Old St Andrew's Mansions, Old Church Lane, Brent, Greater London
These two pairs of flats were built in 1936 by Ernest George Trobridge. The style of architecture is very unusual. They are the best surviving group of flats by Trobridge, an eccentric local architect. His career began in the 1920s when he developed a method of using unseasoned timber and unskilled ex-servicemen to build cheap yet charismatic homes for heroes. He then went on to build flats such as these. They were inspired by Trobridge's devout Swedenborgian beliefs. Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772) proposed a system of "correspondence" whereby worldly, spiritual and divine ideas could be related together. The effect on his work was the idiosyncratic expression of every chimney, staircase and external detail. His understanding of the use of timber also enriched otherwise humble interiors. The result was to make his 'artisan' rented housing quite remarkable.
