Cottages at Mouldsworth near Chester

Reference           Architectural Review special issue: Recent English Domestic Architecture (4)  1911. Mervyn E Macartney,  Editor.  Page 78-79 with plans and illustration

These cottages were erected on the outskirts of Delamere Forest, the situation being exceedingly picturesque and the ground very undulating. It was felt that in this setting a simple horizontal treatment was more suitable than a spiky and vertical one, in which connection it may be observed that the fittingness of formal architecture for picturesque surroundings is continually demonstrated in the villas and cottages of Italy and in some of the old towns on the south coast of England. The cottages had to be very cheap (they actually cost £180 each, not including fencing), and it was decided to attempt to obtain an effect by means of a simple colour scheme. Local bricks of a good colour were not available; the walls were therefore built of common bricks (11 inches with cavity) and colour-washed a rich cream. The roof was covered with dark red pan-tiles (from Messrs. Major, of Bridgwater), the shutters and trellis porches were painted a true emerald green (which quickly fades), the  window frames, gutters, etc, white, and the doors black. The only ornamental features, the trellis porches and shutters, added very little to the cost. The front of the cottages faces due south, and as the sun in the valley beats down very fiercely, an overhang, 2 feet 2 inches deep, was given to the eaves. This has the result of keeping the bedroom windows cool in summer; while in winter, when the sun does not rise so high, the shadow is much less. On the north front the overhang is reduced to about 9 inches. The living-room has cross-ventilation. A very small enclosed yard has been provided. Each cottage has a large garden, and the object of the yard wall is to act as a screen to the back door and dust-bin, no windows opening on to it. There are no building by-laws in the district, but it was possible to make the ground and first floor 8 feet 6 inches high in the clear. The architect was Mr Patrick Abercrombie, of the University. Liverpool, and the builder Mr J H Holt, of Lymm. [Architectural Review special issue: Recent English Domestic Architecture].

These cottages have yet to be identified