St James'S Wine Vaults

The St James's Wine Vaults is a public house dating to approximately 1790-1793, with alterations in the 19th and 20th centuries, designed by John Palmer. It is constructed primarily of limestone ashlar to the front, with ashlar and rubble to the rear, and has a Welsh slate roof concealed behind a parapet. The building is double-pile to the right and has ashlar chimneys to the left and right ends; the left chimney incorporates early clay pots and is shared with No.11 St James's Street, while an ashlar chimney sits on the splayed corner to the left of the second range of the building to the rear right.

The building is three storeys and has a basement. The front has a four-window range. The first floor features three grouped plate glass, horned sash windows to the left, narrower on either side, and a single matching window to the right, all set in splayed reveals. The second floor has three sashes with splayed jambs and stone mullions, incorporating diagonal cut stops, a continuous stone sill, and a four/four, six/six, four/four configuration. The ground floor to the left contains a 19th-century shopfront with two plate glass windows and a half-glazed door with a moulded panel and stone step, supported by pilaster strips and an entablature with a bracketed cornice. A six-panel door, with a decorative fanlight and cast iron door furniture, is centrally positioned; a plate glass sash window is to the right. A plinth and band course extend continuously with No.9 St James's Street, and a sill band is present to the first floor. A moulded eaves cornice and coped parapet are also continuous with Nos 9 and 11 St James's Street. A 20th-century sign bracket is located on the first floor to the left, and a lead hopperhead is positioned to the centre right. On the rear elevation, a 20th-century door serves the basement of the single-depth range, while plate glass sash windows and a lead hopperhead are found on the double-depth range.

The interior has been considerably altered and opened out. The building was part of the St James's Square development on land chartered in 1790. St James's Street is one of four diagonal approaches to St James's Square, demonstrating the application of Picturesque principles to town planning.