Description

TQ 3872 LEWISHAM BROMLEY ROAD
(North East side)
779/33/10068 Passfields

Nos.78-89

GV II

Block of twelve flats. 1949-50 by Fry, Drew and Partners, job architect J B Shaw, for Lewisham Metropolitan Borough. Ove Arup and Partners engineers. Solid brick wall construction of sand-lime bricks, with concrete floor slabs. Flat roofs with flat projecting eaves. Two- and three-bedroom flats, with ground floor stores and refuse room at the foot of each of the two staircases. Three storeys. The block is a symmetrical composition set side-on to the busy Bromley Road to reduce traffic nose. The upper flats have projecting concrete balconies with metal balustrades. Steel windows with opening casements set within concrete sills and lintels an important original feature. The return windows at ends of the block similar, but set in continuous moulded surrounds.
INTERIORS: retain some picture frames and many original doors.
HISTORY: Maxwell Fry was one of the pioneer designers of low-cost flats in the 1930s. This is the most important public housing development produced by Fry's practice in the post-war period. This is a rich and complex development, the blocks carefully sited to give a maximum of open space, light and sunshine whilst reducing traffic noise. The scheme won a Festival of Britain Merit Award in 1951. Nikolaus Pevsner considered that its 'greater diversity of small motifs' was its great departure from Fry's pre-war work and that it was 'one of the most interesting recent groups of flats in London'. The four blocks form a harmonious group, enhanced by their excellent state of preservation and landscaping.

Listing NGR: TQ3800072213

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q27082170

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects by Harwood, Richard (2012) Paperback
• 
  Farrow & Ball How to Decorate: Transform your home with paint & paper
• 
  Cambridgeshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and The Forest of Dean: Vale and Forest of Dean Pt. 2 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  The green guide for historic buildings: how to improve the environmental performance of listed and historic buildings
• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability