The above photo was taken from my balcony a few years ago, when I nicknamed it the Higgledy-piggledy road, its real name being Wychall Orchard. Then realising how lovely some of these buildings are I recently had a meander across to take some photos.
I haven't been able to fix an exact date on them yet as the only OS Map of that era I could find is dated 1933, on which Wychall Orchard is just shown with trees as it was when an orchard. However, the buildings are consistent with the Modernistic yet later Arts & Crafts style of the 1950s, so I'm sticking with that for now.
The first house, seen above and below, is on the main road along with a couple of others, and has some typical features of this style, including the front gable on one side with stone chimney stack built partway into the wall. Although a two-storey house, it has the look of a bungalow, with dormer windows in the steep pitched roof.
The next house along is on the corner of this road and Wychall Orchard, which is where most of these buildings are.
Brimming with flowers and shrubs, the garden is really delightful to see whilst walking past - as are most of the front gardens in and around the town - apart from the odd gravel ones that is (don't get me started, lol).
The side view with some fabulous features, below.
The tiny dormer window is called an eyebrow window because of its shape and the way the tiles are fitted around the opening. It became fairly fashionable during the 1930s, whereas the style of chimney with its rough cast stones and the delightful porthole windows either side of it were more indicative of the 1950s.
Walking further up the side road is this fabulous bungalow, below. The central door is flanked by two large bay windows. The one of the right has a five-sided shape, while the left one is topped by a projecting clapboard gable on brackets. One of the ways to compensate for steep slopes can be seen on the right with a brick base propping up that side.
The next one has been built in the same style but with a very different treatment of unpainted rustic gable boards, blue trim and a wonderfully tumbly garden with a variety of plants, which makes it totally enchanting.
And another one but with the gable and bays reversed.
Then this one with a seven-sided bay on one side of the bungalow. I couldn't get too close to some of them as a couple of people were talking outside one of the houses inbetween these and I didn't want to be too intrusive.
The other side next, starting near the top. Again, I couldn't get everything because of activity and/or vehicles in view, but I think I managed to get a good selection of the styles.
Another eyebrow window. I love these. :) The house on the left can be seen more clearly on the photo below.
Interestingly, some of the buildings have a mansard roof above the side elevation, as seen in the two above. They also have gables, the lower one with rustic clapboarding and the other one with plain plaster and paint like the rest of the wall. I really like how the chimney stack neatly fits between the two roofs on the lower house.
Another bungalow with the two bays and gable above the left can just about be seen at the top of the road.
This next house at the bottom of the road appears to consist of three separate dwellings in one building.
Two more lovely eyebrow windows inbetween the forward facing gable and a dormer casement window. My camera was facing the sun at that point so the photos of this building are a bit washed out.
And back to the bottom of Wychall Orchard, the photo below showing a bit more of the opposite corner with the adjacent end of the above building.
Although it doesn't look the same, this next photo shows that adjacent part from the main road. I wasn't sure from my photos but I had a walk down to check yesterday morning and it is part of the three dwelling building.
Although I couldn't see much of it, I did take a few photos of the garden borders tumbling over the retaining wall, shown below.
Which brings us neatly to the last of these style of houses along the main road. With a large eyebrow dormer window and rustic boarded gables, this also has a roof skylight and a projecting bay to the left.
As the buildings are on a steep slope, this one has a parking bay and a garage in front of the retaining wall.
In the photos below we can also see some of the three dwelling building on the corner of Wychall Orchard.
Finally, another photo taken from my balcony of this wonderfully quirky higgledy-piggledy road with its lovely buildings. Something I should have done a long time ago, but sometimes we can walk past something for decades without looking properly. I'm really glad I finally saw it properly and I hope you enjoyed it too. :)
There we go and now for the chatty bit! Actually, I don't have much to say this time, lol. I put my back out four days ago but it's healing quite quickly and I'm also walking somewhat better than recently, so at least that's some good news.
Other than that, I'm not sure what's coming next but I might get another Useful Books completed plus some more of Fore Street in Beer and the next of the Weather Lore series. I'm hoping I can finally get over to Beer again for more photos soon but I'll see how it goes. Fingers crossed!
Cheers everyone. :)
