Victorian Townhouse in Kensington is Home to London’s First Hydraulic Passenger Lift

On Kensington Court, moments from London’s Kensington Gardens, a six-storey Victorian Queen Anne-style house providing 6,181sq.ft of exceptional high-ceilinged lateral living space with an additional 144 sq.ft. of storage vaults; which was one of the first homes anywhere in the world to be fitted with a hydraulic passenger lift and later electricity, it is now a contemporary six bedroom residence. With the latest specification and mod-cons the house includes four receptions, seven bathrooms, two private outdoor spaces, period features and air conditioning: for sale via Beauchamp Estates.

Just off Kensington High Street, a short stroll from Kensington Palace and Hyde Park, the townhouse has in recent years been exquisitely refurbished and interior designed, offering a balance of formal and family spaces.

Features include a grand raised ground floor reception and first floor drawing room with direct access to a balcony, a second floor dedicated entirely to the principal bedroom suite, four further ensuite bedrooms over the third and fourth floors, and a lower ground level providing both staff accommodation and family leisure areas, including a bedroom, gym and utility room.

This state-of-the-art Kensington home has a sleek contemporary four-person passenger lift moving silently between the lower, raised ground, first and second floors. However, when the house was originally built, between 1883 and 1886, the Victorian lift that was installed was at the cutting edge of design and technology.

This property was one of the first private homes in London, indeed the world, to be fitted with a hydraulic-powered passenger lift, technology that during the Victorian era had hitherto only been seen in grand city hotels.

In the early 1880s when Kensington Court was being planned progressive Victorian property developer Jonathan T. Carr hired architect J.J. Stevenson, the leading light in the Queen Anne revival movement, to build the first 23 houses on Kensington Court.

Carr knew he had to also attract wealthy householders to the scheme with exceptional servicing arrangements. Building large subways beneath the streets allowed workmen to install not only the latest gas and water plumbing, but hydraulic mains – which would revolutionise both grand domestic architecture and the way householders and their servants used their homes.

The new houses at the Kensington Court utilised a specially designed London Hydraulic Power Company station nearby to power the new homes’ lifts. The lifts removed the need for the houses to have a “back stair” - a narrow, secondary set of stairs traditionally used by servants. The removal of the secondary staircase allowed the rooms on all floors to be more spacious.

In addition, the passenger lift allowed for the easy transport of luggage, food, coal, laundry and bedding throughout the house. During the Victorian era staff would simply need to be careful to only use the lift first thing in the morning or late at night, when their employers were not using it.

In 1886, the townhouse would again make history, becoming one of the very first in Britain to receive a permanent, private domestic electricity supply. Thanks to electrical pioneer Colonel R.E.B. Crompton, who lived at No 48 Kensington Court, a purpose-built generator station supplied the new, luxury houses in the enclave, replacing smelly gas lighting to create brightly lit interiors. Crompton, known as “the King of Electricity”, also organised the electrical illumination of Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle.

Today, behind the restored Queen Anne-style façade, with red brick, Dutch gabling, ornamental frieze and handsome ironwork, the townhouse’s grand light-filled proportions and bespoke contemporary luxuries are similarly at the zenith of sophisticated Kensington living, the perfect balance of comfort and convenience.

The discreetly integrated lift and showpiece Victorian staircase provide access to the first floor, where a magnificent drawing/dining room has ceiling heights of 3.64m. (11.9ft.), original wall panelling, cornicing and a marble Baroque-style fireplace embellished with carved mythical figurehead and scrolled foliage. Elegant floor-to-ceiling fenestration opens onto a balcony.

Jeremy Gee, Managing Director of Beauchamp Estates, says: “When the townhouse on Kensington Court was built in the mid-1880s, not only was it a showpiece for opulent Victorian living, but it made history as one of the very first homes in London, possibly the world, to have a hydraulic passenger lift, with electricity following soon after. Still state-of-the-art, the townhouse today provides beautifully restored living spaces, six ensuite bedrooms, a gym, air conditioning – and, of course, a sleek modern lift connecting the principal floors.”

Vlad Viaryshka, Senior Sales Negotiator at Beauchamp Estates, says: “In a prime West London location, moments from Kensington Gardens and Kensington High Street, this elegant red-brick Queen Anne-style townhouse on Kensington Court is immaculately presented throughout, balancing effortless luxury, sophistication, practicality and accessibility. With its fascinating history combined with a classic yet contemporary interior design scheme, we expect it to have huge appeal to both British and overseas families.”

The house in Kensington Court is for sale for £16,750,000 (freehold).

For further information or to arrange a viewing contact Beauchamp Estates on telephone: +44 (0)20 7499 7722 or email: londonsales@beauchampestates.com.