97 And 99, Harley Street W1

These are a pair of terraced townhouses, built around 1777 as part of the Portland Estate development, likely designed by John White in collaboration with the plasterer Thomas Collins, who were associates of Sir William Chambers. The houses are constructed of stock brick with a channelled stucco ground floor, and have slate roofs. They are four storeys high, with a basement and dormered mansards. Each front is three windows wide.

Number 99 has a semicircular arched doorway with a decorative surround of vermiculated Coade stone and a head keystone. It has panelled doors, sidelights, and a fanlight. The upper floors have recessed sash windows, each set within a flat, gauged arch. Number 97’s upper floor windows are set within stucco architraves, with pediments above those on the first floor. The ground floor fenestration of Number 97 was altered, probably between 1900 and 1910, with three grouped sashes divided by Tuscan stucco columns carrying an entablature. Stucco plat bands are on the first floor. Number 97 has a stucco parapet and a mutule cornice, while Number 99 has a coped parapet. Continuous wrought and cast iron balconies from the early 19th century run along the first floor. Cast iron area railings with urn finials are also present.

The interior of Number 97 features a top-lit stone geometrical staircase and has good fittings from the mid-19th century and around 1900. Number 99 retains its original staircase, with a scrolled wrought iron balustrade and a swag-decorated drum around the skylight. The front rooms on the ground and first floors of Number 99 have mythological relief medallions over inlaid marble chimneypieces, supported by columned and pilastered surrounds, a characteristic feature of high-quality Harley Street houses built in the 1770s.