Explanation of flat types for Original Barbican
1A 1B 1C 2A 2B 2C 3A 3B 3C 4A 4B 4C 5A 6B 7C 8A 8B 8C 9A 9B 9C 10 12 13 14 16 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 49 50 51 52 53 54 56 57 58 60 61 63/64 67/68 70 71 72 73 74 76 78 79 80 81 84 85 86 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 118 119 120 121 F1A F1D F1E F2A F2B F2C F3C M2A M2B M2C M3A M3B M3C M3D M3E M4A P1D P2A P2B
Studios | 1 bed | 2 beds | 3+ beds | Towers | Maisonettes | Penthouses | Garden
Explanation of flat types for Frobisher Crescent
7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 7.9 7.10 7.11 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8 8.9 8.10 8.11 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 9.8 9.9 9.10
Studios | 1 bed | 2 beds | 3+ beds | Maisonettes | Penthouses
Explanation of flat types for Blake Tower
Flat Types 42 45 46 47 48 49 50 52 54 60 61 65 66 67 70 71 72 76 77 78 82 84 88 93 100 102 108 137 Pen1 Pen 2
Flats LG21 LG22 LG11 LG12 LG13 1 2 3 11 12 13 14 21 22 23 24 25 31 32 33 34 35 41 42 43 44 45 51 52 53 54 55 61 62 63 64 65 71 72 73 74 75 81 82 83 84 91 92 93 94 101 102 103 104 111 112 113 114 121 122 123 124 131 132 133 134 141 142 143 151 152 153 161 162
Floors LG2 LG1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16-17
Studios | One-bed flats | Two-bed flats | Three-bed flats | Bathrooms | Kitchens | Winter Gardens | Balconies
There were originally 2,014 flats in the Barbican Estate. In recent years, 69 new flats were created on the top three floors of Frobisher Crescent, and 74 flats have been created from converting the former YMCA Building in Fann Street, now Blake Tower.
There were over a 100 flat ‘types’ or layouts on the original Barbican Estate. Each ‘type’ was given a number by the City Corporation when the Barbican was built. Some types appear in large numbers in many buildings; some are found only once or twice. If you know the flat type, you know the flat! The name may be:
- a number – ‘Type 19’ or ‘Type 58’.
- a letter and numbers – ‘F2C’ or ‘M3A’.
- a number and a letter – ‘2A’, ‘2B’, 2C’.
It probably sounds thoroughly confusing, but if you are looking for a Barbican flat to buy, the estate agents will talk about ‘type this or that’, as shorthand, and you’ll soon get the hang of it and be doing the same.
Clues
These are some ‘rules’ of interpretation.
- A single number and a single letter – e.g. 1A or 8C. It is a tower flat in Lauderdale, Cromwell or Shakespeare Towers. The number is the ‘type’ – the layout – and A, B, C says which side of the tower it’s on.
- Letter-number-letter – e.g. F1A or P2B or M3C. It is a north Barbican flat. If the first letter is an ‘F’ it means it’s a studio; a ‘P’ means it’s a penthouse; and ‘M’ means it’s a maisonette. (The letters aren’t exclusive: A ‘P’ penthouse may also be a studio, and an ‘M’ maisonette may also be a penthouse.)
- Numbers only. It is a south Barbican terrace flat – e.g. 19 or 109.
- If it is numbers and an ‘H’ – like ’35H’ – it is the mirror version of the numbered type. So Type 35H is a Type 35 but reversed as if a mirror was held next to it. It is ‘H’ for ‘handed’ (left-handed, right-handed).