Numbers 24-28 And Attached Railings To Front And Walls To Rear

This is a terrace of six houses on the south side of Church Row, probably built by 1720 and refaced in the late 19th century in Georgian style by Charles Bean King, a builder who specialised in Neo-Georgian work in Hampstead. His office was at Number 28. Number 28 now serves as offices with a basement restaurant, and Number 13A Heath Street is included in this listing.

Number 24

This house is built of brown brick with red brick dressings. It has a slated mansard roof with segmental-arched dormers. The building rises three storeys with an attic and basement, and is three windows wide. The doorcase dates from the early 19th century and features panelled pilaster strips and jambs, impost bands, and roundels flanking an arched entrance with keystone and cornice. The entrance has a patterned fanlight and panelled door. The windows are slightly recessed sashes with exposed boxing under gauged red brick cambered arches. The central first floor window displays a cut and rubbed brick fleur-de-lys, which was the trade mark of Charles Bean King. A plain brick sill band runs at first floor level, and the building has a cornice. To the right is a lead lion mask rainwater head and pipe.

The entrance hall has been opened into the ground floor rooms, but the house otherwise retains the general pattern of two rooms per floor with a rear closet set on the landing, as found in some neighbouring houses. The staircase has an open string with three twisted balusters per tread, decorated tread ends and fluted newels. The ramped handrails are matched by the line of the dado in the full-height wall panelling. The flight from the second to attic floor has turned, unfluted balusters.

The ground floor front room has raised and fielded panelling and a bolection-moulded fireplace lined in faience tiles. The ground floor rear room is in sumptuous early 19th century style with curved doors in fluted doorcases and a corresponding canted bay set with fluted pilasters. Fluted decoration also features on the fireplace, which is lined with faience tiles. The rear closet on the half landing has raised and fielded panelling.

The first floor front room has an early 19th century cornice and fireplace corresponding with the lowered windows. The first floor rear room has a cornice from around the 1820s and fluted doorcases. The second floor front has two rooms, the larger retaining early 18th century panelling with dado rail and an early 19th century fireplace and fluted cornice. The rear room at this level is similarly treated.

The house has attached cast-iron railings with urn finials to the area, with a cast-iron overthrow having a Windsor lantern to the front. Brick walls enclose the long garden at the rear.

This was the home of the Victorian architect George Frederick Bodley.

Number 25

This house is of brown brick with red brick dressings. It has four storeys and a basement, and is three windows wide. The doorway is architraved with enriched console-brackets carrying a cornice hood. It has a radial patterned fanlight and panelled door. The windows are slightly recessed sashes with exposed boxing under gauged red brick cambered arches. The central second floor window has been extended upwards. A plain brick sill band runs at first floor level, and the building has a parapet.

The interior was not inspected, but is noted to retain a turned baluster staircase on closed string with corresponding dado. Full panelling on the staircase continues to the second floor, with recessed moulded panels and box cornices. Most rooms are fully panelled and retain early 18th century fireplaces.

This was the home of Wilkie Collins, the author.

Number 26

This house is built of brown brick with red brick dressings. It has a slated mansard roof with dormers. The building rises three storeys with an attic and basement, and is three windows wide. The early 19th century doorcase has a fluted surround and cornice on paired brackets. The round-arched doorway has pilaster-jambs and an architraved head with keystone, radial patterned fanlight and panelled door. The windows are slightly recessed sashes with exposed boxing under gauged red brick cambered arches. A plain brick sill band runs at first floor level. The building has a parapet with cornice.

The interior survives particularly well, with a plan of two rooms per floor and a rear closet. The hallway has raised and fielded panelling, dado rail and box cornice. A fluted pilaster archway gives onto the broader staircase hall. The staircase has an open string and twisted balusters, three per tread, with decorated tread ends. Fluted newels are matched by corresponding pilasters to dado height in the wall panelling. Full-height raised and fielded panelling continues to the second floor. Above this, the closed string stair has ovolo-moulded panelling and box cornices.

The ground floor front room is fully panelled with dado, box cornice, shutters, and a buffet arch the width of the room. It has a simple 18th century fireplace surround lined with faience tiles. The ground floor rear room is fully panelled with dado rail and box cornice extending into the closet area, and has an 18th century fireplace with unmoulded surround and carved dentil mantlepiece.

The first floor front room has full-height raised and fielded panelling, shutters, box cornice and dado, and a 19th century fireplace surround to marble fillet. The first floor rear room is reached via double folding doors with H-shaped hinges. It has ovolo-moulded panelling that continues into the closet, with an 18th century fireplace in the main space and one of 19th century date in the closet.

The second floor front room is in two halves, both fully lined in ovolo-moulded panelling with box cornices, dado rails and shutters. The larger room has an 18th century fireplace lined with faience tiles. The second floor rear room is fully lined with similar panelling and also has an 18th century fireplace and tiles.

The third floor front has two rooms, divided by horizontal boarding to dado height, and cupboards. The third floor rear room has a simple square fireplace under separate shelves, horizontal boarding to dado height, and leads into a closet with a canted window containing heraldic glass. Some ovolo-moulded panels appear under cornices.

The attic has a single, compartmented room with a 19th century grate, reached via a narrow stair with a tiny 18th century handrail. The basement staircase has turned balusters. The basement has plank doors, with the front room having a large kitchen fireplace under a mantle shelf, and shutters.

The house has attached cast-iron railings with urn finials to the front and brick walls to the long garden at rear.

This was the home of the Victorian architect George Gilbert Scott Junior. His son, (Sir) Giles, was born here in 1880. It was also the home of Lord Alfred Douglas from 1907.

Number 27

This house is similar to Number 25 but has a round-arched architraved doorway with enriched console-brackets carrying a cornice hood, pilaster-jambs, and an architraved head with keystone. It has a radial patterned fanlight and panelled door. A lead lion mask rainwater head is positioned to the right.

The interior was not inspected but is noted to retain a turned twisted baluster staircase on open string with decorated ends in a fully panelled staircase hall. The ground floor front room is fully panelled with a marble fireplace and cast-iron grate, decorated overmantel, box cornices and dadoes. The fully panelled first floor front room has box cornices and dado rail, and a bolection moulded fireplace.

The house has cast-iron railings to the area, but to the left of the door is a rare survival of a 19th century wooden post and rail surround.

This was the home of George du Maurier, whose son (Sir) Gerald was born here, and of the folk song and dance expert, Cecil Sharp.

Number 28

This house is built of yellow stock brick. It has a slated roof with dormers. The building rises three storeys with an attic and basement. It is three windows wide, with a left-hand entrance similar to Number 27. The windows are slightly recessed sashes with exposed boxing under gauged brick cambered arches. An entablature fascia at first floor level oversails the adjoining Number 13A Heath Street, with two windows (taller and wider) and a two window return to Heath Street. The building has a stone cornice. On the left-hand angle is a late 19th century elaborate lamp bracket of foliated scroll design with a central floral feature, fitted with a Nico lantern.

A late 20th century door leads to a panelled hallway with Corinthian pilasters and a turned baluster stair with barleysugar twists. The ground floor is panelled with box cornices and bolection-moulded fireplaces.

The house has attached cast-iron railings with torch flambe finials to the areas.

During the 1850s this building served as a Catholic school, in the 1860s as a Home for the Rescue of Young Women, in the 1870s as a Female Servants' Home, and in the 1890s as Charles Bean King the builder's office. It was the home of the artist Muirhead Bone and the author Compton Mackenzie, and in 1908 became the office of the Women's Co-operative Guild and Margaret Llewelyn Davies.