Summary
Former coach-house and stables with accommodation over, 1820s; house in front added early 1830s.
Reasons for Designation
Nos. 5 and 5A Upper Harley Street, originally of the 1820s and extended in the 1830s, are listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural interest: a small Regency town-house with stables with a somewhat unusual plan and building sequence, well-preserved externally and retaining its basic internal plan along with the main stair and some plasterwork;
* Group value: a small but significant element in the celebrated early-C19 townscape of Regent's Park and environs.
History
The Regent's Park estate was laid out from 1812 onwards to the designs of John Nash, and formed the climax to his great processional route from St James's Park via Regent Street, Oxford Circus and Portland Place. Financial problems ensured that Nash's ambitious scheme for housing in and around the park was much reduced in the execution, but in the 1820s a series of grand stuccoed terraces were built to his designs on the southern side of the park. Park Square belongs to this period, as do Brunswick Place (later known as Upper Harley Street) and York Terrace. Behind the big four-storey townhouses were mews containing stabling, coach-houses and servants' accommodation. The rear part of the present building, No. 5A, was built after 1824 as part of the mews complex serving Park Square. The front part, No. 5, seems to have been a slightly later addition of the early 1830s, and was given a formal elevational treatment reflecting its presence on Brunswick Place. The left-hand bay is set back slightly, and may be a further addition, although the building is shown occupying its present footprint on the parish map of 1834. Nash had retired in 1830, and there is no reason to believe he was directly involved in the design of this building.
Details
MATERIALS: stock brick, stuccoed to front and side elevations, with slate roof concealed behind the parapet. Windows are multi-pane timber sashes.
PLAN: the building occupies a rectangular plot bounded by Brunswick Place to the west, Park Square Mews to the east and a connecting alleyway to the south. The three-storey rear part, which represents the first building phase, comprises No. 5A (entered via a side door in the alley) and the former coach-house and stables (now garages) facing Park Square Mews. The slightly later front range, of two storeys over a basement, with a centrally-placed entrance from Brunswick Place, forms No. 5.
EXTERIOR: the main Brunswick Place elevation to No. 5 approximates to that of a symmetrical double-fronted villa, with large tripartite windows (recessed six-over-six pane sashes with deep stone cills) flanking a raised central doorway, which has panelled double-leaf doors, square overlight and moulded surround. The elevation is subtly irregular, with the left-hand (northern) bay somewhat wider and set back a few inches from the main building line - possibly indicating a slightly later addition. A plat band separates the storeys, and the first floor has flat stucco pilaster-strips and a moulded cornice. The south return elevation is also stuccoed, and the entrance to No. 5A has panelled doors and a square overlight; the division between the front and back parts of the building is clearly visible in the different storey heights. The rear elevation to Park Square Mews is of plain stock brick, much patched, and is dominated by the large double doors to the coach-house and stables, with a small cupboard between.
INTERIORS: these have been extensively modernised. The main (apparently) original features in No. 5 are the Greek Revival plasterwork in the entrance hallway (anthemion frieze, moulded cornice, ceiling with bead-and-reel moulding), the spiral stair with its stick balusters and turned newels, and some four-panel doors in moulded timber surrounds. The partition wall to the northern bay is of double thickness, and the ceiling/upper floor level here is slightly higher. No. 5A has a straight dog-leg stair with joinery similar to that in No. 5. There are no known features of interest within the basement or the garages.
SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: there are spear-headed area railings to Brunswick Place, partly re-set; these return up the stone steps to the front door, which have twin gates flanked by urn finials, while a single gate to the left gives access to service steps that descend to the basement.
