Beach Chalets

Details

873-1/0/10016 GREENHILL GARDENS 20-OCT-08 BEACH CHALETS

II

Beach chalets, 1923 with later C20 alterations. Constructed of concrete with iron columns and railings, and part-glazed timber panelling.

PLAN: A two-storey terrace (south) of 31 single-cell changing huts on the ground floor with fourteen additional huts and a cafe introduced on the first floor in the later C20. There is an open stairwell to the south. A central open double stairwell and a further single storey terrace (north) of seventeen single-cell changing huts, lying below the bowling green. The ground floor huts are all accessed individually from the front (east). The first floor huts in the southern terrace are entered individually from the communal rear access corridor, with a double flight of open stairs at the south and centre of the terraces.

EXTERIOR: The main facade faces the seafront. The southern terrace is a two-storey row of timber fronted part-glazed beach chalets, with cast iron pillars with pierced decorative spandrels supporting the first floor and roof terrace each with iron railings. The concrete base of the railings is heavily moulded giving the appearance of a string course. On the ground floor part-glazed raised and fielded timber panelled double doors are flanked by single narrow windows, with timber louvered ventilation above. On the first floor the eleven southernmost bays provide a covered walkway and the four northernmost bays are occupied by the café. The fourteen upper huts which were added at a later date, have French doors flanked by narrow full-length windows, in a similar style to the ground floor huts. The northern terrace is single storey and similarly constructed of concrete, with timber fronts; although the original part-glazed doors and windows have been boarded over. There are cast iron columns with pierced decorative spandrels. The flat roof has a decorative cast concrete pierced balustrade and handrail and is occupied by part of the bowling green.

INTERIOR: Of very simple construction with either match board tongue and groove timber partitions or plastered and painted concrete partitions. There is a narrow rear corridor, giving access to the upper huts via timber doors with rectangular fanlights above. The interior of the cafe was not available for inspection. The life guard station at the left hand end of the first floor is a late C20 addition and is not of interest.

HISTORY: Constructed in 1923 at a cost of £11,000, the chalets were considered a relatively desirable resort facility, and intended as a visitor attraction. The beach huts reflect the popularity of the English seaside as a holiday resort and the culmination of the belief in the benefits of fresh air and outdoors activity espoused in the inter-war period. Devised as an unemployment scheme and constructed on land donated for public benefit by a local beneficiary, the huts also represent the changing social patterns following the Great War and embryonic ideas of state social responsibility. A further fourteen chalets and a café were inserted into the former first floor covered promenade at a later date. They were probably added to cope with increased demand for bathing huts, and they contribute to the historical development of the complex.

REASON FOR DECISION:The beach chalets at Weymouth are listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* They represent an early and innovative example of beach hut design * They are rare examples of elaborately designed beach facilities * Despite the addition of huts and a café to the former first floor promenade, the complex is an important survival in the national context * They are located within their original landscape setting, associated with other contemporary outdoor pursuits and are representative of an influential period in the development of British seaside resorts * Together with other listed seaside structures, such as the group of beach shelters to the south, they illustrate the historical development of Weymouth's seafront * They are considerably more elaborate than many other listed seafront features, which are valued for their contribution to the historic character of the English seafront

SOURCES: Y. Bell, The Edwardian Home (2005). Dorset Daily Echo and Weymouth Dispatch 25 July 1923. Weymouth Telegram 27 July 1923.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

502879

Legacy System:

LBS

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