266 AND 268, STAMFORD HILL N16

A house, now a cafe and offices, was built around 1730 and has undergone later alterations. The front of number 266 is rendered, while number 268 has Flemish bond brickwork with red brick dressings. Both houses have gabled corrugated iron and Welsh slate roofs and brick end stacks. The houses were originally designed with a 2-unit plan, incorporating a central staircase. They are three storeys high with a five-window front. Shops were added to the front around 1890. Number 266 has cambered brick arches, which are now rendered, over late 19th-century four-pane sashes and 20th-century windows on the first floor; the red brick quoins are exposed to architraves of number 268. There is a gauged and moulded red brick cornice beneath the parapet. 19th-century extensions were added to the rear. Inside number 266 there is a complete panelled room dating to around 1730 on the right-hand side. A fine central staircase from around 1730 features ramped handrails, column-on-vase balusters, and a closed string. The stairhall has panelled walls and a panelled dado with a ramped rail. There are panelled doors and architraves from around 1730, as well as 1730 window joinery on the first floor. The moulded plaster cornices and a mid-18th century hob grate on the second floor are also original features. Number 268 is noted as having a similar interior. The building appears on John Rocque's 1745 map of the area, and Land Tax registers between 1740 and 1742 refer to "a new house."