Description

TQ 3178 BRAGANZA STREET
636-1/7/112 (South West side)

17-SEP-1998 Nos 46-54 (Even)

II

Terrace of five houses, built before 1830, stock brick.

Each house is of three storeys and two bays. At ground floor, each has a round-headed window and doorway and the two subsequent floors have rectangular windows with flat-gauged, red brick arches; the windows to the first floor are taller than those on the other floors and have cast-iron balconettes in a heart and anthemion pattern. The fanlights to the doors are plain. The ground floor is rendered in stucco, scored with horizontal rustication and with voussoirs scored around each door and window. The roofline is concealed by a high parapet and there are two heavily moulded string courses dividing the storeys. The rear is very plain and has neither stucco nor gauged brick arches to the windows.
The terrace has been heavily restored, with much of the brickwork to the upper storey either replaced or rebuilt and the walls to the sides and rear rebuilt. The original sashes have also been replaced with convincing period copies, though the balconies are original. The original doors have also been replaced. The impact of these losses on the period appearance of the terrace is mitigated by the quality of the replacements. Southwark Council has informed us that the internal plans submitted with the application for refurbishment of 1978 (to which the applicant refers) retained the original plan form and the staircases. Inspection of the western end of terrace property in 2003 confirmed that the staircase there survives.

HISTORY: The first edition of Richard Horwood's map of London, Westminster and Southwark in 1792-99 shows much of the Kennington area as fields, with only Penton Place to the north and Kennington Park Road (then called Newington Place) to the west laid out with houses. Gradually, the open space between these axes was developed and Christopher and John Greenwood's map of 1830 shows houses built along Braganza Street, which was then called New Street. The buildings are shown clearly on Edward Stanford's 'London and its Suburbs' map of 1862. Records from the 1841 census reveal that the houses were inhabited at that time. This map and documentary evidence suggests they were built before 1830. Stylistically, the buildings date to the early C19 with the pronounced string courses, recessed sash windows, first-floor emphasis and the use of rusticated stucco on the ground floors.

SUMMARY OF IMPORTANCE: Map and documentary evidence suggests that 46-54 Braganza Street were built before 1830. Stylistically, the buildings date to the early C19 with the pronounced string courses, recessed sash windows, first-floor emphasis and the use of rusticated stucco on the ground floors. 46-54 Braganza Street is a good example of lower-middle class housing built with a nod to the classically inspired features popular in more upmarket developments. The row compares well to other listed terraces at Bedford Row (Grade II) built by James Burton in 1815 and Albert Street (Grade II) of 1845, both in LB Camden. While the rear and interior of 46-54 Braganza Street have been rebuilt and refurbished, the façade is of considerable quality in its own right, retaining its original late Georgian proportions, and is now one of only a handful of early C19 terraces in this area. Furthermore, it is likely that some of the internal features, for example the staircases and the domestic plan form, survive.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26658786

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

• 
  Maintaining and Repairing Old Houses: A Guide to Conservation, Sustainability and Economy
• 
  Pevsner's Architectural Glossary (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990: Updated version
• 
  A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide
• 
  Sussex: West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)