No. 5 and Attached Railings

No. 5 Burlington Street is a house, later converted into flats, dating to circa 1786, with 19th-century alterations. It is attributed to John Palmer. The front of the building is faced with limestone ashlar, while the exposed flank wall to the right is rendered, and rubble is visible with an ashlar extension to the rear. It has a double pile, parapeted mansard roof, covered with Welsh slate to the front and triple Roman tiles and Welsh slate to the rear. The building features coped party walls with an ashlar stack to the front range, and a similar axial stack to the rear right, both incorporating some early clay pots. A staircase is located at the rear.

The building has three storeys, an attic, and a basement, with a three-window front. The first floor has three six-over-six sash windows in plain reveals with lowered stone sills; the second floor has a similar arrangement. The ground floor features two similar windows to the right, and a six-panel door with raised moulded panels, applied bead, a simple fanlight, and a pennant step within a round-headed, plain reveal. Two steps lead to a pennant-paved crossover including a 19th-century cast iron footscraper. The basement has two six-over-six sashes in plain reveals with stone sills, a 20th-century timber reveal and door infilling under the crossover, and pennant-faced painted area steps. There is one double and one single dormer, each with a six-over-six sash window. A weathered sill band runs across the first and second floors, interrupted by the lowered windows. The building has a moulded eaves cornice and a coped parapet with a lead hopperhead to the right.

The rear elevation includes a one-and-a-half-and-two-storey ashlar extension with a six-over-six sash window to the first-floor landing off the staircase to the right, and a two-storey rendered addition of a triangular plan to the centre, featuring plate glass sashes with wrought iron balconettes. The interior was not inspected.

Attached to the left is a wrought iron railing with urn tops and an urn finial, set on limestone bases; the railing is missing to the right. The railing’s history is linked to developments alongside Portland Place. The building was developed by John Hensley, along with properties in Burlington Street and Portland Place, on leasehold land demised for three lives. The freehold land belonged to Hensley and William Phillips, conveyed in 1772 and then by lease and release in 1783 from Hensley, Phillips, and their trustee to Daniel Tanner as trustee for Hensley.