How the numbering works

There are three flats per floor, forming the sides of a triangle round a central entrance lobby with three lifts. The sides are ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’. There is a flat for each side.  The ‘A’ side flat numbers all end in ‘1’, the ‘B’s in ‘2’, and the ‘C’s in ‘3’.

The standard layouts in Cromwell and Lauderdale Towers

These two towers have similar flats. The ‘standard’ – the most usual – types of tower flats in Cromwell Tower and Lauderdale Tower are Types 1A, 1B and 1C.

The standard types have four rooms in a row running along the external side of the flat to the living room. These were designated as four bedrooms in Types 1B and 1C flats and as three bedrooms and a dining room in Type 1A flats. The standard types mainly appear on the lower floors.

On upper floors the standard layout becomes Types 2A, 2B, 2C which are similar to Shakespeare Tower ‘8’ flats (see below).

The standard layout in Shakespeare Tower

The standard types in Shakespeare Tower are Types 8A, 8B and 8C. The Shakespeare Tower flats differ from 1A, 1B and 1C layouts in having a larger living room which absorbs what would be the adjoining room in a Cromwell or Lauderdale Tower ‘1’ layout.

The difference between Lauderdale/Cromwell flats and Shakespeare flats

The main difference is this: in the ‘1’s, there’s a bedroom 4 next to the living room; in the ‘8’s there isn’t, and instead there’s a larger living room and a larger bedroom 3. Cromwell and Lauderdale Tower flats on upper floors (Types 2A, 2B, 2C) are similar to Shakespeare Tower ‘8’ flats in that they have no bedroom 4, and the living room takes all the extra space.

Type 1A’s lost bedroom

The ‘1B’ and ‘1C’ type flats have sliding partitions to divide the living area to create a separate dining area when needed. Due to the position of the entrance door, the ‘1A’ flat layout only has space for a smaller breakfast area next to the living area. So the fourth bedroom was re-labelled as a dining room – dining rooms with candelabras being considered indispensable in 1970s England. In reality, Type 1A flats still have four rooms which can all be bedrooms if required.

Which floors have which flat types

In Lauderdale Tower all the flats on floors 1 to 32 are Types 1A, 1B and 1C (except three ‘water tank floors’ – see below).

In Cromwell Tower all the flats on floors 1 to 33 are Types 1A, 1B and 1C (except three ‘water tank floors’ – see below).

In Shakespeare Tower all the flats are Types 8A, 8B and 8C (except three ‘water tank floors’ – see below).

Larger living rooms in Lauderdale Tower and Cromwell Tower

On the upper floors of Lauderdale Tower and Cromwell Tower, the City created some flats with a larger living room by adding to it the space which in the standard model would be another room. So these upper flats have three bedrooms and a larger living room like the Shakespeare Tower flats. These flats are types 2A, 2B, and 2C.

In Lauderdale Tower there are 18 flats of types 2A, 2B, and 2C on floors 33-40. (18 flats is not enough to cover all those floors. The missing flats may be accounted for as explained below.)

In Cromwell Tower there are 8 flats of types 2A and 2B on floors 34-38. (8 flats is not enough to cover all those floors. I have no explanation.)