3-7 Mornington Place

A terrace of five houses constructed in 1834 as part of the Southampton Estate, each comprising three storeys plus a basement. The buildings are arranged across numbers 3 to 7 Mornington Place.

The external walls are of yellow stock brick laid in Flemish bond, with rusticated stucco to the ground floor and basement. Timber box sash windows are fitted throughout, and the first-floor windows to the front elevation feature stone balconies with cast iron, floriated railings. Moulded stucco parapets conceal the valley or 'butterfly' roofs behind. Brick chimney stacks straddle the party walls between each house.

Each house is rectangular on plan, two bays wide, with the staircase positioned at the rear of the building adjacent to the party wall and two rooms to each floor. Historic single-storey extensions project into the rear gardens of numbers 4, 5 and 7.

The principal elevation on Mornington Place forms one unified and near symmetrical composition. Numbers 3 and 4 are slightly lower than the rest to account for the sloping street. At the centre, number 5 is flanked by giant pilasters rising the full height of the first and second floors to meet the parapet cornice, which rises at the centre of the elevation. The ground floor has a square-headed sash window and the first-floor window has an arched head with a hood mould. The second-floor window is square with an architrave surround and four panes. The panelled front door has a moulded doorcase and a transom light with rounded panes.

Number 3 forms the end of the terrace at the junction with Albert Street. Its Mornington Place elevation is symmetrical with pairs of six-over-six sash windows to the basement level, round-arched windows to the ground floor, and pairs of architraved, recessed windows to the first and second floors. The first-floor windows carry moulded cornices and open onto a balcony with cast iron railings bridging the two windows. The panelled entrance door with moulded doorcase is located on the Albert Street elevation, accessed by steps perpendicular to the elevation. Two cast iron pattress plates appear at first-floor level; the side elevation is otherwise blind and unadorned.

Numbers 4, 6 and 7 have almost identical front elevations to number 3, featuring moulded doorcases containing panelled front doors and rectangular transom lights adjacent to a single round-arched window at ground floor level. The elevations differ only at basement level: numbers 4 and 7 have a single window each, while number 6 has a pair. The first and second floors are identical to number 3, although the brickwork to number 7 has been painted white.

The rear elevations of all five buildings have six-over-six sash windows with segmental brick arches. The fenestration is asymmetrical across the two bays: one window to each of the three storeys, with two windows at offset level lighting the staircases. The sawtooth pattern of the valley roofs is visible on the rear elevation.

Number 4 retains two reception rooms at ground floor level. The larger front room contains the original cast iron fireplace with marble mantelpiece. The entrance hall continues under an original round-headed arch to the rear single-storey extension. A dog-leg staircase with stick balusters and turned newel posts rises from the entrance hall to the first and second floors. The first floor comprises a large front bedroom spanning the width of the building, with a smaller bedroom to the rear. The second floor has a large front room and a smaller room to the rear. An original built-in cupboard survives at the top of the staircase. The house retains original plaster cornicing throughout, original internal timber shutters and surrounding panelling to the windows, all with original ironmongery.

Number 5 has an almost identical layout to number 4. The larger front room on the ground floor is accessed via the adjacent entrance hall and has double doors leading to the smaller rear room. The second floor has a front bedroom, with a bathroom inserted into the north-west corner probably in the 20th century, and a kitchen to the rear. All reception rooms, bedrooms and the kitchen retain their chimney breasts. The first-floor reception room has a cast-iron fireplace with timber mantelpiece. The ground-floor rear room retains original cornicing and panelled window shutters, as does the first-floor front room along with a picture rail. Similar historic features likely survive in other rooms.

The other houses in the terrace likely have similar plan forms. Numbers 3 and 6 have been subdivided into multiple dwellings, resulting in some interior changes, though some original fixtures and fittings survive. Number 6b retains original internal window shutters and ironmongery in the first-floor front room, and the dog-leg staircase with stick balusters and turned newel posts. Number 7 has not been subdivided and likely retains its original plan form.

All houses in the terrace are reported to have two coal vaults each at basement level. Some original metal coal hole covers survive in the York stone pavement in front of the terrace.