Voltaire is an unusual, concave curved block of fifteen flats completed in 1963. Standing at the junction of Ennerdale Road and Branstone Road, near Kew Gardens, the three-storey building is mid-century modern in style, has a t-shaped footprint and is surrounded by gardens at front and back.
A map surveyed in 1959 shows it was built on the site of a detached house and grounds: a larger area than most neighbouring plots. Its curved design and unusual name prompted curiosity as to its origin and, having discovered the name ‘A.V. Pilley’ on a planning permission document dated 5th August 1961, Voltaire residents decided to find out more. The first thing we found was that Pilley was born in France in 1907 as Amnon Vivien Pilichowski.
And so begins a history quest that reveals as many questions as answers …
