No. 2 And Attached Railings

House, now serviced flats, built circa 1771-1773. Designed by architect John Wood the Younger. Part of Russell Street's development by John Wood in conjunction with the Assembly Rooms and the east end of Rivers Street, built on land purchased by Wood and his trustee Andrew Sproule from Thomas and Daniel Omer on 30 December 1768. William Wilberforce lived in this house in 1832, the year before his death.

The building is constructed in limestone ashlar to the front, with rubble to the plinth at basement level, and ashlar and rubble to the rear. It has a parapeted mansard roof covered in Welsh slate, with a single stack to the left and double stack to the right with hip to the rear left. Ashlar stacks sit on coped party walls to left and right, and to the rear right. A disused flue is located at the angle where two ranges of the building meet at the rear.

The front elevation comprises three storeys, an attic and basement. The left side has tripartite windows, while the right side displays a standard three-bay elevation. On the first floor, the left side features a Venetian window with plate glass sashes in plain reveals and continuous stone sill. The right side has three two-light casements with tilting opening lights over, set in splayed ovolo moulded architraves with friezes and cornices, with lowered moulded stone sills on cut-down console brackets. The second floor has to the left three grouped four/four, six/six, four/four sashes in plain reveals with continuous stone sill. To the right are three six/six sashes in ovolo moulded architraves with stone sills. The ground floor has to the left a Venetian window with plate glass sashes in splayed reveals and continuous stone sill. To the right are two two-light timber casements with tilting opening lights over in splayed reveals with stone sills. At the centre is an eight-panel door with fielded and glazed panels, set in a cyma moulded architrave in a flat surround with heavy console brackets supporting a moulded cornice forming a hood over the door. One Pennant step leads to a Pennant-paved crossover with a pair of wrought iron footscrapers. The basement has to the left three grouped four/four, six/six, four/four sashes in plain reveals with continuous stone sill, and a plank door with overlight in boarded infilling under the crossover. Area steps have been largely rebuilt in the 20th century. To the right of the basement are two six/six sashes in plain reveals with stone sills, and two unmoulded six-panel doors under the crossover. Two double dormers have six/six sashes.

The front elevation features a band course over the ground floor, a modillion eaves cornice, and a coped parapet. A lead hopperhead and downpipe attached to the left are shared with the adjacent property known as The Regina. The rear elevation includes an eight/eight sash to the ground floor left and a nine/six sash with wrought iron balconette to the first half-landing of the staircase. Other sashes are horned with and without glazing bars. A segmental headed overlight sits above the half-landing of the basement staircase, over a small extension with a circular window to the basement. A rendered cantilevered lavatory extension projects from the second half-landing. A stone surround to a fireplace in a former extension, now demolished, is located at the angle of the two buildings. Traces of white and deep brown limewash appear to the left, with brown limewash to full height on the ashlar of the staircase.

Internally, a timber dog-leg staircase has shaped cheek pieces and three turned balusters to each tread, with a mahogany grip handrail. The hall arch features fluted pilasters, an enriched timber architrave and panelled timber soffit. An acanthus leaf decoration adorns the coved cornice to the outer hall. In the ground floor front left room, there is a 19th-century fireplace, dado panelling, an enriched modillion cornice, fat ovolo architraves, and a six-panel door. The ground floor front right room contains a stone and timber fireplace with frieze and cornice removed and shelf replaced on the architrave, a 19th-century grate, plaster panels with rope moulding to the walls, and a swag frieze to the moulded cornice. A chimney breast cupboard to the left has a dumb waiter inserted. To the right is a key pattern impost band to a round-headed alcove. Cyma moulded double architraves appear in this room with six-panel doors and to the hall.