Numbers 187 And 189 And Attached Railings

Numbers 187 and 189 Camberwell Grove are a pair of houses dating from the mid-19th century. They are built of stucco, originally scored to resemble ashlar, and have a U-shaped plan with a symmetrical front elevation. The architectural style is Italianate. Each house has an entrance recessed within a two-window range, arranged over two storeys. A three-storey “tower” range, one window wide, projects at the corner. All openings are flat-arched, except where noted. A shared, broad entrance porch serves both houses, with overlights set at the junctions with the higher ranges; a pair of windows sits between them. Ground-floor windows in the projecting end ranges are tripartite with architraves. A storey band separates the basement from the ground floor, and the ground floor from the first. The first-floor windows have shallow surrounds, topped by an entablature with a frieze of plain medallions. The entablature forms spandrels above the second-floor windows in the wings, which have flush surrounds. An entablature is also present over the first-floor windows of the recessed central section. The tower ranges have shallow-pitched, gable-facing roofs with projecting eaves, a feature reminiscent of buildings in the Italian Campagna. Chimney stacks are located on the returns and along the party wall. The windows are mostly original sashes, with 6x6 panes; some original glazing bars remain on the returns. Decorative glazing is present in the overlights of each entrance. A two-storey gable-facing structure, likely dating to the mid to late 19th century, is attached to the left of number 187, incorporating tripartite first-floor windows. The interior has not been inspected. Cast-iron railings surround the areas and on the staircase, the latter being unusually elaborate. Numbers 191 and 193, which are of identical design, form a group with these houses.