Property Description

Jay Mews is a cobbled through road off Kensington Gore in Westminster. There are 13 properties in the Mews, used for both residential and commercial purposes.

A high explosive bomb fell nearby onto Queen’s Gate in World War II, west of the Mews. When the London Poverty Maps were published, the area was determined to have fairly comfortable households with good ordinary earnings though some houses were poorer in comparison.

Jay Mews 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 a mixture of mansard and parapet roof styles and painted brickwork or rendered facades. Some garages present remain intact whilst others have been converted. The buildings are surrounded by a cobbled road surface and raised pavements.

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 used for a mixture of commercial and residential purposes.

A few planning applications have been made before and since 2003 for alterations to the facade of the properties and changes to the fenestration. Conservation Area controls now apply to new development in the Mews.