Summary

House, built in 1736-7, altered in the late C18 or early C19, and subsequently in the C19 and C20. Formerly listed as one asset with 138 Kensington Church Street (NHLE 1239852),

Description

House, 1736-7, altered in the late C18 or early C19 and subsequently.

MATERIALS: painted, probably buff-brown brick; tall clad mansard roof.

PLAN: three storeys, basement and attic within the mansard, the front elevation is in two bays, with the entrance to the left.

EXTERIOR: the entrance to the left has a mid-C19 canopy on scrolled brackets and a plain overlight. There is a single tripartite ground floor window with a cambered arched head and a pair of tall, narrow first floor windows with late C19 or C20 casements that cut through the storey band. Above is a pair of six-over-six pane upper second floor sash widows beneath slightly cambered arches and a pair of six-over-six pane flat roofed full dormer windows in the mansard. There is an internal brick stack to the right.

History

In 1736 the land which includes 136 Kensington Church Street was sold by the Craven family for £360 to the architect Isaac Ware. Six months later a portion of the estate was conveyed by Ware to Charles Carne, a glazier from St Martins in the Fields. In August 1736 an agreement was made between them and Richard Gibbons of Bloomsbury, a carpenter, to develop the land. Craven House was demolished and twelve houses built on the street frontage (formerly 1–6 and 7–12 High Row) now 128–142 (even) and 152–168 (even) Kensington Church Street, and let by Ware and Carne on 71 year leases to Gibbons and tradesmen who had been involved in the work. There is no evidence however that Ware was involved in the design or construction of the houses.

After the houses were built Ware and Carne sold most of the estate; Gibbons was declared bankrupt in 1737. The southern group of six houses (128–142) was bought for £500 in October 1737 by James Allen of Dulwich who subsequently conveyed them in trust to Dulwich College to provide an income for a schoolmaster or schoolmistress to teach reading to poor children in Dulwich (Survey of London vol 37, 1973).

The best surviving houses in the southern group (136 and 138 Kensington Church Street) appear to have been altered in the later C18 or early C19.

Reasons for Listing

136 Kensington Church Street, built in 1736-7, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural interest: a dated early to mid-C18 house, part of a speculative development initiated though not designed by the architect Isaac Ware;
* Historic interest: a well-documented C18 speculative development.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q27087675

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

• 
  The green guide for historic buildings: how to improve the environmental performance of listed and historic buildings
• 
  ENGLAND GUIDE TO POST WAR LISTED: A Guide to Post-war Listed Buildings
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair
• 
  A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair by Hunt. Roger ( 2008 ) Hardcover