Sedding Telephone Exchange

Sedding Telephone Exchange is a telephone exchange built in 1924 by John H. Markham for the HM Office of Works. It features a Neo-Georgian design and is faced in red brick laid in English bond, with Portland stone accents. The building includes cast iron Neo-Grec railings and a cast iron royal coat of arms above the entrance. It has three storeys, an attic, and a basement, with the entrance front on Sedding Street showcasing a five-bay central section flanked by blind side bays and a single bay continuation to the left, as well as a two-bay south-facing return.

The exterior has a Portland stone plinth, a plat band at the first floor, a heavy dentil cornice, and coping at the parapet. The stone door surround is ornately decorated with guilloche ornamentation and features a fluted rod above, from which hand-held telephone sets are suspended. The first floor has tall windows with gauged brick arches; the central window is surrounded by stone and topped with a pediment, featuring a cast iron balcony adorned with heavy Baroque foliage that supports the royal coat of arms and urn finials. All windows are metal-framed, and the second floor windows have stone cills.

The northern elevation facing Sloane Terrace has projecting bays at either end and a central five-bay section. The end bays on the ground and first floors feature tripartite windows, with pediments above the first-floor windows. There are ventilation openings with ornamental cast iron screens at the second floor level. The side bays have lobed rectangular windows on the second floor, while the main central section has windows with stone cills and gauged arches. The attic windows in the central section are capped with shallow pyramidal stone terminations on the side bays. In front of the area, there are cast iron railings with anthemion finials and lozenge-decorated panels. The interior has not been inspected. This building was originally known as the Sloane Telephone Exchange and was featured in a drawing at the 1924 Royal Academy exhibition. It is recognized as an exceptionally good example of the Office of Works' Neo-Georgian style, demonstrating attention to detail, high-quality construction, and subtle decorative elements.