Ernest George Trobridge

[2] Trobridge was an adherent of Swedenborgianism and it may have been his religious beliefs which led him to be interested in domestic architecture for working-class people.

The green elm timber was cut in a special way so that shrinkage could be accommodated, and the thatch contained a patent fire extinguishing sprinkler system.

[3][4] In the thirties bricks became more readily available and the pressure on land around London meant that working-class families needed flats rather than houses.

Trobridge developed blocks of flats in the form of romantic cottages, castles and baronial halls, again mostly in Kingsbury.

Trobridge's working methods were unusual for the time: he employed disabled ex-servicemen and insisted on paying full union rates to all his employees.