14, South Audley Street W1

This is a terraced town house located on South Audley Street in Westminster, built around 1736 by Roger Balgrave, a carpenter. The building was heightened in the early 19th century. It is the largest of the houses in this row. The exterior is stucco-faced with a slate roof, and originally comprised three storeys and a basement, with a later added attic storey. It has four windows across the facade. A recessed, flat-arched brick porch with later stucco facing is situated on the right-hand side. The ground, second, and third floors feature recessed, flat-arched windows with glazing bar sashes. A main stone cornice runs above the second floor, and there’s an attic coping. Ornate Victorian cast iron balconettes are present on the first floor, along with wrought iron area railings.

The interior retains the original layout, including a front compartment staircase with a good plaster ceiling and stone stairs which now have an S-pattern balustrade. A secondary timber staircase is located at the rear, featuring turned balusters. The front ground floor room has a plasterwork ceiling ornamented with a central head of Apollo and busts in the margins. Sculptor Richard Westmacott added a rear top-lit corridor and a single-storey room, likely intended as a gallery and studio, portions of which remain.

The house was the residence of Admiral Boscawen and his widow between 1747 and 1755, and again between 1764 and 1805. From 1818 until his death in 1856, it served as both a residence and studio for (Sir) Richard Westmacott, as commemorated by a London County Council plaque.