Decorating Jermyn Street

Jermyn Street was developed by Henry Jermyn, 1st Earl of St Albans, from the 1660s as part of his grand plan to create a fashionable residential and commercial quarter south of Piccadilly. Named after its developer, the street quickly established itself as a centre for luxury goods, attracting perfumers, shirtmakers, and cheese merchants who served the aristocratic residents of the surrounding squares. By the eighteenth century, Jermyn Street had become synonymous with male sartorial elegance. Floris, the perfumer, established premises at number 89 in 1730 and remains there today, making it one of the oldest family-run businesses in London. Paxton and Whitfield, the cheesemongers, arrived in 1797, and Turnbull and Asser, the shirtmakers patronised by Winston Churchill and the Prince of Wales, opened in 1885. The street suffered significant bomb damage during the Blitz, particularly in the devastating raid of April 1941, which destroyed much of its eastern end. Post-war reconstruction introduced buildings of varying quality, though several Georgian survivals anchor the street's historical character. The Crown Estate, which owns the freehold of much of the northern side, has pursued a careful programme of restoration since the 1990s, reinstating traditional shopfront designs where post-war replacements had diluted the street's character. The Jermyn Street Association, founded in 1981, has campaigned effectively against insensitive development and maintains the street's reputation as a destination for discerning shoppers. Isaac Newton lived at number 87 from 1696 to 1700 while serving as Warden of the Royal Mint, and Thomas Gray, the poet, died at number 39 in 1771.

The decoration of Jermyn Street demands particular sensitivity to the symbiotic relationship between commercial shopfronts and domestic upper floors. Traditional shopfront timberwork requires a robust paint system capable of withstanding heavy pedestrian contact and frequent cleaning. A linseed oil primer followed by alkyd undercoat and high-gloss topcoat provides the requisite durability, with dark heritage colours — bottle green, deep burgundy, and navy blue — historically predominant along the street. Gold-leaf lettering on fascia boards, applied using traditional water-gilding or oil-gilding techniques over a gesso ground, is essential to maintaining the street's visual identity. For the upper-floor brickwork, the principal requirement is sympathetic repointing using lime-putty mortar matched to the original mix, avoiding the hard Portland cement mortars that cause irreversible damage to soft historic bricks. Where stucco is present, Keim mineral paint systems ensure long-term breathability and colour stability. The reconstituted stone panels of post-war buildings present particular challenges: their cement-based matrix traps moisture and promotes algal growth, requiring treatment with biocidal washes followed by application of a breathable masonry coating. Wrought-iron balconettes require careful hand preparation using phosphoric acid rust converters where appropriate, followed by zinc-phosphate primer and micaceous iron oxide topcoat. Internal decoration of the commercial premises typically involves lime-distemper ceilings and flat-oil-painted joinery to maintain appropriate levels of moisture management in the older buildings.