Russell Court Hotel

Terraced two-bay four-storey over basement former house, built c. 1815, now in use as hotel. M-profile pitched roof, rear span hipped to south end, hidden behind brick parapet with lead-lined coping, rendered chimneystacks with masonry coping and clay pots to north party wall. Brick walls laid in Flemish bond over masonry plinth course and rendered walls to basement. Square-headed window openings with patent reveals and masonry sills. Six-over-six timber sliding sash windows with horns, three-over-three to third floor. Round-headed door opening with rendered reveals and doorcase comprising slender Doric columns supporting triglyphed frieze and cornice with plain glass fanlight and recent half-glazed timber panelled door. Shared granite entrance platform with cast-iron boot scraper and granite steps flanked by cast-iron railings with decorative corner posts on carved granite plinth, enclosing basement well to north. Recent tiled steps to basement well. Street-fronted, located on west side of Harcourt Street.

Though internally altered for use as a hotel, this building forms part of a relatively intact section of the street comprising late-Georgian and early-Victorian townhouses. The building positively contributes to the character of the wider streetscape, with its uniform rooflines, restrained use of detailing and vertical massing with diminishing fenestration patterns. 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.