46-48, WIMPOLE STREET W1

This is a pair of terraced town houses located on Wimpole Street in the City of Westminster, built in the 1770s as part of the Portland estate development. It is likely that the architect was John White. The houses are constructed of stock brick with channelled stucco to the ground floors, and have slate roofs. They are four storeys high, with basements. Each house has a three-window front. The doors are set within broad, semi-circular arched openings featuring stucco rustication and Coade stone keystones, with panelled doors, side lights, and fanlights arranged in a simple Venetian style. Number 46 has altered ground floor windows, while number 48 features a circa 1900 tripartite window with a stucco pilastered design and entablature in antis. Recessed sash windows are found on the upper floors, all set within flat, gauged brick arches. A plat band runs above the ground floor stucco work, and the properties are topped with a parapet and coping. Original Victorian cast iron balconies with scrollwork are present on the first floor, and number 46 retains its original flambé urn finialed railings, while the others have spike finialed area railings. The interiors are notable for their stone geometrical staircases with wrought iron balustrades, decorative plasterwork, and marble fireplaces.