21 Mercer Street

This is a late 17th-century terraced house, which was restored and partially remodelled between 1983 and 1985 by the Terry Farrell Partnership as part of the Comyn Ching Triangle regeneration project. The house is two bays wide, with the entrance located on the right.

The front elevation features a timber ground floor, painted black, and rendered and painted upper floors. The rear of the house is constructed of stock brick and has weather-boarded mansards with pantiled roofs. The rear parapet wall and railings mark the boundary between the properties and Ching Court. The new work uses materials and colours that complement the original building, creating a unifying identity while introducing a modern feel. The house includes a basement and rebuilt or added attic space. The ground floor has been restored or recreated as a shopfront by Farrell, with timber framing, alternating blind panels and two-over-four pane sash windows. A six-panel door is set to the right, all beneath a plain fascia and cornice featuring Farrell's number plate. Upper floor windows, set near flush, have segmental or cambered arches above. The first floor has six-over-six pane sashes, while the second floor has three-over-six panes. The mansard roof has casement or fixed light windows set back behind a shallow parapet.

At the rear, six-over-six pane and four-over-four pane sashes are set in exposed boxes beneath segmental brick arches; smaller windows illuminate the stairwell. The mansard has small-paned casements. The rear area is enclosed by tubular steel railings set on a moulded masonry parapet wall. A rococo timber seat, built into the wall to the rear of No 23 Mercer Street, is flanked by cherry trees, emphasizing the oriental character of aspects of Ching Court. Panels in the railings feature Farrell's reversed CC insignia (for Ching Court), and planters added by Farrell are set on the parapet wall.

The interior of the house was not inspected. Note that the rear parapet walls and railings are not shown to scale on mapping.