In the ascending scale we now come to a block of four, containing houses of two classes. The cost of each is approximately the same, and the advantages are about equal. The outside houses have a side entrance with lobby and outer porch, thereby making the front room quite private, while in the inside ones the front door opens into the room, which has, however, the advantage of being more spacious.
Use of the Ingle Nook in Small Cottages.—The introduction of an ingle nook in this latter secures to it a greater degree of comfort, and privacy from the road is also gained by the extension of the screen. Complete privacy may be secured by attaching a rod from the screen to the outside wall and dropping a curtain. The ingle is lighted by borrowed light from the half-glass door, the light passing through the glazed wooden screen. In this case the ingle nook may be said to be the natural outcome of the plan. The staircase in these inside houses is at the side of the ingle, and affords space beneath for a cupboard, which is reached from the kitchen. The staircase in the outside houses is approached near the window of the living room, and admits of space in like manner for a larder, which is entered from the lobby.
Ventilation.—It will be seen that the larder, in the case of the two middle houses, is arranged within the house, between the coals and the living room. Larders, wherever possible, should have an outside window, but in this case ventilation is very easily obtained in the following manner:—An inlet of a 9-in. pipe enters the larder on the floor level from air bricks in the front wall, while in the coals at the back a concrete division is inserted at a height of 5 ft. 6 ins. or 5 ft. 9 ins. (the ground floor of the house from floor to ceiling being in this instance 8 ft. 6 ins.). Through a fanlight above the outside door of coals not only is light obtained, but, by means of a cord and pulley worked from the larder, through ventilation also, while there is no danger of the invasion of coal dust.
In both houses there is little space wasted. In the outside ones the living rooms are entered immediately from the lobby, and the bedrooms immediately from a small landing, while there is a useful closet over the stairs, entered from the front bedroom.
The projection in this block gives variety to the street, and is the natural outcome of the requirements of the houses. The type is self-contained, and privacy is secured to the householders by the introduction of the side entrance to the outside houses, and by the arrangement of the doorways to the middle ones at the remote ends.
Materials.—Brindled bricks, hand-made tiles, and casement windows of wood are here used, and the brickwork of the kitchen is pointed for whitewashing, with a 4-ft. dado of paint. In these smaller cottages it is advisable to employ papers for interior wall decoration in preference to colour-wash, the latter being very soon soiled where there are children. Picture rails should be used in all cottages, if only to save the plaster.
Accommodation.—The accommodation of the respective houses is as follows:—
Ground Floor.
| Outside Houses. | Inside Houses. | ||
| Living Room | 12 ft. 4 ins. × 13 ft. | 15 ft. × 16 ft. 4 ins. | |
| Kitchen | 10 ft. 6 ins. × 11 ft. | 11 ft. × 11 ft. 3 ins. | |
| Tools, w.c., and Coals. |
Bedroom Floor.
| First Bedroom | 12 ft. 4 ins. × 13 ft. | 13 ft. 3 ins. × 15 ft. | |
| Second Bedroom | 8 ft. × 11 ft. | 6 ft. 3 ins. × 14 ft. 2 ins. | |
| Third Bedroom | 7 ft. 6 ins. × 7 ft. 10 ins. | 7 ft. 9 ins. × 8 ft. 4 ins. | |
| Linen Closet. |
Total cost, including all extras and builder’s profit, £872 per block, or £218 per cottage. Laying out of gardens, £10 per cottage.
Cubical contents, 48,295 ft. at 4⅓d. per foot cube, £872, or £218 per cottage.*
The elevation shown in the accompanying illustration is of a block of three cottages, the two outside ones of which are similar to those shown on the foregoing plan. This is an example of how the same plan may be repeated with varied effect, or where there is not sufficient land for four.
*NOTE.—As most of the examples given have been built by the Bournville Village Trust, it should be noted that the figures stated include in all cases an addition to the net cost of 3¾% as builder’s profit.
Where there is any marked difference in the price per foot cube not accounted for by more complicated planning, or by the better quality of materials, this is due, not only to the fluctuation of building prices during the last few years, but also to the variation in the cost of building at different periods of the year.
The extras include fencing, garden gates, etc.
Variation of Former Plan.—The plan shown in Plate xvi. and illustrated in Plate xvii., is of a pair similar to the outside cottages of Plate xiv. This again shows how it is possible to play on the same plan in the building of a village, and so gain the desirable variety of elevation. The roof is hipped and covered with pantiles. A bay window is introduced in both the storeys, with rough-cast between. A rainwater cistern to store all roof water is placed over the coals, which projects from the main block. A greater privacy is obtained by this slight projection, without interfering with the light at the back. The chimneys are grouped together in the centre, there being only one stack to both the houses, which is carried to the highest point of the roof.
Total cost of cottages built to this plan, including all extras, £230 per cottage.
Laying out of gardens, £10 per cottage.
Cubical contents, 22,000 ft. at 5d. per foot cube, £460, or £230 per cottage.
The plan and elevation shown on this plate are of an alternative arrangement to the last. The houses have an entrance at the front and an extended larder, owing to the staircases ascending from the lobby. The fireplaces are arranged in the corners of the rooms.
PLATE XIX.
The view here given shows three pairs of cottages built to the plan shown on Plate xvi., and illustrates how a variety of elevation may be gained by adding bays, dormers, etc., and by using differing materials.