Earls Court Living
Earls Court mews houses
Here are some of the most important issues relating to Earls Court mews houses.
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How Earls Court mews houses have changedMost Earls Court mews houses today were originally stables. This is the case with all original Earls Court mews houses which were built in streets behind the Earls Court houses of the time. The Victorians would recognise the facades today, but be amazed by the change in use behind. Most grand Victorian houses meant for family use have now been converted into flats. Meanwhile the stables have become the luxury location as Earls Court mews houses. |
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The reason for building Earls Court mews in the first placeIn Victorian England transport was by horse and cab and the richer families had their own stables. Just as a modern development would not be complete without a row of private garages tucked away at the back, so Victorian development had mews properties in small rows behind the grander streets. The horses were kept here and the stable hands lived in rooms above. These properties are now almost all converted to individual Earls Court mews houses. |
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Proportion of Earls Court mews houses to rich people's house in Victorian timesThe proportion of mews houses to main houses varied enormously. In most of the Victorian developments in Central London, there were about two mews units for every three houses in the main terraces. In the most exclusive areas, each main house would have had its own mews unit. In some areas, there was only one mews for every four houses.
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The design of the street containing Earls Court mews housesImposing arches were used so that people living on the main residential streets would not be reminded of the humbler dwellings behind. Most of the yards or streets where Earls Court mews houses stand were constructed with cobbles or granite flagstones. (Unfortunately, some were tarmacked in the 20th century.) The cobbled courtyards were often lower than the main street level. Earls Court mews houses or cottages generally front directly onto the yard, without any front garden. They usually don't have rear gardens either - at best Earls Court mews houses usually have a rear view of the backs of the main houses. |
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Ornamentation on Earls Court mews housesMews were not designed to be seen by anyone who mattered. When a rich householder went out, the servants brought the horse and carriage round to the front door. But to modern eyes, the plain rustic look of Earls Court mews houses compares favourably with the overdone ornamentation of the houses they were meant to serve. Architects often could not resist adding flair and style to their designs , even of these functional properties, so many Earls Court mews houses have balustrades and attractive mouldings or brick features in their facades.
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Materials used in Earls Court mews housesEarls Court mews houses were built as simple brick structures and the facades were generally left bare. (Many Earls Court mews houses have been rendered, or painted in bright colours over the years.) The builders of Earls Court mews houses often economised on materials. Timbers from ships were often re-used as floorboards or joists in mews properties. Builders sometimes used iron girders to support concrete floors. |
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Two storey Earls Court mews housesThe most noticeable feature of Earls Court mews houses today is, of course, the ‘garage’ which takes up most of the ground floor. This is usually where the coach would have been stored in Victorian times. Most Earls Court mews houses are 2-storey buildings. The ground floor usually contained the coach house, stalls for the horses, a loose box, a harness room and grain bins. The coachmen, grooms and other stable workers lived on the floor above, sometimes with their families |
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Three storey Earls Court mews housesSometimes Earls Court mews houses are on 3-storeys. The horses went up a ramp to stables on the first floor above the coach house. The coachmen then lived on the second floor. The coaches were stored on the ground floor. There were stables on the first floor approached up a tightly-turned ramp. The living quarters were on the second floor. They were reached by stairs built up to a gallery on the second floor. The stairs of Earls Court mews houses were ingeniously constructed inside the turn of the horse ramp. On the second floor there were then doorways into the accommodation within. |
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Enthusiasm for mews houses in Earls CourtThe first wave of enthusiasm for Earls Court mews houses as residences came in the First World War era when many mews were turned into cottages, often with a mock Tudor or Arts-and-Crafts style. The change from horses to cars gave Earls Court mews houses an additional attraction. Interest waned after the Second World War. It was in the swinging 60s that people really began again to see the attraction of small mews houses in Earls Court. There has been no let-up yet |
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Modern mews houses in Earls CourtThere are three general categories of Earls Court houses today. Most mews have been converted to Earls Court mews houses. (See 'How Earls Court mews houses have changed' above.) Then there have been new properties built, usually mimicking mews houses to some extent. Often these are private 'gated' developments. Both these types provide Earls Court mews houses of a size suitable for today's small families. |
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