17 Gerald Road (Including 1 Burton Mews)

17 Gerald Road (including 1 Burton Mews), Gerald Road, South-East side, Belgravia

A former coach house and hayloft, concealed behind Nos. 13 and 15 Gerald Road. Built in the late 19th century, it was converted into flats in the early 20th century. (No. 17A is not of special interest.) The building is constructed of stock brick with red brick dressings, painted at ground floor level, and has slate roofs.

The exterior features small-paned windows with opening casements under gauged brick heads. The ground floor displays an elaborate early 20th-century doorcase in Queen Anne style with ornate ironwork over the entrance and adjoining window bearing the initials JT. A large early 20th-century casement appears on the left side elevation, and mid-20th-century French windows are present on one side.

The interior of No. 17 contains a well staircase embellished with finials of carved wooden urns decorated with fruit, leading via a corridor with panelled walls and ceiling to the first floor. The former hayloft was converted into a room with a stage at one end, said to have included a dining alcove below and sleeping arrangements above. The original four wooden bays of the hayloft with iron ties remain, supplemented by more elaborate added wrought ironwork. A bolection-moulded fireplace and two elaborate pairs of double doors are present. At gallery level, a purpose-built corner desk with built-in bookcases overlooks the hayloft space. Separate first-floor rooms include a former library with a bolection-moulded fireplace, a bedroom with bolection-moulded fireplace and early 18th-century style panelling, and a guest bedroom with a low flight of steps and oak handrail to the bathroom.

This was the principal residence of Sir Noel Coward from 1930 to 1956, during the most important years of his career. Coward rose to prominence in 1924 with "The Vortex", a controversial play about drug addiction. His nine-year collaboration with C B Cochran from 1925 established his position in musical comedy and revue. "Private Lives" (1930), "Cavalcade" (1931), and "Design for Living" (1932) were followed by numerous hits. "Blithe Spirit" (1941) and "In Which We Serve" (1942) further confirmed his status as the leading popular playwright and songwriter of his generation, his work embodying the refined manners and social mores of upper-class England during these years. In the post-war era his personal performances became so successful that in 1956 he left England for tax exile in Bermuda, Switzerland, and Jamaica. No. 17 Gerald Road, with its early Georgian fixtures and touches of frivolity—particularly its built-in stage and writing desk—captures the blend of style, wit, and tradition central to his success. His very personal signature on the building during his crucial middle years makes it of special historical interest.