Floor plan - puzzled!

Albermarle

Section62 said:

TheJP said:

Noticing the vent in the top right hand corner leads me to believe it was a main bathroom split in 2 to make a study room. If it was a bedroom then it would have made sense to configure it the other way round.

Passive vents of that type were commonly used in 1930's bedrooms - so it doesn't necessarily mean it was a bathroom originally.

Yes a bedroom in my parents 2 bed 30's semi had something very similar.

lincroft1710

Ulverston is full of comedians, one a star of 1920s to 1940s Hollywood films and one who designed that house!

Annie1612

I definitely would want to remodel the layout - either to a proper 4 bed or take it down to a 3 bed with good sized bathroom.

Grumpy_chap

I suspect the original bathroom was upstairs but much smaller, so the airing cupboard was accessed direct from the hall way and so would the 4th bedroom be accessed from the hallway.
Sort of like this:

(Ignore the two extra doors that are obviously now incorrect.)

Possibly the 4th bedroom was larger (and bathroom smaller) if the original wall ran from the edge of the window, like this:

bouicca21

I think @Grumpy_chap has got it. The bathroom was cramped so they opened it up, though from the pictures it still looks crowded.

AskAsk

Looks like they have divided the 4th bedroom into a bathroom and smaller bedroom to bring the bathroom upstairs.  it is like a bedroom with an ensuite and the bathroom is also accessible to the other 3 bedrooms.

mlz1413

The bathroom door is a very plain design but the 4th bedroom has far more detail on it. 

It would be interesting to see which door matches the rest in the house.

A builder or architect might be able to advise how it was.

It all looks very dated so if you are planning to do it up then you can move the bathroom entirely, to me there isn't anything to save in any room.

RAS

I recall a bathroom so small that it was difficult to close the door when inside because it hit the bath. Relocating the wall behind the bath about 30cm allowed it to behave like a normal small bathroom. It probably originally only contained a toilet and sink, around 1920/30.

Grumpy_chap

RAS said:

I recall a bathroom so small that it was difficult to close the door when inside because it hit the bath. Relocating the wall behind the bath about 30cm allowed it to behave like a normal small bathroom. It probably originally only contained a toilet and sink, around 1920/30.

The original bathroom quite likely only contained small bath (in the alcove between the airing cupboard and the window) and wash basin.  No toilet.
Toilet outside adjacent to the coal scully.

The exact age that the property was built may give better insight.  By the time of the inter-war housebuilding boom, internal toilets were common "every latest convenience".  Houses built a bit earlier in the 1920's were typically without internal toilets.  The easiest way to determine whether some level of bathroom in that location was original might be to assess whether the bathroom window is an original feature (albeit modernised) for the property.

Annie1612

Thanks again for all the comments. All very interesting and credible. I have just thought that perhaps where the bathroom is currently might have been just landing space with the window providing light for the landing and upper part of the stairs since it goes through the middle of the house. My last property had stairs through the middle of the house and just a tiny window for light and it was quite dark. I am going to check the doors when I go and also look for other clues as I need to know the answer! 😂