Midcentury modern house in Wrexham, North Wales

A distinctive one-off design, this midcentury modern house in Wrexham, North Wales, is now on the market.

The house, known as Cilgoed and locally as ‘The House on Stilts’ (for obvious reasons), isn’t as old as you might think. I would have had this down as something from the early 1960s, but according to the agent, the house was actually constructed in the 1970s.

Frustratingly, I haven’t been able to find the architect’s name. If you know the name through local knowledge, please do get in touch. I would love to know, and so would the current owners.

Regardless of its pedigree, the one has a 1960s/midcentury modern aesthetic that will appeal to fans of that era and style. Unusual for this part of the world, it’s also quite an unusual design to find generally and especially in this well-preserved state. I’ve featured similar designs in Australia and New Zealand but few in the UK.

Of course, the interior has been updated. A glance at the photos tells you that. But architecturally, this is a rare find. And I suspect it will appeal to a good number of you because of that boldness of design.

You will find Cilgoed in Pentre Bychan in the borough of Wrexham, and if you travel down Wrexham Road, it’s a house that can’t help but turn heads. Called The House on Stilts for good reason, this one offers elevated accommodation beneath a feature butterfly roof and with balcony space to take in the surroundings. It was very much the ‘60s dream (even if it was completed in the 1970s).

As I said, the finish and details have been updated over the years. You’ll notice that as soon as you walk up to the front door—which is a recent update itself.

But nothing radical. There is planning permission in place for enlarged accommodation in keeping with the original build, including an additional ground-floor garage and, at the first-floor level, an additional bedroom with an en-suite shower room. But as it stands, nothing has changed much aside from various interior refreshes, much of which seems to have been undertaken in the fairly recent past.

The layout, at least to these eyes, looks like it is faithful to the original design of the architect.

The layout is largely open and focuses on the upper level of this raised house. The main access is via a flight of steps up the surrounding balcony.

Enter the double-glazed door to access the dining area, which has a picture window overlooking farmland to the rear and glazed partitioning to the study/guest bedroom with a tongue-and-groove finish ceiling.

Beyond that is the lounge with its full-height glazing, two opening French-style windows, stove and feature lighting. Along from there is the kitchen, which looks both modern (with the high gloss grey units) and a good size. Pretty much everything here you would expect of a contemporary kitchen space.

A bedroom lobby leads to two further bedrooms, both with full-height windows and fitted wardrobes, and both looking out over that farmland at the rear. A family bathroom too, with a bath and standalone shower unit within.

That’s the main accommodation, but the house offers much more. Of course, the timber steps lead to the large feature balcony, which can be accessed at multiple points via the double-glazed French windows.

On the ground floor level there is a covered under-croft, offering car port-style parking areas. But that’s not all on the ground level.

The gardens and grounds cover something like 0.23 acres and are approached via a gate and a driveway, which leads to the under-croft parking.

At the northern side of the property, there is a sunken Japanese-style garden featuring ornamental planting and multi-coloured slate, along with specimen planting, including Monkey Puzzle Trees, Bottlebrush, Yucca, and Japanese Maple/Acer.

At the rear of the property, there are ‘low-maintenance gardens’, a free-standing conservatory, an ‘oversized’ store shed, further outbuildings, and a large garage.

All of which is likely to be best appreciated by a viewing. It’s an interesting piece of architecture that really does need preserving. Houses like this just don’t get built anymore. There’s plenty of space and the potential to put your own stamp on it, whether that’s going modern or taking it back to its midcentury modern roots.

All you have to do is find the money to buy it. The asking price is £325,000.
Images and details courtesy of Bowen. For more details and to make an enquiry, please visit the website.
Nita on 24 July, 2024 11:14 am
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