Numbers 1-5 (Consecutive) and Attached Garden Walls and Railings, Canonbury, London

Description

ISLINGTON

TQ3184SE CANONBURY PLACE
635-1/53/166 (South side)
20/09/54 Nos.1-5 (Consecutive)
and attached garden walls and
railings

GV II

Terraced houses, no. l now offices. 1767-71. Built for John
Dawes, developer; no 1 altered, probably in the early C19.
Brick, stucco, and roofs of slate except for tile on no 5.
West front of no 1 is two storeys over half-basement with
dormers in attic; three bays wide, flat-arched windows between
giant Ionic pilasters with acanthus decoration to lower neck
of capitals, supporting plain frieze with dentil cornice;
mansard roof with three round-arched dormers. North front of
three storeys and four bays, all windows under flat arches and
the two westernmost bays blank; entrance in plain recessed
round arch, with panelled door and fanlight; original sashes
to ground and first floor, moulded cornice. South front has
only two bays to the east, the rest blank stucco. Original
lead rainwater head; ground-floor windows have cast-iron
balconies, the eastern one resited. Upper floors at east end
rebuilt, with C20 glazing. Railings with urn finials to front
garden; banded stone piers with fluted tops carrying urns to
south-west corner of front garden.
Nos 2-4 are of two storeys over half-basements with dormers in
attic. Three flat-arched windows each. Steps up to entrance
with Gibbs surround, panelled door of original design and
decorative fanlight; sashes of original design except to the
ground floor of no 3; band over second floor; lead rainwater
pipe and head with date 1780 on no 2, head only on no 4;
parapet; mansard roof with flat-arched dormers; stacks to
party walls. Cast-iron railings with urn finials.
No 5 is of two storeys with dormers in attic; four flat-arched
windows, irregularly disposed; giant pilasters. Round-arched
entrance with neo-Classical architrave with voussoirs, console
keystone and urn and paterae to frieze; double panelled door
of original design and fanlight with decorative glazing;
storey band; two rainwater heads dated 1780, only the upper
parts of the pipes of lead; parapet. The garden front is of
brown brick set in Flemish bond; three storeys, six-window
range and canted two-storey bay to centre. Fluted architrave
to French windows in bay; upper windows with 6/6 sashes of
original design; lead rainwater pipe, the head dated 1780;
single-storey extension to south-west, at least partly of C20
date. Iron railings to bay with wreathed rail.
INTERIOR: of no l. Ground floor: entrance hall has early C19
architraves to doors; good wooden fireplace of c1800 in
north-east room. To rear of entrance hall: dog-leg stair
running through four storeys and basement has open string,
decorative brackets, wreathed and ramped handrail and stick
balusters. Entrance to the staircase hall between Greek Doric
columns distyle in antis supporting plain entablature with
plaster roundel of Apollo above. Open well stone staircase
with curtail step, wreathed handrail, open string and
balusters of cast iron, probably early C19 in date; landing
ceiling has modillion cornice. Principal ground floor room has
panelled double doors with plain moulded architrave and
panelled window embrasures. Small room to south-east has
original architraves to doors and windows with dentil cornice;
full- height windows with panelled embrasures and original
shutters; panelled double doors; Corinthian pilasters flanking
the chimneybreast, double doors and a projecting niche between
the windows which appears to be an addition; plain early C19
white marble mantelpiece; early C19 fitted mahogany cabinets
flanking the chimneybreast and double doors. First floor:
principal room has panelled double doors set in an architrave
with entablature and frieze in the Adam style; white marble
Neo-classical mantelpiece; panelled embrasures to windows with
original shutters; the walls divided by dado rail, frieze in
the Adam style and complex moulded cornice; ceiling rose with
circular acanthus ornament. Small room to south-east has early
C19 cast iron Tudor-Gothic fireplace with simple marble
mantelpiece.
The interior of no 2 has original staircase with the same
details as the dog-leg stair at no l, some original reeded
architraves, panelled window embrasures and elliptical archway
between front and back rooms on the ground floor with fanlight
and reeded architrave. The present form of the basement is
partly due to Sir Basil Spence who lived at no 2. No 3 has an
original staircase, detailed as on the dog-leg stair at no 1;
the two ground-floor rooms and the first-floor front room have
moulded plaster cornices and early C19 cast-iron grates. No 4
has, equally, an original staircase and cast-iron grates to
both ground-floor rooms and first-floor front room.
The interior of no 5: entrance hall with dado rail and plaster
modillion cornice; dog-leg stair with curtail step, stick
balusters, turned newels, wreathed and ramped handrail and
open string, the string decorated as on the dog-leg stair at
no. l. Panelled doors with moulded architraves throughout.
Easternmost room has moulded dado rail, plaster cornice with
frieze of palmette and urn ornament; fireplace with early C19
cast-iron grate and mantelpiece in the Adam style; modelled
plaster roundel to chimneypiece surrounded by festoons in the
Adam style. Middle room panelled to cornice height with
moulded dado rail and framing; moulded plaster cornice, simple
marble mantelpiece. The first floor landing has a moulded
plaster cornice wtih frieze of paterae and fluting.
Easternmost room has moulded dado rail, plaster cornice with
frieze of anthemion and urn ornaments; early C19 cast-iron
grate and mantelpiece decorated with fluting, lozenges and
circles. The middle room has a moulded dado rail, plaster
cornice with frieze of palmette and fan ornament. Westernmost
room has moulded dado rail, plaster cornice with frieze of
palmette and anthemion ornament, and ceiling decorated in the
Adam style fine late C18 cast-iron grate with manetelpice of
green and white marble decorated with urns and rosettes. Good
late C18 cast-iron grates in east, middle and west bedrooms on
attic floor.
Weedon Grossmith, joint author of The Diary of a Nobody, lived
at no 5 from 1891-9.
(Historians' file, English Heritage London Division; Eric
Willatts: Streets with a story. The book of Islington: London:
1986-).

Listing NGR: TQ3196784486

External Links

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.