Pumped full of character: Listed art-deco garage restored and converted into flats after falling into disrepair

May 03, 2013 By Staff 0

Petrol station was built in 1934 but closed in 1973 and went unloved for 40 years
It has been lovingly restored to its former art-deco glory and converted into luxury apartments
A two-bedroom flat in the complex costs £300,000

By James Drummond

PUBLISHED: 06:57 EST, 3 May 2013 | UPDATED: 08:19 EST, 3 May 2013

Complete with swaying palm trees, this stunning art-deco building would not look out of place on the French Riviera.

But it’s actually in West Sussex and has been lovingly restored to its former glory after failing into a state of disrepair.

The 1930s petrol station – called the Manor Road Garage – has been converted into a series of luxury apartment, with a two-bedroom flat on the market for £300,000.

Former glory: This stunning art-deco petrol station in West Sussex has been converted into luxury apartments after being ignored for 40 years

Unloved: The Manor Road Garage was built in the art-deco style in 1934 but it closed in the 1970s and was left abandoned for four decades

As these stunning images show, the weed-infested court yard has been stripped and replaced by gleaming tarmac.

And the four petrol pubs, faded by the sun, and four decades of neglect have been buffed, shined and painted a brilliant yellow.

The windows that were previously boarded up have been replaced and restored to their former glory.

Eerie: With weeds growing in the forecourt and the facade boarded up, the garage in East Preston was a shell of its former self

Transformation: The pumps, which were installed in the late 1940s or early 1950s, add to the character of this unique art-deco listed garage

The sign, saying 'Manor Road Garage', remains but it has been repainted and now stands in front of four fully lit up Shell petrol pumps.

The façade and the four petrol pumps were awarded Grade II listed status six years ago by English Heritage, making in a building of ‘national importance’ and ‘special interest’.

Its front was built in 1934 in the ‘moderne’ - or art deco – style, with the petrol pumps added sometime in the late 1940s or early 1950s and described as ‘very rare survivals’ by British Listed Buildings.

The garage, in East Preston, was a working petrol station until 1973 and was run by John Lillywhite, who died in 1997.

Groundwork: The foundations are laid behind the original art-deco facade, which was given a Grade II listing by English Heritage in 2007

When the garage was cleared a decade later, vintage Rolls Royces, MGs and a grey Fergie tractor were all found in various states of disrepair inside.

Estate agents Glyn Jones said: ‘A truly stunning redevelopment of this art modern 1930s building.

‘There is just one remaining apartment that offers the potential purchaser a unique property with very highest level of specification and period features.'

Art-deco: This unique building sits flush against a row of terraced houses in East Preston, West Sussex

Proud: The garage was a working petrol station until 1973 and was run by John Lillywhite (left), who died in 1997 but it fell into disrepair until it was lovingly restored

They added: 'Features include a fantastic open plan living space, two bedrooms, en-suite, off road parking, 125 year lease, luxury kitchen and shower room and landscaped communal gardens.

‘It is pleasantly situated within a half a mile from East Preston seafront and approximately one and a half miles from Rustington village.'

A two-bed flat in the property fetches nearly £300,000, double the cost of the average apartment in West Sussex, which comes in at £159,000.

Luxury: A two-bedroom flat in the art-deco complex costs £300,000 to buy... but there's only one left

A room with a view: A two-bed apartment in Manor Road Garage costs £300,000 - double the average cost of a flat in West Sussex

True to form: The inside of the flats are also styled in art-deco, with the use of rounded plastics and varnished floors in the kitchen

ART-DECO: A style that embodied the optimism of the 1920s

The style we now call art-deco originated in France in the early 20th Century, and its heyday was from 1920 to 1940.

It became widely known following the great Exposition des Arts Modernes Decoratifs et Industriels, held in Paris in 1925.

Art-deco expressed all the vigor and optimism of the roaring twenties, and the idealism and escapism of the grim thirties.

It pays references to the avant-garde art movements of the time, such as Cubism and the Bauhaus, and exotic cultures such as the ancient Egyptians.

But it was not just for the elite, however, because by the 1930s, mass production meant that everyone could live in the style.

Typical features of the movement include geometric and angular shapes and fabrics like chrome, glass and mirrors.

Famous examples of art-deco architecture in Britain, include Highbury, the former home of Arsenal Football Club, the Hoover Building, in West London and Battersea Power Station, on the south bank of the River Thames.

Grand: The East Stand at Highbury, the former home of Arsenal FC is a classic example of art-deco architecture

Iconic: Now a Tesco, the Hoover Building in West London, built in 1932, the home of Hoover's vacuum cleaning manufacturing plant. is another example of art-deco architecture

Stunning: Built in the 1930s, Battersea Power Station in London is a tribute to the art-deco design

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