A Victorian district built around shared gardens
Earls Court was mostly fields until the Metropolitan District Railway arrived in the late 1860s. Building then moved fast. Most of what you see today went up in the 1870s and 1880s, which makes Earls Court one of the most consistently Victorian parts of Kensington and Chelsea.
Two estates shaped it. East of Earl’s Court Road, the Gunter family built across their land from 1865 to the 1890s. Sir Robert Gunter named many streets after places in his home county of Yorkshire. That is why Barkston Gardens, Bramham Gardens and Wetherby Gardens sit close together. West of the road, the Edwardes estate moved more slowly. Earl’s Court Square was begun in 1873, Philbeach Gardens in 1876 and Nevern Square in 1880.
The pattern is houses built around large private gardens, shared by the residents. Courtfield Gardens, Nevern Square and Earl’s Court Square all follow it. The style changes as you walk. Philbeach Gardens has pale brick Italianate houses with stucco dressings and columned porches. Collingham Gardens has red-brick houses by Ernest George and Harold Peto, with steep gables and much richer detail.
Behind the main streets are the old mews. Hesper Mews was built in 1884 to 1885 as a large stable block. Most mews buildings are now homes, and their courtyards and roof terraces suit simple, sturdy gates and balustrades.
What the ironwork looks like here
Almost every stucco terrace in Earls Court has a basement area. That is the sunken yard between the pavement and the house, and railings guard its edge. Around Nevern Square or Earl’s Court Square these runs stretch the whole length of the terrace. They are usually plain bars with spear or urn finials. First-floor balconettes sit above the porches, and the shared gardens are enclosed by their own railings.
The war left its mark. Courtfield Gardens lost its cast-iron railings in 1940, and they were later restored. On many streets you can still spot a gap, a mismatched length or a cheap modern panel where good ironwork once stood.
Ironwork for Earls Court houses, flats and hotels
Area railings and basement gates
We repair and replace area railings, matching bar size, spacing and finial to the original run on your terrace. We also make gates for the steps down to basement flats, which are common here.
Balconies
The Italianate fronts carry balconettes over the porches and at first-floor windows. We forge new ones and copies of damaged ones, drawn to suit the stucco.
Entrance canopies for hotels
Trebovir Road and the streets near the station hold many hotels in converted terraces. We make glazed entrance canopies, front railings and internal balustrades for hotel refurbishments.
Staircase balustrades
Many large Earls Court houses have been split into flats. When a shared stair or a maisonette stair is rebuilt, it needs a balustrade at least 900mm high, with gaps that stop a 100mm ball. We design patterns that meet the rule and still look Victorian.
The building work around the railings
The weak point in Earls Court is often not the iron. It is the porch steps and the plinth the railings are fixed into. Stucco cracks, water gets in and the bars rust from the base. We can rebuild the steps, repair the plinth and make good the render on a Philbeach Gardens or Nevern Square front. Then the railings go back on a sound base.
Planning and consent in Kensington and Chelsea
Kensington and Chelsea has five conservation areas in Earls Court. They are Earl’s Court Square, Earl’s Court Village, Nevern Square, Philbeach and Courtfield, with The Boltons to the south. A conservation area is a district the council protects for its historic look. Inside one, the council expects new railings and balconies to follow the traditional design of the street.
Some terraces are also listed. Then any change to the ironwork needs listed building consent, which is permission from the council to alter a protected building. Rules can differ from street to street, so please check with the council before you commit. We supply drawings and a specification for your application.
Design, forging and installation
You can choose a pattern from our design album, which holds hundreds of proven designs, and we adapt it to your house. Or we draw a fully bespoke design in CAD. In Earls Court we often base the drawing on a surviving section of railing a few doors along. Nothing is forged until you approve it.
Your ironwork is forged in our own workshop by a craftsman with 20 years of hand-forging experience. It is installed by our London team. Earls Court has resident parking and busy through roads, so we arrange bay suspensions and delivery times in advance. For hotels we can work around guests.
If your terrace has a gap where railings used to be, or your hotel needs a new canopy, request a quote through our short form or give us a call.