main entrance from a rear corridor
• Kitchen and living room.
• Balconies at the front (see below).

The overall layout

• 6 storeys, arched over an open basement with residents’ stores which have blue-painted wooden doors.
• Wide steps lead down from the main entrance court to the open basement and then through to the tennis courts (originally a bowling green) and a recreation centre.
• Beneath the block also is a car park, which extends under the walkway in front of the block.
•  “Mono pitch” (flat) roof.
• Reinforced concrete floor slabs.
• The flats runs through the building from front to back.

Windows and panels

• Windows are all set in aluminium surrounds, and are mainly sliding windows.
• Red cladding panels are set in bands below the windows, which are also in the aluminium framework.
• At the front, facing south, all the flats have concrete window boxes, which are at floor level. At waist level, there are concrete tables with round holes of different sizes to hold flower pots. The window boxes and tables are let into the walls.

Staircases and entrance

• There are staircases at each end leading to open access decks at each floor level at the rear of the building.
• The access decks have open-work concrete balustrading.
• There is a lift shared with Crescent House at the western end of the building.

Front garden or courtyard

• The building has no separate courtyard or garden as such.
• There are four circular ventilation shafts in the courtyard in front of the building.

Name

Sir Cullum Welch was Lord Mayor in 1951, and this block was named after him.

Cullum Welch House flat plans

Please note. These plans are illustrations and approximations only. They illustrate types of flats. They don't show the actual demise, size, layout or dimensions of any particular flat. Individual flats may differ, or have been altered.

Facts about Cuthbert Harrowing House

Location

Cuthbert Harrowing House looks over Fann Street at the front. At the back it looks over a paved courtyard towards Great Arthur House.

Maisonettes

18 two-storey maisonettes, 14 two-bedroom, 4 three-bedroom near the western end.

Lower level

• Main entrance from a rear corridor.
• Kitchen, dining area, and living room.
• Glazed screen between the kitchen and the dining area.
  Hardwood veneer floors.
• Staircase from the living room to the upper floor. (In the upper maisonettes, the stairs rise from opposite the front door.)
• The double height stairwell and the open tread of the staircases were designed to increase the impression of space.

Upper level

• Two bedrooms and a bathroom. (In the two western bays, on either side of the secondary access, the flats have an additional third bedroom in the space left by the stairwell.)
• Bathroom is in the centre and has “clerestory glazing” (windows above eye level).
• Balconies at the front (see below).

The overall layout

• 4 storeys, with basement stores underneath.
• “Mono pitch” (flat) roof.
• Two rows of two-storey maisonettes. (The way architects put it is that the building “presents” as two terraces of two-storey houses, one on top the other.)
• Maisonettes runs through the building from front to back..

Crosswalls and bays

• A series of crosswalls divides the building into bays.
• Each bay contains two-storey maisonettes on top of each other.
• The crosswalls were built from pink bricks with pink mortar.
• The crosswalls form the main structural support for the building, allowing the maisonettes in between them to have a mainly glass frontage.

Rear of the building

• The rear of the building faces a courtyard below street level.
• The courtyard is reached via three ramp downs from the western side of the building, and also stairs from street level.
• The cross walls are replaced by wide brick piers.
• There are stores behind the piers at courtyard level.
• At ‘ground’/street level and second floor levels, corridors run along the back of the building behind the piers, giving access between the maisonettes and the main stairs of the stair case and entrance block.
• The entrances to the maisonettes are timber doors set in pairs.
• The ‘ground’/street level floor corridor is protected from burglars by metal bars from floor to ceiling, with a glazed window in front of each maisonette’s rear window, presumably to reduce the impression of being behind bars.
• On the upper floors of the maisonettes, windows extend to the front of the piers.
• At the western end of the building there in an extra set of escape stairs which take up the back half of the penultimate bay and reach courtyard level.

Windows and panels

• The crosswalls extend to the building line at the front, but most windows are set back a couple of feet behind that.
• The penultimate bay on the western end contains third bedrooms for flats on either side. The windows of these extra bedrooms are flush with the very front of the building.
• Windows are all set in aluminium surrounds.
• Bright blue cladding panels are set in bands below the windows, which are also in the aluminium framework. Generally there are four panels for each set of two windows.
• Continuous bands of glazing and blue panels appear on the top floor of the upper maisonettes.

Balconies for upper maisonettes

• The upper maisonettes have concrete balconies at the front.
• Each balcony run between the crosswalls with steel railings along the top.
• Each balcony has gaps for a first few inches from floor level, presumably to allow water to drain away.

Access galleries for lower maisonettes

• Each lower maisonette has an access gallery (a semi-balcony) outside the lower front windows.
• Concrete steps lead up from the front courtyard, and then steps paved in quarry tiles lead up to the access gallery.
• The access gallery has a low concrete wall with metal railings set in it.

Staircase and entrance

• At the eastern end of the building is a staircase and entrance block, which contains the stairs to the other levels. It is mainly a metal frame with glazed panels.
• Each flight of stairs and its landing was constructed as a single pre-cast piece of concrete, with metal railings set into it.
• The staircase then opens onto the corridors running along the back of the building at the entrance door level of each set of maisonettes.
• There is a rubbish chute like a huge pipe running beside the staircase and entrance block.

Secondary access

• The penultimate bay at the western end contains a secondary escape coming out of the rear of the building.
• The staircase only takes up the back half of that bay. This leaves spare space for third bedrooms for the maisonettes on either side.

Front garden or courtyard

• The garden (more like a courtyard) is about four feet down from street level and protected by black-painted metal railings.
• The garden is essentially a paved space of about 15 feet between the building and the pavement.
• There are steps down to the garden from the entrance structure at the eastern end.
• There are bushes and trees growing in areas at regular intervals next to the pavement. Some people put out pots with their own plants.

Name

Thomas Cuthbert Harrowing was the former chairman of the Public Health Committee, prior to 1951 when the estate was built.

Cuthbert Harrowing House flat plans

Please note. These plans are illustrations and approximations only. They illustrate types of flats. They don't show the actual demise, size, layout or dimensions of any particular flat. Individual flats may differ, or have been altered.

Facts about Great Arthur House

Location

Great Arthur House dominates the estate.  It stand roughly in the centre and contains flats on 16 storeys - the highest block of flats in England at the time it was built. One side faces west towards Smithfield and nearer home overlooks Crescent House. The other side faces east towards the East End.

Flats

• 120 flats.
• 8 one-bedroom flats in handed pairs on each upper floor.
• Glazed screen between the kitchen and the dining area.
• The flats have a sliding partition between the living room and the bedroom.
• The flats are screened from the central corridor by a series of fitted cupboards.

Structure and layout of building

• 17 storeys, 16 of flats, ground-floor estate offices,  and basement.
• Reinforced concrete construction on concrete raft foundations.
• The side walls were given a painted pick-hammered finish.
• The main east and west elevations are clad in golden yellow opaque and clear glass in aluminium frame.
• The exterior of the ground floor is partly pick-hammered concrete and partly grey brick..

Windows

• The aluminium frame holding the yellow cladding also forms the windows.
• The main part of the window slides open horizontally. They have a distinctive internal security rail. The top window section opens outwards and upwards.
• There are timber windows to kitchens and bathrooms.

Balconies

• Two sets of cantilevered grey-painted concrete balconies run down the front and the back of the building.
• Each balcony is divided by a wired glass screen to provide a balcony for the flats on either side, which is entered via timber side doors from living rooms.
• There are black-painted metal railings on top and to form the sides of the balcony.

Staircase and entrance

There is a large lift lobby in the centre, next to an open way under the building.

Secondary access

• There is a glazed lean-to on the north side which leads to escape stairs. The rubbish chutes in yellow-painted columns are inside on either side of the lobby.
• There is another set of escape stairs and exit on the south side which opens into a basement area.

Roof

• The roof is asphalted roof, reached by open staircases.
• The roof was set out as a rooftop water garden on two main levels with timber pergola, stepping stones and a pool.
• The water tank and lift motor room are disguised behind an aerofoil canopy – described as 'a concrete aeroplane' – which is the distinctive decorative feature of the estate.

Great Arthur House flat plans

Please note. These plans are illustrations and approximations only. They illustrate types of flats. They don't show the actual demise, size, layout or dimensions of any particular flat. Individual flats may differ, or have been altered.

Facts about Hatfield House

Location

Hatfield House forms the very northern rim of the estate.

Flats and Maisonettes

14 bedsit flats on the ground level, and 42 two-storey maisonettes on upper levels.

MAISONETTES

42 two-storey maisonettes on 3 upper levels, 36 two-bedroom, 6 three-bedroom near the eastern end.

Lower level

• Main entrance from a rear corridor.
• Kitchen, dining area, and living room.
• Glazed screen between the kitchen and the dining area.
  The living room has parquet flooring.
• Staircase from the living room to the upper floor. (In the upper maisonettes, the stairs rise from opposite the front door.) The staircase has solid risers which also form a series of shelves.
• The double height stairwell and the open tread of the staircases were designed to increase the impression of space.

Upper level

• Two bedrooms and a bathroom. (In two eastern bays, on either side of the secondary access, the flats have an additional third bedroom in the space left by the stairwell.)
• Bathroom is in the centre and has “clerestory glazing” (windows above eye level).
• Balconies at the front (see below).

BEDSIT FLATS

• Main entrance from a rear corridor.
• Kitchen and living room.
• They have their own gardens at the front.

The overall layout

• 7 storeys, with a roadway underneath.
• “Mono pitch” (flat) roof.
• One row of bedsits at ground floor level. Above, three rows of two-storey maisonettes.
• Maisonettes and flats run through the building from front to back..

Crosswalls and bays

• A series of crosswalls divides the building into bays.
• Each bay contains two flats or maisonettes.
• The crosswalls were built from pink bricks with pink mortar.
• The crosswalls form the main structural support for the building, allowing the flats and maisonettes in between them to have a mainly glass frontage.

Rear of the building

• A ramp down takes a service road under the building and then under Crescent House and an underground car park before coming up under Cullum Welch House.
• There are steps off the ramp down which lead to the access gallery for the ground floor flats.
• There is a ramp up to the level of the first floor flats and the entrance of the building.
• The crosswalls are replaced by wide brick piers.
• The entrances to the maisonettes are timber doors set in pairs behind the piers, so the kitchen windows can look out in between.
• At ground level (for the bedsit flats) and at first, third and fifth floor levels (for the maisonettes), corridors run along the back of the building behind the piers, giving access between the main stairs of the stair case and entrance block and the flats and maisonettes.
• The ground level floor corridor is protected from burglars by metal bars from floor to ceiling, with a glazed window in front of each maisonette’s rear window, presumably to reduce the impression of being behind bars.
• On the upper floors of the maisonettes, two outer windows extend to the front of the piers. Two inner windows are set back behind a waist-high wired glass balcony front. This forms a fire escape balcony between the bedrooms (and also in front of the escape stairs at the end).
• At the eastern end of the building there in an extra set of escape stairs which take up the back half of the penultimate bay and reach courtyard level. A pedestrian route into the estate passes underneath at ground level.

Windows and panels

• The crosswalls extend to the building line at the front, but most windows are set back a couple of feet behind that.
• The penultimate bay on the eastern end contains third bedrooms for flats on either side. The windows of these extra bedrooms are flush with the very front of the building.
• Windows are all set in aluminium surrounds.
• Upper floor bedroom windows project but the staircase windows of the lower level of each maisonette are set-back.
• Blue opaque or glazed cladding panels are set in bands below the windows, which are also in the aluminium framework. Generally there are four panels for each set of two windows.
• Continuous bands of glazing and blue panels appear on the top floor of the upper maisonettes.

Balconies for upper maisonettes

• The upper maisonettes have concrete balconies at the front, facing south.
• Each balcony run between the crosswalls with steel railings along the top.
• Each balcony has gaps for a first few inches from floor level, presumably to allow water to drain away.

Access galleries for lower maisonettes

• Each lower maisonette has an access gallery (a semi-balcony) outside the lower front windows.
• Concrete steps lead up from the front courtyard, and then steps paved in quarry tiles lead up to the access gallery.
• The access gallery has a low concrete wall with metal railings set in it.
• There are glass screens between each pair of units.

Staircase and entrance

• At the eastern end is the main entrance and staircase which is under a flat roof structure. It's a part-glazed open-well staircase with storey-high glass panes set in timber frames.
• The staircase then opens onto the access galleries (corridors) running along the back of the building at the entrance door level of each set of maisonettes.
• There is a rubbish chute like a huge pipe running beside the staircase and entrance block.
• There are also lifts and stairs at the western end, at the corner of Crescent House.

Secondary access

• The penultimate bay at the western end contains a secondary escape coming out of the rear of the building. It is a metal construction with glazed panels and an entry system. It gives access to the secondary stairs and also down to the basement stores.
• The staircase only takes up the back half of that bay. This leaves spare space for third bedrooms for the maisonettes on either side.

Front garden or courtyard

• The garden is a storey’s height down from street level and protected by a high concrete wall.
• There is a private paved section which then leads down into individual private gardens with pink brick walls for the ground floor flats. Each one has a door and double windows onto it. There are a lot of mature trees and bushes.
• Screening this front garden area, is an area of thick bushes and a lawn with ‘stepping stone’ concrete discs at the estate ground level.

Name

I don’t know where the Hatfield name came from.

Hatfield House flat plans

Please note. These plans are illustrations and approximations only. They illustrate types of flats. They don't show the actual demise, size, layout or dimensions of any particular flat. Individual flats may differ, or have been altered.

Location

Stanley Cohen House runs along the Golden Lane frontage of the estate and links Bowater House, Bayer House and Basterfleld House.

Flats

• 32 flats.
• Main entrance from various stairs.
• Kitchen and living room.

The overall layout

• 4 storeys, the upper floor set back.
• The block was deliberately kept low to allow a maximum of early morning light into the estate.
• 8 one-room flats, 8 two-room flats, on ground and third floors, and 14 three-room flats, on first and fourth floors.
• Maisonettes runs through the building from front to back.
• Stairs of concrete with open steel balustrades in open wells.

Structure

• Reinforced concrete frame.
• Shuttered concrete end walls, pink bricks at basement and ground floor, and grey engineering bricks facing Golden Lane.
• Some golden yellow opaque glass cladding facing the garden.
• The upper floors are pick-hammered concrete, originally painted black and white but now a uniform colour.
• “Mono pitch” (flat) roof.

Windows

All windows have metal opening lights in timber surrounds.

Balconies for upper maisonettes

• The flats have balconies formed by setting back some windows.
• The ground floor flats have larger balconies.
• The first and second floor flats have smaller balconies.
• The fourth floor balconies extend right along the inside front of the building, and the flats are set back. There are concrete privacy walls dividing them up for each flat.
• Some balconies have steel and mahogany handrails.

Staircase and entrance

• Flats 1-5 are reached via stairs at the southern end of block.
• Nos. 6-12 and 25-32 are reached off shared stairs with Nos. 20-29 and 40-49 Bayer House, on south of entrance to estate.
• To north of this, smaller stair leads to flats 13-17, and similar stairs serve flats 18-22.
• At north end of block stair to flats 23-24, 25-32 reached off stairwell shared with Nos. 20-37 and 40-57 Basterfield House.
• Nos. 25-32 on top floor reached via access gallery, the rest from stairs.

Name

Stanley Edward Cohen was the chairman in 1954 of the Public Health Committee, which was responsible for the creation of the Golden Lane Estate.

Stanley Cohen House flat plans

Please note. These plans are illustrations and approximations only. They illustrate types of flats. They don't show the actual demise, size, layout or dimensions of any particular flat. Individual flats may differ, or have been altered.