Property Description

Kent Yard is a cobbled cul-de-sac approached through an entrance under a building on Rutland Gardens in Westminster, right next to Rutland Gardens Mews, an original/ surviving Mews. There are 5 properties in Kent Yard, used for residential purposes. It is located on the site of an original Mews but has been re-developed to a degree that it no longer contains any surviving Mews properties.

A high explosive bomb fell nearby onto Rutland Gardens in World War II, north of the Mews. When the London Poverty Maps were published, the area was determined as having fairly comfortable households with good ordinary earnings.

Kent Yard is part of Westminster City Council’s Knightsbridge Conservation Area. Designated in 1968, the area relates strongly to Queen’s Gate Conservation Area in Kensington and Chelsea and contains large-scale cultural and educational institutions such as the Royal Albert Hall. The western half of the area is dominated by a late Victorian cultural complex and mansion blocks whilst the east has residential areas of leafy squares and intimate terraces.

There are also several Mews within the conservation area, particularly to the east and south. These are characterised by their intimate scale and are generally two storeys in height and relate to the plot width of the principal building with which they are associated.

The Mews has two and three storey buildings with roofs hidden behind parapet walls and painted brickwork or rendered facades. The garages present remain intact and the buildings are surrounded by a cobbled road surface.

Everchanging Nature

The original purpose of the Mews was to provide stable/ coach house accommodation to the main houses in the surrounding area. Now, it is primarily used for residential purposes.

A few planning applications have been made before and since 2003 for minor alterations to the properties, most notably roof extensions. Conservation Area controls now apply to new development in the Mews.