7 Alexandra Avenue and gate screen, Battersea

A house formerly serving as the vicarage of the Church of St Saviour, Battersea, built in 1879 to 1880 to designs by John Oldrid Scott for his cousin, Reverend Samuel Scott. The builder was JD Hobson.

The house is constructed of grey and red brick laid in header and English bonds, with a slate roof hipped to the rear and gabled at the front. It rises three floors, including a tall attic storey, plus a basement. A central entrance and staircase hall, entered from Alexandra Avenue, provides the main access.

The building presents two principal fronts: one facing north across Prince of Wales Drive towards Battersea Park, and one facing east onto Alexandra Avenue. Floors are divided by moulded stone string courses at the upper levels and by a brick band between the basement and ground floor. The basement walling has been covered by render, apparently in the later 20th century. At ground-floor level the lower walling is of English bond with red bricks and grey headers. Above this the ground and first floors display grey bricks laid in header bond with patterns of rubbed, red brickwork forming quoins at the corners and around window and door surrounds. The upper walling at ground floor level has flush bands of red brick; the first floor bears diamond patterns with a zig-zag motif below the eaves. Window heads combine gauged bricks and limestone keystones and voussoirs, with aprons to the first-floor windows which have ogee shapes to their lower edges. The hipped roof has a shallower pitch to its lower body and the dormer windows have pitched roofs with pedimented fronts.

The northern front is arranged in three bays, the left-hand two of which are grouped as a slightly projecting wing beneath a gable with stepped sides and coping stones. Basement windows have basket relieving arches whose keystones extend upwards to connect with the ground floor sills. Ground floor windows have plate glass to their lower sashes, with four panes above. First-floor sashes are of two by four panes. The gable has a central sash with basket-arched relieving arch and the dormer window to the right bay has two by four panes.

The eastern side features a wide central portal with recessed porch. This encompasses both the service entrance to the basement and the approach to the front door at ground floor level, both approached by stone steps. The generous archway has alternating gauged red brick and stone voussoirs with a keystone containing an enamelled tablet inscribed with the number 7. The staircase leading to the porch and the porch itself have railings of cast and wrought iron. To the left of the ground floor are two sash windows of the type on the north front, and at far right is a narrower sash window. At first floor level are two wider sash windows flanking a narrow light, with three dormer windows with pedimented gable ends. Slightly right of centre is a ridge stack of red brick with stone dressings.

The southern rear front has two broad bays, each with two basement windows and single windows to the upper storeys. The right, projecting bay has French windows at both basement and ground-floor levels; the ground floor example appears original whilst the basement ones were inserted in the 20th century. A balcony arrangement with glass balustrade and flooring was added in front of the ground floor in the early 21st century with a wide flight of stone steps leading to the basement below; the balcony has since been partially removed. To left of centre is a ridge stack. The walling was repointed in the 20th century using cement render to replicate the original tuck pointing.

The interior plan, with a combined central entrance and staircase hall flanked by large reception rooms at ground floor level and the same arrangement with a smaller bedroom or dressing room above the entrance hall at upper floors, remains substantially intact. The original staircase, doors, and fire surrounds have been removed from all floors. At the time of survey in March 2022, the building was undergoing stabilisation of the rear chimneystack and interior remodelling. This involved removal of much plaster covering of interior partition walls at upper levels, which had themselves been covered with plaster board in the late 20th or early 21st century. Original joinery survives in both ground-floor reception rooms, including window shutters, sash windows, and dado rails.

A gate screen and gate of cast and wrought iron, aligned with the entrance portal and facing Alexandra Avenue, forms a subsidiary feature. It has a recessed central bay and gate flanked by short screens supported by six cast iron posts with finials.