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Royd
House, Hale Road, Hale, Cheshire
 Located beside Hale Road, a short distance from the center of Hale, Royd House is not only another of Wood's flat roofed houses, it is a house that he built for his own use. As you can see, the front of the house faces the road and is semi-circular in shape. The front door is set-in below a magnificent, intricate and colourful tiled panel. Apparently, this geometric design is carried on throughout the house. Wood designed the house in 1914 and moved into it from his Middleton home in 1916.  The geometric design
theme, in the tiled panel above the door, is mirrored
in the door itself. The pattern is moulded in relief
and areas are picked out in different colours.
Apparently the same decorative theme carried on to the
interior doors and in Wood's time was also reflected
in the furniture. John H. G. Archer is of the opinion
that in creating the design Wood was probably
influenced by his travels in Spain, Tunisia and
Persia.
  The circle begun
by the semi-circular house front is completed by
the parking area which then leads into the short
driveway.
  The sidewalls of
the house go away from the front at an angle and
brick gateways frame either side of the parking
circle.
 The design placed the living rooms at the back of the house, and in contrast to the front, the building presents a flat face to the garden. A brick parapet surrounds the flat concrete roof. |