birdcage walk conservation area boundary revie · birdcage walk conservation area is bounded by...

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1 Introduction

A requirement of the Town and Country Planning Act (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) �990 is that local planning authorities periodically review the boundaries of the Conservation Areas in their care.

This review process is being undertaken in Westminster alongside the Conservation Area Audit. If the proposed extensions are agreed by the Cabinet Member for Planning, the information contained in this review document will be incorporated into the Conservation Area Audit.

The area proposed for inclusion in the Birdcage Walk Conservation Area is bounded by Wilfred Street, Palace Street and Buckingham Gate.

The streets in this area share a number of characteristics with existing parts of the conservation area: the buildings on Buckingham Gate have a great deal in common with a number of properties on either side of the west end of the street. The buildings on Palace Street and the south west of Castle Lane relate to the Catherine place enclave, and also to the historic buildings of Wellington Barracks.

2 StreetsandSpaces

Buckingham Gate and Palace Street are the broadest and busiest routes in the proposed extensions. On Buckingham Gate the generous height and lavish detail of the buildings creates a strong presence on the south side of the road. Plots along this stretch are large, and are cranked along a straight line behind the Buckingham Gate frontage.

Birdcage Walk Conservation Area Boundary Review

ConservationAreaAudit25:BirdcageWalk

Figure �. Proposed extension to the Birdcage Walk Conservation Area

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white stone is extravagantly detailed with relief figures to the balcony brackets and bay window corbels. The facade steps in and out with both protruding and recessed balconies, double bay windows and protruding central bays. The facade is pierced by two arches to the central courtyard, drawing the eye and offering glimpses through.

Westminster Chapel is a very large nonconformist chapel of �865 in a Romanesque style. Built in yellow stock brick with stone and polychromatic brick dressings, the gabled facade to Buckingham Gate fronts a massive oval auditorium. A slender asymmetric tower rises above the corner of Castle Lane.

3 CHARACTEROFTHECONSERVATIONAREA

All of these routes are considered for the purposes of the audit to be ‘secondary routes. Other public and semi public spaces are considered to be ‘intimate’, because of their degree of enclosure or small plot size. These intimate spaces are; the arched entrances to the yard of the St. James Hotel, the alley between 35 and 36 Buckingham Gate, and Seaforth Place – the narrow pedestrian alley off Buckingham Gate.

Architecture

Buckingham Gate

Palace Street by contrast has a more modest selection of buildings, despite a similar width – building plots are smaller, and traffic is lighter. The two connecting streets; Wilfred Street and Castle Lane are narrower still, and serve local traffic only.

Figure � St. James’s Court

This stretch of Buckingham Gate is principally defined by St. James’s Court and the Westminster Chapel. St. James’s Court was built as eight blocks of serviced flats around a central courtyard, between �896 and �905. This six storey building in red brick and

Figure 3. Carved detail to bracket and bay window, St. James’s Court


Figure 4. Westminster Chapel

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The chapel is grade II listed.

At the west end of Buckingham Gate two further large buildings continue in the same scale set by the Court and Chapel. 36 Buckingham Gate is a late nineteenth century flatblock, of only four storeys over a basement. Built in red brick, the building has two corner octagonal bays on the Buckingham Gate side linked by balconies at first to third floor levels. At ground floor a triple arch to Buckingham Gate suggests a grand entrance – the flate are actually accessed from the very long side elevations.

Number 35, the last building in this stretch is a �950s residential block, and probably replaces a wing to match number 36. A good quality block in red brick and cement render with an interesting concrete entrance canopy. The plot is similar to that of 36, and stretches some way along Wilfred street.

Castle Lane

Castle Lane contains a run of well

– those at the east end are associated with the chapel, while those at the west are social housing. The south side of Castle Lane includes the former Sunday school; a single storey of stock brick and stucco. Adjoining this is the former institute, a three storey red brick building with stone dressing to the ground floor and carved portcullis corbels.

The remainder of Castle Lane is taken up with the Castle Buildings. Built for Employees of the former Stag Brewery in �88�-3, these houses are neat yellow stock brick terraces with stucco details. The four storey buildings have steps up to a sober door at a raised ground floor level (the basement storey is almost completely above ground).

The other building of note is the �93� school (now Kingsway College), a large, flat fronted building enlivened with colourful tile.

Palace Street

This stretch of Palace Street contains the Alexandra Buildings – a pair of Watneys flatblocks joined by an open air stair with cast iron panels to the balconies.

Figure 5. Castle Buildings, Castle lane; north sidemaintained, smaller scale buildings

Figure 6. Alexandra Buildings, Palace Street; purpose built housing for the brewery workers of Watney’s.


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school are the Colonies public house and an Edwardian building with timber shopfront. See shopfronts section.

UnlistedBuildingsofMerit

The proposed extension to the Birdcage Walk contains a number of buildings which, if designated, would make a positive contribution to the character or appearance of the conservation area. These are:

St. James’s Court, Buckingham Gate55-56 Buckingham Gate38- 40 Buckingham Gate36 Buckingham Gate�5 & �7 Wilfred StreetSchool building to rear of Westminster Kingsway College and associated school wall, Wilfred StreetHall, Westminster Chapel, Castle Lane� & � Castle LaneCastle Buildings, Castle Lane (Victoria

To the corner of Wilfred Street a grade listed II former church of �856-63 and presbytery of �880, both now converted to offices.

Wilfred Street

Wilfred Street is occupied principally by the side of the listed former RC church, the rear of the Kingsway College and a 1950’s flatblock facing onto Buckingham Gate.The rear of the college is bounded by a wall dating from the original Victorian school; the pedestrian entrance still bears the moulded inscription “Boys”. In the yard is a small two storey school building predating the current �930s block. While the building is currently in disrepair it could if restored make a positive contribution to the character of the area.

Sandwiched between the church and


Figure 7. Unlisted Buildings of Merit in the proposed Birdcage Walk Extension

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Hostel) including 45 Palace StreetAlexandra Buildings (Victoria Hostel), Palace Street

Figure 7 shows listed Buildings and unlisted buildings of merit in the proposed extension.

Roof Profiles

A number of buildings in the proposed extension have already been extended to the greatest possible extent. St. James’s Court for example already has two roof storeys within a tall mansard. Similarly, 35 Buckingham Place has had large additional storey and a glazed structure at roof level added in recent years.


Figure 8. Roof form of the Westminster Chapel from Castle Lane

Buildings where roof extensions are unlikely to be acceptable

Buildings with existing roof extensions

Figure 9. Roof survey showing buildings where a roof extension is unlikely to be acceptable

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Buildings that have a well defined roof form, where the shape of the roof is visible and forms an important part of the design of a building are not usually considered suitable for roof extension. Examples include the steeply pitched slate roofs of 5� and 57 Palace Street with their tall chimney stacks, which form part of the gothic language of the building as a whole.

The two listed buildings in this area are completed compositions - that is the design of the roof is an integral part of the character of the building. Alteration of these is unlikely to be acceptable.Figure 9 shows buildings where roof extensions are unlikely to be acceptable.

LocalTownscapeDetail

Shopfronts

There are few shopfronts within the proposed extension: The Colonies pub on Wilfred Street, the adjacent building, �5 Wilfred Street, has been converted to offices, but retains its shopfront.

The colonies has a timber pubfront, with built to traditional proportions, with fixed light timber windows with glazing bars. The pub is equipped with polished brass lanterns, and a timber canopy above the entrance. Above ground floor the pub has two further storeys, one of which is a roof storey finished with large shaped gables to Wilfred Street. The first floor

windows have sliding sashes with a small fixed panel above.

�5 Wilfred Street is a three storey red brick building with an Edwardian shopfront to the ground floor. The shopfront is simply detailed with plain pilasters supporting a shallow fascia. Inward opening transom lights surmount small display windows. Above ground floor the building has timber casement windows in three bays,

and the whole is surmounted by a shaped parapet in the form of a dwarf gable.

37 Buckingham Gate is a two storey �950s building with a very simple shopfront to the ground floor. A stone faced surround contains a shallow fascia, below which is the mechanism for a canvas blind.

Railings

The Castle Buildings on Castle Lane have cast iron area railings; those on the north side are set into the plinth only by the standards, which along with the rails have square sectioned mace finials. Those on the south have all of the vertical bars set in, and are topped with elongated fleur-de-lys finials.

� & � Castle Lane has bespoke cast iron railings. Paired standards contain a panel with a portcullis motif, which is repeated in the stone corbels above.


Figure �0. �5 Wilfred Street

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Street furniture

The proposed extension contains a range of historic street furniture which contributes to its distinctiveness and character.

Lampstandards throughout the area are mainly Grey Wornums, in common with much of historic south Westminster. Only Palace Street is equipped with utilitarian lanterns, and these are supported

on ‘Parliament Square’ type standards.

At its narrow east end, Castle Lane has a wall mounted Windsor style lantern, a one off which is not based on precedent within the area.

Buckingham Gate has three city bollards – octagonal in section, and derived from a bollard dating from the early nineteenth century, sited outside numbers 55 & 56.

At the corner of Wilfred Street and Palace Street is a red K6 type telephone kiosk.

Public art

St. James’s Court is a fine example of the integration of how artist / craftsman created decorative detail was applied to a large building, by the Victorian and Edwardian architects. While many buildings of this period have some degree of decoration, St. James’s Court has a wide range of decorated corbels and brackets, executed with considerable skill.

Trees

There are no trees on the public highway within the proposed extension to the conservation area. There is however planting in private forecourts of the buildings in Castle Lane, and in front of the School on Palace Street.

The trees in Castle lane are young ornamental trees growing from the basement lightwells of the Castle Buildings on either side of the road. They make a positive contribution to what would otherwise be a very hard streetscape.

Land uses

The land within the proposed extensions is divided between institutional and residential uses. The absence of a significant proportion of retail or office uses gives the area a quiet, domestic character. Palace Street, Castle Lane and Wilfred Street share much of their character with the Catherine Place area of Birdcage Walk. The buildings on Buckingham Gate correspond much more with the western stretch of that street, already within the conservation area.

4 Negativefeatures

Poor roof extensions


Figure ��. Three railing types in Castle Lane

Figure ��. Wall mounted lantern on Castle Lane, City bollard on Buckingham Gate

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Parts of the roof storey of St. James’s Court have been covered in a pale coloured render or roofing felt. The appropriate material for works to the roof of this building would be slate. The roof storey appears incongruous and ‘unfinished’ both in terms of colour and form.

Flues, pipework and ductsThere are a number of places within the proposed extension where poorly sited flues and ducts detract from the appearance of buildings, and from the conservation area in general.

A single, though prominent, flue climbs up the west side of St. James Court.

Other prominent flues within the proposed extension are along the back of the Castle Buildings, visible from Palace Street.

At 36 Buckingham Gate a lift overrun rises from the roofline of the building roughly half way down its length. The damage done by this unsightly and incongruous protrusion is reduced because the narrow width of Castle Lane reduces the number of viewpoints from which this development can be seen.

Maintenance

Poor maintenance detracts seriously

from the character and appearance of a conservation area. Buildings in the proposed extensions are well maintained on the whole with only a couple of exceptions.

The school building to the rear of Westminster Kingsway College (Figure �5) is boarded up and in a poor state of repair. The condition of this building creates an air of dereliction in this part of Wilfred Street.

The interesting tile hung rear elevation of the Colonies pub is adversely affected by clutter of various types. Plant, in


Figure �4. Lift Overrun at 36 Buckingham Gate

Figure �5. School building to rear of Westminster Kingsway College, Wilfred Street

Figure �3 - Poor choice of materials causes this roof extension to jar with the building to which it was added

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Figure �7. Rooftop plant, even when not visible from the street, can have a detrimental impact when viewed from neighbouring buildings.


the form of air conditioning units and a power supply box is installed in several prominent locations. Poor repair gives the whole rear elevation an unkempt appearance, including the insertion of some panels with the appearance of exposed timberwork.

Figure �6. Rear of the Colonies Pub, Pine Apple Court

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