Earls Court Living
Lexham Gardens
Lexham Gardens is split into two parts by Marloes Road. The western part consists of five-storey terraced stucco houses with portico entrances. There are large first floor balconies and the houses on the north western end of the street have bay windows on the first floor. The eastern part of Lexham Gardens is a square with a central communal garden. The communal garden is ringed by tall mature trees and a few years ago was totally renovated by a generous local benefactor. It has an unusual small water garden. The buildings are mainly five-storey brick buildings (plus basement).
This was built on the Edwardes Estate.
East Lexham and West Lexham are Norfolk villages. The Edwardes family once owned Heydon Hall in Norfolk. That’s the only tenuous connection to explain why Lord Kensington gave his new street this name. When the road was constructed in 1869 it was called Lexham Road. Gardens were added in 1877 which probably accounts for the change of name to Lexham Gardens in 1878.
The first houses in Lexham Gardens were built in 1872 when John Sprake began construction on Nos. 120-146 (even). These terraced houses are on 4 storeys with a semi-basement. Façades are white brick with stucco decoration and they have bay windows up to and including first floor level, and porticoes with Doric columns. They are Italianate in design.
Samuel Juler Wyand was the principal builder in Lexham Gardens. His first houses, constructed in 1874, were Nos. 90-104 (even) on the north side, just west of Marloes Road. These houses have 5 storeys above basements. The façades are fully stuccoed. There are no bays. There are just modest balconies outside the first floor windows and above Doric porches.
Wyand built a very similar terrace on the other side of Lexham Garden at Nos. 57-75 (odd) in 1875 and he finished the range of houses on that side in 1875-9, with Nos. 77-105. Of these, the earlier numbers have bay windows on the ground floor only, but there are bays up to the first floor level on the later houses. Between 1877 and 1884 Wyand built Nos. 40-88 (even), which are the houses north of the communal garden. Many of these houses employed white bricks and a sparing amount of stucco, rather than a full stuccoed façade. Some have five and some four storeys above basements. Wyand lived in Lexham Gardens himself until 1911.
The Wyands had been farmers in Norfolk. But Samuel Juler Wyand Senior had already set up as a builder in London in the 1850s in Paddington, before going bust in 1855. Samuel Juler Wyand (junior) then set himself up independently and retired at the age of 37. He was one of the few builders who didn’t overstretch himself and get ruined by the occasional property downturns.
George Edward Mineard built Nos. 31-55 (odd) Lexham Gardens to the east of Marloes Road in 1875-6. Not many of the original houses survived the war. They followed a similar design to Wyand’s houses.
Another builder was William Ashfold who built Nos. 20-24 (even) and 19-29 (odd) in 1875-6. These are tall houses on five storeys above basements and rather more fussy than other designs in the street, with Doric porticos and plenty of cement ornamentation above doors and windows.
Nos. 36 and 38 Lexham Gardens were built by William Douglas in 1882-4. He was one of the principal builders in the Queensgate area, although he took on commitments so recklessly that he went bankrupt in 1888.
James Whittaker built Nos. 110-118 (even) in 1876-7, taking over the plots from John Sprake. These adopted a different style again, with classical decoration and stucco and round arched porches with banded tiers. He also went bankrupt in 1887, but got back on his feet to end as a successful builder.
George Stevens and George Colls of Notting Hill, who were building in Harrington Road, built Nos. 1-7 Lexham Gardens. They also used banded columns on the porticos and, in fact, made rather a feature of bands including above windows and as a decorative string at second floor level.
Finally, William Henry Willis, a builder in South Kensington, built Nos. 9-17 (odd) and 12-18 (even) in 1877-8. He essentially copied Ashfold’s façades but adapted the design to four rather than five storeys.
