Description

NEW KING STREET
(South side)

Nos.18 AND 19
and attached railings
(Formerly Listed as:
NEW KING STREET
(South side)
Nos.10-34 (Consec))
12/06/50

GV II*

Pair of terrace houses. 1764-1770 with C19 and C20 alterations.
MATERIALS: Limestone ashlar, some coursed rubble to rear, slate roofs.
PLAN: Town houses with double mansard roof, rebuilt and raised to No.19, and with entrance and staircase to left.
EXTERIOR: Three storeys, attic and basement, each two windows, all sash. Two twelve-pane dormers above plain in painted moulded architraves, and with floating cornice at first floor. No.18 has single sash in splay at ground floor, and twelve-pane to basement. No.19 has C20 lights in high mansard, above twelve-pane at each level, trimmed as to No.18. Both houses have six-panel doors in moulded architrave with flat hood on consoles. Platband above ground floor, slightly stepped up at centre, modillion cornice stopped at each end, blocking course and parapet, central lead downpipe, and straight masonry joint each end. Coped party divisions, deep stacks to right. To rear each has two dormers above tripartite sashes, with straight drip above first floor. Tripartite windows to ground and first floors.
INTERIORS: No. 18 (inspected 1974) has very fine cupboards either side of fireplace with four-panel glazed doors with arches and a broken pediment above. No. 19, the Herschel Museum, retains a wooden stair with columnar newel, three turned balusters per tread; plasterwork and fireplaces mainly of Regency date; kitchen retains flagged floor and under-stairs cupboard, copper, Victorian range; workshop to rear was used by Herschel for grinding mirrors for his telescopes. Vaults with stone bench, shelves and stone sink. First floor drawing room has rope scrolled panels around the walls.
SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: Simple railings on stone curb, returned to doors, enclose basement areas.
HISTORY: These houses have witnessed discoveries of the greatest magnitude. (Sir) William Herschel (1738-1822) stayed at No.19 from 1779 (see bronze plaque), and discovered Uranus from his garden in March 1781, using a 7 ft telescope of his own construction: this effectively doubled the size of the known universe at this time. No. 19 was opened by the Herschel Trust as a museum in 1981, giving valuable insights into town house interiors of the upper-middling sort. On a lesser note, the external fabric reveals the staggered building history of the row. The full terrace has broad consistency of detail, but with variations in elevation, building was in small sections, marked by straight joints.

Listing NGR: ST7455964891

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Herschel Museum of Astronomy at Wikipedia
• Herschel Museum of Astronomy official website
• Wikidata Q3369709

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

• 
  Listed Buildings and Other Heritage Assets
• 
  Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)
• 
  Pevsner's Architectural Glossary (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Oxfordshire: North and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Building Small Projects (New Best of Fine Woodworking)
• 
  Farrow & Ball How to Decorate: Transform your home with paint & paper