No.27 And Attached Railings

No. 27 and attached railings, Park Street

A house, now converted to flats, dating from 1808 with twentieth-century alterations. Designed by John Pinch. The building is constructed of limestone ashlar to the front and rear elevations, with a brick party wall to the right, a double pile parapeted roof, and Welsh slate covering to the rear. Two ashlar stacks with some early clay pots stand to the right, and the gable wall to the rear is coped.

The front elevation displays four storeys above a basement and sub-basement, arranged in a three-window range. The first floor contains three nine-over-nine sash windows in plain reveals with wrought iron balconettes. The central window is framed by a surround featuring reeded pilaster strips and carved console brackets, with a frieze showing carved swag decoration and a moulded cornice above. The second floor has three six-over-six sashes in plain reveals with horns to the central window. The third floor contains two four-over-four sashes in plain reveals, with a similar blind window to the centre. The ground floor features two six-over-six sashes to the right in recessed plain reveals with stone sills and recessed panels below, and a six-panel door to the left with reeded and raised-and-fielded panels. The door surround is reeded and features side lights and a decorative fanlight, set within a recessed round-headed plain reveal. One step leads to a pennant paved crossover with a cast iron footscraper. The basement has two six-over-six sashes in plain reveals with stone sills.

The ground floor displays V-jointed rustication forming voussoirs with keystones over the openings. A frieze and moulded band course form the sill band to the first floor windows, with a sill band also to the second floor. A frieze and modillion cornice sits over the second floor, with a moulded eaves cornice and coped parapet to the top. A wrought iron lampholder, comprising a nineteenth-century square-section pipe attached to an offset right angle, hangs over the front door.

The rear elevation retains early glazing bar sashes. A full-height bow to the left has a wrought iron balcony to the first floor, a band over the ground floor, a sill band to the second floor, and a frieze and moulded cornice over the second floor. A small single-storey extension projects from the ground floor.

The interior contains a cantilevered stone staircase with a moulded soffit, stick balusters, and a mahogany grip handrail. The hall floor is of stone with slate dots. An early glazed screen with a twentieth-century reproduction overlight leads to the entrance hall, which features simple decoration to the arch between the entrance and staircase halls. Six-panel doors with bead applied to the panels open off the hall. The ground floor rear room has a bow end and contains a reeded marble fireplace with roundel corners; this fireplace was removed from the ground floor front room around 1989. An acanthus leaf cornice and a ceiling rose copied from the first floor rear are present. The ground floor front room has been subdivided. The first floor rear room is similar to the ground floor rear and has attached wrought iron railings and gate with shaped heads on painted bases.

The building is part of an incomplete St James's Square development on land leased by Fielder, King, Hewlett, and Broom from Sir Peter Rivers Gay on 25 March 1790. The upper part of Park Street was commenced to the design of John Palmer and continued but not completed to the design of John Pinch after 1808. The street was formerly terminated by All Saints Chapel at its top and was intended to be continued in a north-west direction as Regent Place.