11 And 12, North Audley Street W1

Nos. 11 and 12 North Audley Street comprise what were originally a single townhouse, later separated into two dwellings, constructed circa 1726-30 by Edward Shepherd. Significant interior alterations were made circa 1819, 1830, 1850, and 1932. The building has a stucco facade and a slate roof. No. 11 is of three storeys plus a basement and dormered mansard, while No. 12 has an attic storey added in 1932, plus a basement and dormered mansard. The facade, reworked circa 1819 by Thomas Lee (the younger) in a Greek style, is six windows wide, with a recessed bay to No. 12. The ground floor is channelled, with entrances to the left of each three-window front. The entrance to No. 11 has an architrave and cornice supported on consoles; the entrance to No. 12 is more elaborate, featuring a panelled door, side lights, and a fanlight within a semicircular arched opening recessed for one order. A right-hand bay of No. 11 is slightly advanced with a window set in an arched panel, with a similar window to the right of the entrance to No. 12. Upper floors feature recessed sash windows with glazing bars, set within architraves with cornices on the first floor. No. 12 has a round arched window to the left. The central bay of No. 12 and the advanced bay of No. 11 are emphasised by giant pilasters, with a similar pilaster flanking the left-hand bay of No. 12, all rising from the first-floor sill band. The building has an entablature topped with a balustraded parapet, and wrought iron area railings with a flambe torch finial.

The interior of No. 12 is exceptionally fine. It includes a central domed and top-lit octagonal room with an oval stone staircase compartment to the left, and to the rear, a gallery with a square central compartment surmounted by a coffered dome and flanking groin-vaulted compartments. The interior features lavish stuccowork, including Ionic columns and framing Venetian windows overlooking the garden. A second-floor "Chinese" bedroom was decorated circa 1932 by White Allom for Samuel Courtauld, featuring an overmantel by Rex Whistler, and a semicircular marble bathroom designed by Marchese Malacrida. The original, elaborate interiors, potentially influenced by Edward Lovett Pearce, were created for General Ligonier, who resided in the building from circa 1730 until his death in 1770.