Harcourt Inn

Terraced three-bay four-storey over basement former townhouse, built c. 1820, now in use as apartments. Pitched roof, irregular M-profile artificial slate hipped roof to full-height rear (west) return, hidden behind brick parapet with granite coping, cement rendered parapet to rear, parapet gutters, brick chimneystacks to party walls with lipped clay pots to north and replacement clay pots to south. Brown brick walls laid in Flemish bond over masonry plinth course with rendered walls to basement. Square-headed window openings with red brick voussoirs, masonry sills and raised rendered reveals. Largely replacement six-over-six timber sliding sash windows with horns, three-over-three to third floor, two-over-two to basement, cast-iron balconettes to first floor. Vertically aligned two-over-two sashes to rear (west), with single round-headed opening to second floor. Secondary glazing inserted to interior of most windows. Round-headed door opening with red brick voussoirs, rendered reveals, engaged Ionic columns and respond pilasters framing plain glass sidelights, supporting festooned and fluted frieze and cornice, plain fanlight with fluted surround over replacement panelled timber door. Granite platform with cast-iron boot scraper and granite steps flanked by cast-iron railings with decorative corner posts over carved granite plinth, continuing to north to enclose basement area. Cast-iron coal hole cover to pavement to front. Street-fronted on west side of Harcourt Street.

Built as a unified terrace comprising Nos. 24-31 (50920221-8), the group is characterised by the unusually narrow three-bays of the principal facades, and forms part of a relatively intact street of late-Georgian and early-Victorian townhouses. Although containing a replacement fanlight and sidelights, the neo-Classical doorcase enlivens the restrained façade and is complemented by the cast-iron balconettes at first floor level. Harcourt Street was opened 1777 by John Hatch, barrister and Seneschal of the Manor of St. Sepulchre. Development was sporadic until the late 1790s when Messrs Hatch, Wade and Whitten obtained approval from the Wide Street Commissioners for the further development of the street.