The Villas, Stokeville, Stoke-on-Trent

Description:Number 5 The Villas is a detached "third class house" (see below) next to the centre turning circle. A 2-storeyed Stucco building with concrete tiled roof, Italianate in style. There is a tower at the rear. The house has 3 rooms on the ground floor, 5 on the second and one in the tower. It is a grade II listed building.

The Stokeville Building Society was formed in 1850 by a group of prominent Stoke families whose aim was to build their own homes. They bought an area of 7 acres (nearly 3 hectares), lying between London Road and Trent Valley Road. The architect Charles Lynam was employed to design the 24 'superior houses' to be built in the area which became known as Stokeville. It's an early example of middle-class suburban housing development and became known as The Villas. Most were built between 1851 and 1855. The houses, both detached and semi-detached, are laid out along three roads and look Italianate in style. The houses were built in three classes, offering a range of accommodation, although all provided accommodation for servants to “live in” and were clearly built for the middle classes. Ten Villas were 'first class houses', six 'second class' and the remaining eight 'third class'. The Villas was designated the city’s first Conservation Area and many of the houses are grade II listed buildings.