Inside Britain’s 10 ugliest homes – from block brick bungalows to home dubbed ‘The Crematorium’
BRITAIN’S worst-looking homes can be revealed – from block brick bungalows that remind locals of a prison to a building dubbed ‘The Crematorium’.
High hopes and thousands of pounds can’t always prevent new builds from turning into flops, while older houses can wither away with a lack of care becoming a blight to locals.
If you’re thinking of selling up, this look at some of the country’s ugliest homes has lessons of what not to do as you look to maximise your price.
Here are 10 of the ugliest domiciles in Britain today, from Grand Designs’ fails to derelict dumps.
BRADFORD BOMBSITE
‘Abandon all hope U who enter in’ this house tells any visitors, and it might just be right.
This Bradford house, reviewed in a viral TikTok video by @adamzinho.1, a Scottish house hunter influencer, shows off “the worst available house in the UK”.
His comical tour of the home’s £15,000 Rightmove listing reveals walls covered in graffiti, old sofas in the garden, and a roof under repair.
The spooky phrase ‘Abandon all hope U who enter in’ is written in red paint above one door and other bizarre, multicoloured pictures have been painted onto the interior walls.
Wood and dirt are strewn across the unfinished floor and without a complete ceiling, the house would have brisk ventilation.
LEGO BRICK EXTENSION
This extension to a Victorian villa was nominated as Britain’s ugliest building in 2017 and reminded people of a Lego brick.
The stone-clad extension in Malvern, Worcestershire, replaced a demolished single-story Victorian building, brought down to make way for the “monstrosity” which houses a kitchen and a living area.
“The architect has made no attempt to unify the house and now most people assume this family home to be a medical centre,” said the man who nominated the building for the ugly building gong to the London Economic.
‘PUBLIC TOILET BLOCK’
This three-bedroom Blackmill home in Wales was up for sale in July for only £80,000.
But social media commenters on Reddit alluded to why the grey, boxy digs might have been priced so cheap.
“From the outside that actually looks like a public toilet block,” said one.
The inside was not much better, with commenters noting the cigarette smoke left behind by previous occupants.
“I can smell the pictures,” said another commenter.
But, the home’s redeeming feature is its view, with lovely vistas of the Welsh valley Blackmill sits in.
‘THE CREMATORIUM’
These London bungalows have been referred to by locals as looking like a prison, a crematorium, and even a factory.
And for good reason, the 12 red brick houses with large chimneys only have small windows, giving an impression that entering one could be your final journey.
The one and two-bedroom houses were built in 2014, replacing an old folks home that was left derelict.
A former council leader who lived opposite the bungalows, told the Barking and Dagenham Post: ‘It looks like the prison they want to build down the road.’
HOUSE OF MIRRORS
One house in London’s Richmond has been described as “invisible” and “ghastly”.
But maybe residents didn’t like their reflection after this owner decided to cover the front of the house in mirrors.
Residents told The Sun in 2022 the £1.6million home reflected light into their eyes and didn’t fit the historical architecture of the road.
“All the buildings on this road are historical from the 1800s so it just doesn’t fit.
“I don’t care. They can do what they want and it doesn’t affect me but I think it’s ghastly,” one resident said at the time.
The owner told MyLondon that he saw passers-by checking their reflections out.
SCOTTISH ‘GARDEN SHED’
Another Grand Designs flop was a Scottish house built on an airfield and inspired by an aircraft hanger.
Host Kevin McCloud returned six years after work started to check in on the house after storms and a lack of money had stopped building.
He found curved bedrooms and a grey corrugated iron exterior, which he described as “magnificent” and “sleek”, but viewers didn’t like the design as much.
When the show aired one person said: “They’ve f****** their budget building a massive shed,” while a second commented: “What the bejesus is that monstrosity?”
ELECTRICITY SUBSTATION ECO-HOME
Judges for an architecture wooden spoon award referred to this house as a “monstrosity” that looks “more like an electricity substation than a home”.
The three-bedroom £800,000 home in London’s Streatham was designed by its architect owner with the environment in mind and includes solar panels on the roof and shutters for the windows.
It didn’t win the Carbuncle Cup, but its owner hit back at being nominated telling the Evening Standard he was “very proud” of the design, adding: “I’m an architect — I know what I’m doing.”
‘AWFUL’ THUNDERBIRDS HOME
The Royal Institute Of British Architects loved this Thunderbirds-inspired water tower and it was shortlisted in Grand Designs: House Of The Year.
But the show’s viewers were less than impressed by the Norfolk home.
Owners Dennis Pedersen and Misa Godebska compared it to a “Bond-lair” with the home covered in steel cladding, featuring large vertical glass windows, and the control room converted into a living room.
One viewer branded it “genuinely the ugliest house I’ve ever seen” and another remarked: “Christ that tower is ugly and inappropriate.”
Pedersen and Godebska conceded it “does wobble in the wind” especially during storms.
CRYPTO INVESTING HOUSE
Another ugly house in the lego brick category, this Plymouth pad is currently on the market for £600,000.
The four-bedroom three-bathroom house has great facilities like a gym, a double-garage, and a balcony.
But, Reddit users savaged the grey exterior as looking like “This house invests in crypto, and is going to tell you all about it.”
“I feel like if I was paying £700,000 for a house, I would want it to look…not like this,” said another commenter.
ORANGE WINDOWS
A couple who appeared on Channel 4’s Ugly House to Lovely House in 2019 chose to renovate their house with orange joinery.
Show host George Clark tactfully said the home was “radically different” from those of neighbours.
But social media users weren’t so kind, describing the black and orange exterior as “ugly” and looking like a “B&Q”.
Despite the backlash, many commenters said they were won over by the couple at the centre of the episode and their journey to provide a loving home for their family, proving beauty isn’t only what’s on the outside.