Numbers 24, 25, 26 And 28 And Attached Railings And Piers With Lamp Holders, Lincoln'S Inn Fields

Numbers 24, 25, 26 and 28, and attached railings and piers with lamp holders, Lincoln's Inn Fields

A group of buildings on the north side of Lincoln's Inn Fields comprising three terraced houses and legal chambers, with attached forecourt railings and piers.

No. 24 is an early 19th-century house of yellow brick with rusticated stucco to the ground floor and stone dressings. It has four storeys, an attic and basement, with a slate mansard roof and dormers. The facade features three windows; the ground floor has round-arched openings with plain jambs; the upper windows are recessed sashes within stone architraves. A panelled door with fanlight occupies the centre. A blind balustrade sits below the first-floor windows; the centre window has a shouldered architrave and console bracketed pediment. A plain stucco sill band runs across the second floor. The building is crowned with a stone mutule cornice topped by a balustrade. The interior, not inspected, is noted to retain a vaulted corridor and good marble fireplaces. The forecourt features rusticated stucco piers surmounted by iron scroll lamp-holders, and cast-iron railings enclose the area.

No. 25 dates to the early 18th century and was restored in the mid 19th century and later. It is built of multi-coloured stock brick with a stone cornice at third floor level and a plain stone band at first floor level. The roof is slate mansard with dormers. The building has four storeys, attics and basement, with three windows. The doorway is square-headed with architraves, a patterned overlight incorporating a lantern, and a panelled door. Recessed sash windows feature gauged red brick flat arches. A stone balcony with cast-iron railings fronts the first floor. The building terminates in a parapet. The interior, not inspected, retains an early 19th-century stone curved staircase with iron balusters. The forecourt features rusticated stucco piers topped by iron scroll lamp-holders and cast-iron railings with urn finials.

No. 26 is of early to mid 18th-century date, restored in the mid to late 20th century. The ground and first floors are brown brick; the upper floors are multi-coloured stock brick. A stone cornice runs at third floor level with plain stone bands at first floor and sill levels. The slate mansard roof has dormers. The building comprises four storeys, attics and basement with three windows. The principal feature is an original wooden doorcase with carved consoles carrying a cornice, carved frieze, panelled reveals and overlight, with a panelled door behind. Recessed sashes have gauged red brick flat arches. A parapet tops the facade. The interior was substantially rebuilt following fire damage. Cast-iron railings with urn finials enclose the area.

The former No. 27, dating to the mid 18th century, is built of multi-coloured stock brick. A stone cornice marks the third floor level with a plain stone band at first floor. The slate mansard roof crowns four storeys and a basement with three windows. The original doorway has been replaced by a window; the first floor has been lengthened. Recessed sashes feature gauged red brick flat arches. A parapet completes the building. The interior, not inspected, retains a staircase with closed string, square newels and turned balusters, together with some original cornices and a good reeded marble fireplace on the first floor. An attached pier to the area is finished with a cone finial. This building is now internally linked to No. 28 and known as No. 28.

No. 28 was purpose-built in 1863 as legal chambers by architect George Vulliamy, with a sculptured frieze by Robert Jackson. It incorporates a fire-proof muniments room. The building is of yellow stock brick with stucco bracketed cornice, frieze, dressings and channelled stucco ground floor. It rises five storeys above a basement with two windows. The ground floor has round-arched openings with keystones and a doorway with fanlight and panelled door. Upper floors feature two-pane sashes, those on the upper storeys with architraves and paired lights. The first floor has console bases and bracketed cornices with shaped blind boxes to the left-hand windows and a continuous sill band with panels and roundels. The second floor is round-arched with pilasters on bracketed sills and shaped blind boxes. The third floor is distinguished by a deep sculptured frieze depicting putti linked by festoons, with the sashes above having bracketed cornices and shaped blind boxes. The fourth floor features seven arcaded lights, the centre blind, with a continuous sill band. The interior retains original features. An attached pier to the area is finished with a cone finial.