Decorating Harrington Gardens

Harrington Gardens was developed in the 1880s on land belonging to the Gunter Estate, one of several landed properties whose ground leases shaped the development of South Kensington's residential streets. The estate appointed Ernest George and Harold Peto, among the most fashionable domestic architects of the period, to design the principal terraces, ensuring an architectural quality that would attract affluent residents and maintain the estate's long-term value. Ernest George's contribution to Harrington Gardens is widely regarded as among his finest work, the terraces drawing on his deep knowledge of Northern European vernacular architecture — gained through extensive sketching tours in the Low Countries and Germany — to create facades of extraordinary richness and variety. The houses were designed for the upper-middle class and minor aristocracy who formed South Kensington's core residential market: families with substantial means, several servants, and the social ambitions that required a prestigious London address within easy reach of the museums, concert halls, and parks that defined the area's cultural character. The timing of the development, in the prosperous decade of the 1880s, allowed for a lavishness of materials and craftsmanship that would have been economically impossible in later, more constrained periods. The result is a street of almost theatrical architectural richness, where every facade presents a carefully composed arrangement of brick, stone, terracotta, and tile that rewards close observation. Harrington Gardens has been recognised for its architectural significance through the listing of numerous individual properties, and the street's collective character is protected within the Kensington Conservation Area.

The conservation of Harrington Gardens' facades requires an approach that recognises the exceptional quality and variety of the original materials. The red brickwork, being of particularly fine quality Fareham facings, should be preserved in its original state, with any necessary repointing carried out using a lime-putty mortar coloured with brick dust to achieve an inconspicuous match. The pointing style should follow the original specification of a flush or slightly recessed joint, avoiding the ribbon pointing that has been inappropriately introduced on some properties. Terracotta ornament requires specialist attention: surface erosion should be consolidated using ethyl silicate solutions applied by trained conservators, while structural repairs to cracked or delaminated panels may require the removal and re-fixing of individual elements. Where terracotta panels have failed beyond consolidation, replacement pieces must be commissioned from specialist workshops, with moulds taken from surviving originals to ensure dimensional accuracy. Portland stone elements benefit from periodic cleaning using the Jos/Torc system, with lime shelter coats applied to areas of surface weathering. The decorative tiles set into the facades require careful monitoring, as the differential thermal expansion between tile and brick can cause detachment over time. The external timber joinery should be maintained with a linseed oil paint system in colours appropriate to the period and the architectural character of each house — the late Victorian palette allowing for richer, deeper colours than the restrained tones of earlier periods. Interior decorative elements, particularly the mosaic floors and glazed tile dados of the entrance halls, require the skills of specialist conservators experienced in the repair of these specific materials.