Where classical inspiration meets contemporary design

Ilchester Place lies at the south-west corner of Holland Park. The street was designed by the Scottish architect Leonard Martin and completed in 1928. Martin had already created several buildings in the West End in a mix of neo-Tudor, Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau styles. However, for Ilchester Place he chose the increasingly popular neo-Georgian style.

Georgian architecture developed in Britain during the eighteenth century. Drawing on classical models, Georgian architects emphasised symmetry, proportion and restraint. This resulted in many smart new neighbourhoods in Edinburgh and Bath, as well as large areas of Dublin and London.

In the nineteenth century, the style became less fashionable. Victorians preferred the ornament and extravagance of Gothic Revival, as seen in their train stations and schools. However, towards the end of the century, several British architects began to revive classical models, resulting in a movement known as neo-Georgian.

The most celebrated of these architects was Edwin Lutyens. His designs for office buildings, country houses and war memorials like the Cenotaph combined modern minimalism with timeless classicism. During the first half of the twentieth century, neo-Georgian was the style of choice for public buildings such as town halls and county offices. Many of the buildings in Westminster and Mayfair adopted this style too, creating a sense of grandeur without looking out of place among their older neighbours.

Neo-Georgian design was occasionally used for domestic architecture too, and Ilchester Place is a perfect example. The street consists of two terraces of three-storey houses, with wide facades and a symmetrical layout. They are built from brick, with white dressings for the windows and white surrounds for the doors. But their porches are modest: stucco pillars with half-moon pediments and fanlights above the front doors. And they are set back from the street, with formal front gardens adding to the sense of order.

Today, Ilchester Place is one of the most sought-after streets in the city. This is due partly to its location – moments away from the open spaces of Holland Park – and partly to its architecture. The properties are unusually wide by London standards, while the generous windows make for bright interiors. In addition, though the houses haves a sense of beauty and history, because they are not listed, they can be easily adapted for modern requirements.

One property shows perfectly how this can be done. Positioned at the end of the street nearest the park, its layout makes maximum use of the available space. The width of the house results in large lateral floors, such as the generous ground-floor living area, or the spectacular principal bedroom stretching across four sash windows.

Meanwhile, the Georgian emphasis on light interiors can be seen in the garden-facing rooms on the southern side of the house. As well as floor-to ceiling French doors on the ground floor, there is also a serene study with full-length sash windows on the first floor. In both cases, these rooms look out over a mature eucalyptus tree, which not only provides leafy views, but also give the whole garden a focal point.

Georgian architects admired lofty rooms and open layouts. On the lower ground floor this is achieved via the raised ceiling and careful use of lightwells for the gym, home cinema and the games room with a bar. As a result, these downstairs rooms preserve the sense of brightness and space, while also creating warm and informal family areas. Meanwhile, in the upstairs bedrooms, a palette of white, cream and pastel colours for the walls adds a sense of harmony throughout the house.

This property has one other special feature. Because the entrance is positioned at the side, the front garden is entirely enclosed by hedges. Therefore, the house has a pair of enclosed gardens, giving a greater sense of privacy on the ground floor. These gardens are also barely overlooked by neighbours, adding to the sense of seclusion.

Ilchester Place has attracted many celebrated residents over the years. Looking inside one of the houses, it’s easy to understand why. While the neo-Georgian facades make for beautiful exteriors, their wide and spacious interiors are ideal for a modern family home.

See the full listing for Ilchester Place here.