8, Russell Street WC2 is a Grade II listed building in the Westminster local planning authority area, England. First listed on 15 January 1973. Terrace house with shop. 6 related planning applications.
8, Russell Street WC2
- WRENN ID
- first-hearth-vermeil
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Westminster
- Constituency
- Cities of London and Westminster MP: Rachel Blake (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 15 January 1973
- Type
- Terrace house with shop
- Address
- 8, Russell Street WC2, City of Westminster, WC2B 5HZ
- OS grid reference
- TQ 304 809
- Coordinates
- 51.51236, -0.12149
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
No. 8, Russell Street is a terrace house with a shop, built around 1759-60. The house is constructed of plum-coloured stock brick, with yellow brick to the rebuilt parapet, and has a concealed roof. It is three storeys and an attic high, with a simple, unadorned façade. The ground floor has a shop front which was altered in the 20th century in a style reminiscent of the Regency period. The upper floors have recessed plate glass sash windows set within flat, gauged red brick arches. There is a stone bracketed cornice above the second floor, and a parapet with coping.
The interior retains the original turned baluster staircase within a fully panelled well. Further panelling is found in a rear room on the first floor. The house was the residence and shop of the bookseller Thomas Davies from around 1760 until his death in 1785. It was a popular meeting place for writers and actors of the time, and is notable as the location where James Boswell first met Dr. Johnson.
Local climate
8, Russell Street WC2 sits in one of the driest parts of the UK, with an average of 690 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 95% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 98% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 35 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 57% of listed buildings. Of these, 16 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- Full EPC report — heating system, energy costs, size, glazing, construction etc.
- Sale history — 1 transaction since 2001
- Related listed building consents — 6 applications
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.
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