25, Montpelier Row

Private house, 1967-1969, designed by Geoffrey Darke for himself of the architectural practice Darbourne and Darke.

The house occupies an infill site at the northern end of an early 18th century terrace. It is a tightly planned town house of three storeys and semi-basement arranged in two elements: a larger living element and a smaller stair element, with a rear bay at lower and upper ground floor levels. The plan reflects the form of its 18th century neighbours but uses offset levels devised in the practice's scissor-plan housing approach to create interconnecting spaces and maximise use of available space. The building was designed to stabilise the north wall of number 26, with cross walls acting as a buttress. The rear semicircular bay was evolved to provide light to the neighbouring house. The footprint extends to the brick paved area in front and the rear brick-paved terrace, with enclosed spaces at upper levels giving onto terraces overlooking the garden.

The external materials are buff brick with asbestos slate roofs, timber window frames and doors, and lead cladding to the porch and first floor bay window. The front elevation is a tall two-window block under a butterfly roof with a sharply defined profile rising slightly above the 18th century terrace to the south. Windows are flush two-leaf timber casements below vents which respond to the gauged brick arches of the neighbouring 18th century windows. The lead-clad porch has a mono-pitched roof and a glazed door with vertically hung hinged slatted timber panels. The left-hand bay is set back with a lead-clad rectangular first floor bay window, above which is a narrow clerestory bathroom window beneath a shallow parapet. Ground floor windows have hinged slatted timber panels similar to the front door.

At the rear elevation, the left-hand block is dominated by a tall upper storey with a crisp roofline overhanging the first floor terrace. The upper floor has a pair of two-leaf casements. French windows lead from the first floor living room onto a tiled terrace with metal balustrade, with soffits and flanks clad in timber. The kitchen has similarly detailed windows beneath a shallow overhang and leads onto a brick paved terrace. The right-hand bay is dominated by a two-storey bay with a tall brick parapet enclosing an upper tiled terrace reached from the stairwell by a single glazed door. At each level is a single two-leaf casement. Above the mono-pitched roof over the stairwell is a shallow clerestory window.

The interior is simply treated, with roughly finished exposed brick wall surfaces contrasting with finely crafted pine joinery. Ceilings and soffits are boarded in timber. The porch, with vertically hung panels similar to the front door, opens onto a narrow hall with a folding panelled screen which opens to create a large hall-dining area. The dining area is partitioned from the kitchen by a panelled screen wall, formerly with a hatch. At first floor level, a large living area on two levels extends the depth of the building. Sliding glazed doors give onto the stairwell and into a small study, with French windows leading to the lower terrace. The change in floor level is marked by vertical boarding. Some bookcases remain. The upper floor is divided into two bedrooms separated by fitted cupboards and wash basin units, each lit by a north-facing clerestory window. Bathroom and linen cupboard fittings survive. The stair, which runs from basement to upper floor, is simply detailed with square-cut or chamfered newels and framed balustrades. Solid pine doors have two incised or glazed panels, many retaining brass door furniture. Each room in the rear bay has a small fitted cupboard.

Internal finishes include exposed brick walls, timber boarded ceilings and soffits. Solid pine joinery includes stairs, doors, a folding screen, fitted cupboards and fittings, and integral but free-standing bookcases.

Montpelier Row was developed speculatively in the 1720s by Captain John Grey, who was also responsible for Maids of Honour Row, Richmond Green and possibly Syon Row, Twickenham. Each house has a different doorcase, and several have particularly fine interiors, but they are notable for the uniformity of the terraces. No. 25 was built on the site of former outbuildings and a passage to the rear of the public house in Orleans Road.

The practice of Darbourne and Darke was established in 1961 following John Darbourne's successful entry for the Lillington Street Housing competition in Westminster and Geoffrey Darke being awarded second prize for the Harlow competition. The Lillington Street scheme is recognised as one of the outstanding housing schemes of its time and influenced the style of public housing schemes from the mid-1960s to the 1980s. The practice's office was based on Richmond Green, which they rebuilt in a highly sensitive, architecturally rich environment. Housing in Queens Road, Richmond (1974-77) reflects the concept devised for Lillington Street of simple practical design built on a human scale within landscaped grounds. The practice is noted for its sensitivity to sites, producing simple domestic architecture on well-landscaped ground.

No. 25 Montpelier Row is one of a group of modest private houses of the period built on an infill site in an urban context. It is a rare example of a private house by the practice and combines simplicity of form with high quality materials and craftsmanship. Positioned alongside fine early 18th century terrace houses, it is probably the best known example of a post-war house in an early 18th century context.