The area and its buildings today
It is the setting of the houses, with grass verges and tree-lined roads which gives Chorltonville its special garden village character. Isolated from traffic noise, it is a quiet area as the roads do not provide an easy through-route.
The houses themselves are well-maintained and, externally at least, are virtually the same as when the estate was opened. They consist of a varied range of traditional houses, mostly semi-detached, built in brick, some smooth-finished and some textured.
All have brick relieved by render at first floor level or down to the ground floor cills. A few are also half-timbered on gables at first floor level. Originally all the roofs were plain red tiles but now some are grey with age and others have been re-roofed in red concrete tiles.
There are numerous details which give a special character to the area such as:
- canted bays which have the side windows splayed at an angle; sprocketed roofs, which have a gentler pitch towards the eaves;
- contrasting quoins, which are the large stones at the outside angles of walls;
- circular windows and arched openings to porches, with brick or tile voussoirs (wedge-shaped bricks);
- chimney stacks which are cruciform in plan;
- glazed brick window cills;
- a variety of gable motifs;
- stained glass windows and corbelled brackets which project successively more in each course to support overhanging eaves or porch roof.
Most of these features are typical of the style of the Arts and Crafts Movement.
The trees planted in the verges have matured and therefore require regular maintenance and pruning. If a tree grows too large, presenting a risk of serious damage to the roadway and garden walls, the Residents' association organise felling and replacement.
The majority of successive house owners have removed the original privet hedges, so that there is now a considerable variety in the boundary treatment to the frontages, with hedges, walls and fences as well as some gardens open to the road. The surfaces of the roads and footpaths were originally gravel but have been replaced in recent years by tarmacadam.