Property Description
Chester Row is a Mews Style through road between Elizabeth Street and Bourne Street in Westminster. Although not a classic Mews, there is a reasonable row of Mews Style properties on the street which date back to original Mews times. There are 80 properties in total on the street, although most of these are more modern houses, flats and pubs.
In World War II, a high explosive bomb fell onto Eaton Terrace, just off Chester Row and presumably some properties had to be rebuilt as a result. When the London Poverty Maps were published, the area was described as being middle class and well off compared to the normal household earnings at the time.
The Row is part of Westminster City Council’s Belgravia Conservation Area. First designated in 1968, it was laid out as a fashionable residential area to the west of Buckingham Palace. There is a high degree of townscape uniformity and a formal layout based on a grid pattern. The area is predominantly residential with some shops on the edges. There are also a significant number of embassies, diplomatic buildings and institutional headquarters.
The street has two and three storey buildings with a variety of different facades and roof styles. The road surface is tarmacadam and there are raised pavements present. Parking is restricted.
There are three records for listed buildings on Chester Row. Numbers 1-25 (odd), Numbers 34-44 (even) and Numbers 4-22 (even).
Everchanging Nature
The street contains examples of original shopfronts in 19th century townhouses, with shop units being subsequently converted for residential purposes.
There have been many planning applications made prior to and since 2003, mainly for basement extensions and excavations, changes to the fenestration and mansard roof extensions. Conservation Area controls now apply to any new development in the Street.