Summary

Balustrade and retaining wall with four lamp standards, part of a development designed 1819 by Thomas Chawner and built 1822-4 by George and Henry Harrison.

Description

Balustrade and retaining wall with four lamp standards, part of a development designed 1819 by Thomas Chawner and built 1822-4 by George and Henry Harrison.

MATERIALS: granite balustrade and wall with cast-iron lamp standards.

DESCRIPTION: this structure forms the northern retaining wall to a ramped carriage drive running the full length of the terrace. It comprises a long granite balustrade, curved into scrolls at the extreme ends, and formed of groups of balusters alternating with square piers. The four central piers are surmounted by cast-iron lamp standards with Neoclassical ornament, ladder bars and finialed Nico lanterns.

History

Richmond Terrace was built in 1822-4 on the site of a house formerly belonging to the Duke of Richmond. The new terrace, comprising eight large town-houses of the first class, was developed by the Commission for Woods and Forests and designed by the latter's architect Thomas Chawner. The building work was carried out by the Westminster builder George Harrison, with design input from his architect brother Henry. The terrace faced north onto its own landscaped forecourt, screened from Whitehall by iron gates and a small entrance lodge (now demolished). The present balustrade formed the retaining wall to a ramped carriage drive which gave direct vehicular access to the front doors of the houses. Having been spared from complete demolition as envisaged in Leslie Martin's 1964-6 Whitehall masterplan, the front part of Richmond Terrace was eventually incorporated into a large new government building known as Richmond House, designed by Whitfield Associates and built in 1982-6.

Reasons for Listing

The balustrade and lamp standards in front of Richmond Terrace, part of a development designed 1819 by Thomas Chawner and built 1822-4 by George and Henry Harrison, are listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* Architectural interest: the balustrade forms part of the architectural setting for Richmond Terrace, a particularly grand palace-fronted terrace of the late Georgian period;
* Planning interest: Richmond Terrace was a development of an unusual type, comprising a free-standing terrace facing its own landscaped forecourt, of which the balustrade and lamps were a key visual and functional element;
* Historic interest: part of an extremely prestigious development at the heart of London's government district, inhabited during the C19 and early C20 by various important figures in politics and finance;
* Rarity: a rare example of a group of lamp standards dating from the early C19;
* Group value: with the Terrace itself, as well as with the rich assemblage of nearby listed buildings on and around Whitehall, especially the former War Office opposite.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17550369

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Renovating Old Houses: Bringing New Life to Vintage Homes (For Pros By Pros)
• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of Historic Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  Maintaining and Repairing Old Houses: A Guide to Conservation, Sustainability and Economy
• 
  Kent: North East and East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  The green guide for historic buildings: how to improve the environmental performance of listed and historic buildings
• 
  Suffolk: West: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)