Property Description

Taunton Mews is a through road off Balcombe Street in Westminster, leading onto Huntsworth Mews, another original/ surviving Mews. There are 5 properties in the Mews, used for residential purposes.

A high explosive bomb fell directly onto Huntsworth Mews in World War II, affecting the properties and requiring them to be rebuilt. When the London Poverty Maps were published, the area was determined as very poor in comparison to the standard household salaries at the time.

Taunton Mews is situated within Westminster City Council’s Dorset Square Conservation Area; characterised by large red brick and terracotta late Victorian buildings, larger scale buildings around the edges and a central residential area including first rate town houses and Mews, the area also includes Marylebone and Baker Street stations.

The Mews has plain brickwork, two storey buildings with a mixture of gable and parapet roof styles. The majority of garages present are intact and surrounded by a tarmacadam road surface with partial raised pavements (at the entrance to the Mews).

Everchanging Nature

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

A few planning applications have been made before and since 2003 for alterations to the properties, mainly concerning changes to the fenestration and the use of a garage as additional residential accommodation. Conservation Area controls now apply to new development in the Mews.