41-47, PORTLAND PLACE W1

41 to 47 Portland Place is a group of large terraced townhouses built between 1776 and 1780 by James Adam, along with his brothers and John Elwes, as a speculative development. The houses are constructed of stock brick with channelled stucco on the ground floors and feature slate roofs. The symmetrical elevations are designed as part of a larger block that includes Nos 29 to 35, although the centerpiece has been rebuilt. The buildings rise four storeys, including an added attic storey, with No 47 having a further heightened attic. Each house has a three-window wide front, and No 47 has a long return to Weymouth Street.

The doorways are broad and semicircular arched, with panelled double doors and sidelights set in panelled and enriched jambs, topped with ram's head cornice doorheads and an overall fanlight. The upper floors have recessed sash windows under flat gauged arches. A plat band finishes the ground floor stuccowork, while a moulded stucco band runs over the first floor, and a main cornice is present over the second floor. The attic cornice and blocking course are notable, with No 43 featuring a balustraded parapet. Continuous cast iron Grecian and scrolled balconies adorn the first floor, and cast iron area railings with urn or plumbed spike finials are also present.

Nos 43 and 45 retain their interiors with fine Adam features, including delicate plasterwork, inset panels, medallions, and statuary marble chimneypieces. The stone geometrical staircases are complemented by wrought or cast iron anthemion and panel balustrades. No 47 is marked with a plaque from the London County Council, commemorating the residence of Field Marshal Lord Roberts from 1901 to 1906.