London Calling: six city homes to set your sights on

From Londinium to Lundenwic to London – throughout history the city has waxed and waned, chopped and changed. There may well be all sorts of reasons to leave but, if there’s one certainty, there are all sorts of reasons to return or remain. Dr Johnson was right when he said, “there is in London all that life can afford” – and nowhere is that more true than in its very middle. In few other places will you find such an abundance of interesting homes, part of an architectural melting pot that has attracted artists, poets, merchants and architects, among others, over the centuries. From Georgian townhouses to post-war mews, they tell the story of the varied lives and histories of central London – and represent the continued joys of inner-city living. Here are six of our favourites on the market.

Woburn Walk, WC1

Almost every other building in Bloomsbury seems to be sporting a blue plaque – a marker that a previous resident made an impression on history. This quarter of the city has been home to an excessively bright bunch since its development in the 1800s: Charles Dickens, Charles Darwin, Lady Ottoline Morrell and Gabriel Rossetti, to name just a few – and that’s before we’ve got to the artists, critics, poets and bohemians that made up the Bloomsbury Group…

Follow in their footsteps along Woburn Walk. Designed in 1822 as an upmarket pedestrianised shopping district, the parade is one of the best-preserved Georgian streets in London and home to this four-storey house. Designed by Thomas Cubitt, it retains its original layout and features, including marble fireplaces, iron gratings and casement windows. Pass through the private entrance and take the curving staircase, lit by a tall sash window, up to the two bedrooms and bathroom, while downstairs is a yolk-yellow kitchen overlooking the lush private garden.

View listing here.

Burton Street, WC1

Bloomsbury was an undeveloped area of greenery in the early 1800s, perfect ground for aspiring developers to make their mark – and above all the rest was James Burton. Besides Bloomsbury, Burton built on Regents Park and Piccadilly, Swallow Street and Chester Terrace. In total, around 3,000 residential projects in London alone were constructed under his auspices.

Now there’s the opportunity to live on the street named for this influential figure. This one-bedroom flat sits on the second floor of a Georgian townhouse, dating to around 1795. Inside, you’ll find a compact apartment, recently renovated and thoughtfully fitted with period-appropriate features. A bespoke kitchen with Perrin & Rowe fixtures brings the historic building up to date, however, thanks to white marble worktops complemented by black wooden fittings. The result is a considered take on Burton’s classical style.

View listing here.

Great Tower Street, EC3

Before there was London as we know it, there was the City of London. Also known as the Square Mile, it was built within the old Roman walls and for more than 1,000 years has held special privileges outside the purview of the monarch. The City claims the oldest church in London, All Hallows-by-the-Tower, founded in 675, and the oldest castle in England, the Tower of London, raised by William the Conqueror in 1066.

This home on Great Tower Street is a relative newcomer, built around 1914 as offices for Christ’s Hospital. The first-floor apartment occupies the former boardroom and chairman’s offices and offers direct views of the Tower of London. Grade II listing has preserved the original marble floors, ornate fireplaces, stucco mouldings and distinctive wooden panelling – features that reflect the prestige of this building’s former inhabitants and make for a luxurious apartment right in the mix of things.

View listing here – and read our interview with the current owner here.

Prescot Street, E1

Until recently, the calm stretch of the River Thames east of the City was lined with wharves and bustling with activity. Known as the Pool of London, this was where ships docked, goods were unloaded and travellers alighted. The East End became a warren of warehouses, markets and workshops – helping to make London the global city it is today. Those times are now long gone, but this pioneering mercantile history is captured in the place names here – Tobacco Dock, Ensign Street, Cable Street – and the architecture.

The building in which which this apartment is found, Number One Prescot Street, was designed by architect Leonard Grey Ekins, influenced by his years in Germany and Belgium, and opened in 1932 as the London headquarters of the Co-Operative Wholesale Society. The exterior is a vanishingly rare example of Art Deco architecture in England, complete with Egyptian motifs above the door frames. Meanwhile the interior, courtesy of the current owners, evokes international travel; Moroccan-inspired red and orange walls, rooms divided by ogee arches and, in the bathroom, a Japanese-style ofuro.

View listing here.

Weymouth Mews, W1

The dark days of World War II saw bombs dropping across the capital. Some buildings, such as the V&A, survived with scars, while others were more badly disfigured. This street of stable mews was originally developed in the 1770s to service the grand houses of nearby Weymouth Street and Portland Place; after the war, a number of its damaged buildings were transformed into a row of purpose-built portered houses, ready for the modern world.

Despite the urgent need for new housing, the post-war builders didn’t compromise on quality. This apartment retains the large sitting room, high ceilings and sash windows of Georgian-era houses. The apartment has been brought up-to-date by its conscientious owner, who has created a comforting retreat with a considered jewel-toned palette. Looking down to the quiet cobbled streets below, it’s hard to believe you’re just a short walk from the West End.

View listing here.

Meard Street, W1

The city-centre neighbourhood of Soho has had a series of costume changes over time. The area developed in the 17^th-century as a residential district for aristocrats but by the 20^th, its warren of streets had garnered something of a lower reputation, its cafés, restaurants and clubs becoming the haunt of gangsters, artists and actors – sometimes one and the same. In its most recent guise, Soho has shed its seedy image and is now a hub for creativity, nightlife and the London’s queer community.

This apartment in a Georgian house on Meard Street is a rare survivor from the district’s earliest days. The Grade II*-listed flat occupies the entire second floor of the building. Parquet floors, an original limestone fireplace and a raspberry kitchen with bespoke cabinetry contribute to its singular character, while the car-free street to the front and a quiet courtyard to the rear make this home a private refuge in one of the city’s buzziest areas.

View listing here.