THE BUNGALOW
The very first slate house sign we ever engraved many years ago was called The Bungalow and ‘The Bungalow’ remains the third most popular house sign after The Cottage and Rose Cottage
The word bungalow originated in India and described a one storey, detached house, usually surrounded by a wide verandah. Hindi baṅglā & Urdu banglā, literally,house in the Bengal style
From the late 17th century sailors from Britain were housed in small bungalows when employed by the East India Company but later large, often very grand bungalows were built for officials of the British Raj.
Large numbers of bungalows were built in Great Britain between the two World Wars. Many of these were close to the sea and are usually owned by retired folk. They make for convenient living and are easier to clean and maintain than a two storey house. With all the rooms being on one level they are also very suitable for the less agile, persons in wheelchairs or for those who find stairs difficult. Many parents of small children find the lack of stairs to be safer and having all living space on the same level to be more handy.
Generally areas of only bungalows offer more privacy than neighbourhoods with two-storey houses as trees, shrubs or hedges are often enough to block the view of neighbours
Many years ago the Mass Observation social report surveyed the housing wishes of the population of the United Kingdom and found that flats were unpopular with the large majority and for every one person who said that he or she would like to live in a flat, ten said that they would like to live in a small house or bungalow.’
It is a problem that bungalows are more expensive to build and cost more per square foot than two-storey houses with the same number of bedrooms. This and the more ground space needed, is probably one of the main reasons why they make up only 2% of Britain’s housing stock.
However when it comes to holding their value and attracting new buyers, they are hard to beat.