23-37 (Consec) And Attached Railings

This is a terrace of fifteen townhouses forming the east side of St James's Square, built circa 1790-1793 to designs by John Palmer. Number 23 was constructed by William Kingston, Number 24 by Joseph Cave, and Number 37 by William Culverwell. The development was built on land leased from Sir Peter Rivers Gay, Lord of the Manor of Walcot, on 25 March 1790, with individual underleases granted between 1790 and 1791 for 96-year terms.

The terrace is constructed of limestone ashlar with rubble to some basements, ashlar and render to the rear elevations, and Welsh slate double pile parapeted roofs, with some clay pantile to the rear with coped party walls and ashlar chimney stacks, some retaining early clay pots. The composition forms a symmetrical elevation stepping downhill towards the south, matching Numbers 1-15 St James's Square on the west side.

The design treats three houses as pavilions breaking slightly forward: the central Number 30 and the end houses Numbers 23 and 37. The centre house (Number 30) is crowned with a triangular pediment. The intermediate houses are uniformly treated as three-bay units, with the exception of Number 33, which has five bays including a two-bay carriage entrance to St James's Place at ground floor right. Number 34 is a smaller building accessed via this carriage entrance, positioned to the rear of Number 33. Numbers 35-37 have shallower floor plans and back onto St James's Place.

The central house (Number 30) rises three storeys over attic and basement. The ground floor features V-jointed rustication forming voussoirs over openings with keystones, supporting a band course. The first floor has three plate glass horned sashes in plain reveals with 19th-century blind boxes and wrought iron balconettes. These windows sit within a surround of applied composite order columns springing from a moulded sill band on four fluted console brackets, supporting a frieze and moulded cornice with a triangular pediment over the centre window. The second floor has plate glass horned sashes in plain reveals with stone sills. At ground floor right are two similar windows, while to the left is a six-panel door with reeded and fielded panels, a cast iron wreath knocker, and a decorative fanlight in a square-headed plain reveal. The pennant-paved crossover is flush with the pavement and retains a wrought iron footscraper. The basement has two six-over-six pane sashes in plain reveals with a continuous stone sill, and a 20th-century half-glazed door beneath the crossover. Stone area steps have a wrought iron handrail. Two single dormers with plate glass sashes have moulded architraves. The elevation is finished with a frieze, moulded eaves cornice, triangular pediment, and coped parapet.

The end houses (Numbers 23 and 37) follow a similar design but lack the crowning pediment. Number 23 has 19th-century two-over-two pane sashes and wrought iron balconettes to the first floor, plate glass sashes in plain reveals to the second floor, two-over-two sashes at ground floor, and a six-panel door with moulded and fielded panels with a three-pane overlight in a plain reveal. Number 37 has 1982 six-over-six pane sashes in plain reveals with wrought iron balconettes to the first floor, and a six-panel door with moulded and fielded panels with a single pane overlight.

The intermediate houses are similarly arranged as three storeys over attics and basements. Most are three-window ranges with plate glass or glazing bar sashes in plain or splayed reveals with stone sills. Double dormers with moulded architraves occur at Numbers 23, 24, 28, 29, 31, and 36. The six-panel doors (Number 26 has a 19th-century door with two vertical panels) sit in moulded architraves with flat-shouldered surrounds featuring console brackets supporting moulded cornices. The doorcase to Number 36 is now missing. Numbers 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 33, and 37 have stone steps with wrought iron handrails, though handrails to Numbers 23 and 33 are missing. Features include band courses over the ground floor, sill bands to the first floor, friezes, moulded eaves cornices, and coped parapets. Wrought iron balconettes appear at the first floor of Numbers 24, 28, 29, and 37. Number 22 has three balconettes to the first floor at left, right, and centre. Numbers 28 and 29 also have wrought iron balconettes to the ground floor. Lead downpipes survive at Numbers 27, 29, and 36, with lead hopperheads at Numbers 25, 32, and 33. Wrought iron lampholders are positioned over the front doors to Numbers 27 and 28.

Number 34, approached via the carriage entrance, has a timber segmental head with panelled soffit on fluted imposts. Dating to circa 1800 is a four-by-eleven pane shop window with a single opening pane and a four-by-two pane window at the angle, with timber sill, frieze, and dentil cornice. To the right is a six-pane door with beaded, fielded, and glazed panels in a moulded timber architrave. At the first half landing above the door is a small four-pane window in a moulded timber architrave. This building is enclosed above ground floor to the front and sides.

The rear elevations are partially visible and mostly retain glazing bar sashes. Number 23 has an oriel bow to the first and second floors. Number 26 has a large three-storey 19th-century ashlar extension, while many others have smaller rear extensions in ashlar and render. Numbers 35-37 are ashlar to the rear.

Past interior inspections have recorded the survival of significant features. Number 31 retains Neo-classical friezes and chimneypieces at ground floor level, with a Doric frieze to the hall and a stone staircase. Alterations were made to the rear in 1984. Number 32 has a wooden open-string staircase, cornices with Neo-classical friezes, and plain marble chimneypieces. Number 33 features a cantilevered stone staircase with moulded soffit and mid-19th-century cast iron balusters. At the first half landing are two plate glass sashes with round heads in mid-19th-century moulded architraves within a canted bay. The entrance hall has moulded plaster panels. The first floor left room has a 19th-century marble fireplace with shelf on carved console brackets and double architraves. Number 37 has an inner door dating to 1880 with lincrusta to the vestibule ceiling.

Number 38 has had its ground floor converted to shop use, but the upper floors retain marble chimneypieces, Neo-classical cornices, and original doors. Number 40 retains a cornice at ground floor and an inner door to the hall with fanlight and painted glass. Number 41's basement retains early kitchen fittings. Number 45 has pilasters between the openings of the ground floor triple bow window, reeded chimneypieces, stairs with slender balusters on pedestals, and cornices and doors in 17th-century style. The ground floor front has the same ceiling type that was present in Hawes, Whiston Chemist shop from 1880 to 1926, though the fireplace is gone. Minor plaster cornices survive to the hall, ground floor rooms, and first floor front. The staircase has replaced turned balusters with Tuscan newel posts and a mahogany handrail. The first floor front has a late 18th-century type fireplace with hob-grate. All shutters survive on the front except in the basement. The second floor front has an original plain fire surround, with the grate missing. Six-panel doors are mostly original, with all furniture dating to 1984. Four-panel doors occur in the attic. The basement front has a limestone and pennant slab floor and an original dresser on Tuscan legs.

Attached railings and gates of wrought and cast iron survive on limestone bases, some painted. Numbers 23, 30, and 35 have cast railings of baluster form with shaped heads, while the intermediate houses have wrought iron railings with urn heads. Number 37 has an overthrow, probably early 19th century, with scrollwork decoration.

St James's Square represents an important development in town planning theory as the successor to Wood's Queen Square. Unlike earlier squares, the diagonally set approach roads—St James's Street from the south-east, Marlborough Street from the south-west, Great Bedford Street from the north-east, and Park Street from the north-west—form part of the overall conception, creating a more picturesque urban effect. This approach can be compared with the contemporary Laura Place and Sydney Place, which show the same tendency.

Number 35 was the home of Walter Savage Landor from 1846 to 1852, as commemorated by a plaque. He received many notable visitors of the day, including Charles Dickens.