Queen Alexandra's House is a Grade II listed building in the Westminster local planning authority area, England. First listed on 1 December 1987. Student hostel. 2 related planning applications.
Queen Alexandra's House
- WRENN ID
- solemn-ashlar-bramble
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Westminster
- Constituency
- Cities of London and Westminster MP: Rachel Blake (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 1 December 1987
- Type
- Student hostel
- Address
- Queen Alexandra's House, Kensington Gore Sw7, City of Westminster, SW7 2QT
- OS grid reference
- TQ 265 795
- Coordinates
- 51.50067, -0.17868
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
Queen Alexandra's House is a purpose-built student hostel for women, constructed in 1884. It features red brick and a slate mansard roof, designed in a Free Jacobean/Queen Anne revival style. The building stands four storeys tall, with an attic and basement, and is 19 bays wide, arranged in an irregular composition that follows the curve of the street.
The facade includes seven full-height canted bay windows, each topped with stepped gables that culminate in chimney stacks. The entrance is located in the sixth bay from the right, which projects forward and is topped by a prominent stepped gable. This entrance features a segmental arch leading to a recessed porch, which contains inset terracotta plaques created by Richard Ledward, a Royal Academician. The windows are square-headed, with casements, timber mullions, and transoms on some, and small panes in the upper lights with timber glazing bars.
Inside, the building boasts elaborate surviving interiors, including an open iron staircase supported by slender, decorated iron supports, decorative glazed faience in the entrance hall, and stained glass. The drawing room features a faience fireplace, intricate plasterwork, and woodwork, while the dining room showcases twelve Doulton tile panels that illustrate the arts of music and pottery, designed by John Eyre. Queen Alexandra's House is recognized as an early example of a purpose-built student hostel, with terracotta faience and tile pictures donated by Henry Doulton.
Local climate
Queen Alexandra's House sits in one of the driest parts of the UK, with an average of 700 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 93% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 94% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 34 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 51% of listed buildings. Of these, 15 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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- No EPC on record for this property
- Sale history — 1 transaction since 2019
- Related listed building consents — 2 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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