195 and 197 Oxford Road

These two terraced houses, numbered 195 and 197 Oxford Road, were built in the 1820s and may have been designed by William Pratt Swallow, a member of a prominent local family. They were later converted to offices and flats, and are now used as residential flats.

The buildings are constructed of red brick in Flemish bond, with a slate roof, a stucco plat band, and modern iron railings. They are three storeys high with a basement.

The two properties form the two easternmost houses in a terrace of five, sharing a hipped roof and flush front and rear facades, likely built in two phases. Each house is two bays wide facing Oxford Road, with the inner bay of each slightly wider and bowed. The houses are planned symmetrically and have symmetrical front and rear elevations.

The front door of each house is located in the outside bay of the raised ground floor, featuring a six-panelled door with reeded quadrant jambs, classical fretwork above the door, and a sunburst fanlight, accessed by a flight of steps with iron handrails. The inner bay of the raised ground floor has a full-height window with a flat arch. The first floor has two tall windows with flat-arched heads and a stucco plat band at window sill height. The second floor has two smaller windows with flat-arched heads and stucco sills. Windows in the two central bays are wider than those in the outside bays. At number 195, all the windows are uPVC casements, while at number 197 they are recent timber, multi-paned sash windows installed between 2012 and 2013. The window and door arches on the ground and first floor of number 197 are painted white. The basement facade of number 195 has been rebuilt using a lighter-colored brick in stretcher bond, with a centrally placed uPVC door flanked by two uPVC casements. Number 197’s basement has a timber sash window with a painted, flat-arched head. Modern railings surround the basement area and ground-floor window at number 197.

The rear elevation of each property has been extended across the full width at ground-floor level. The first and second floors are symmetrical. A tall, thin, round-arched stair window is located in the outside bay of the first floor, alongside a window in the central bay (an eight-over-eight sash at number 197 and a uPVC casement at number 195), and a smaller window above (a four-over-four sash at number 197 and a uPVC casement at number 195). A single-storey, flat-roofed building fronting onto Prospect Mews occupies much of the garden of number 195. The rear garden of number 197 has been combined with that of number 199 Oxford Road to create a gravel car park.