Yahoo Lifestyle A Carpenter Who Rebuilt St Paul’s Cathedral Built This $6.5 Million London Townhouse
Tucked away on London’s cobbled Meard Street in the West End, this four-bedroom townhouse is a time capsule with a plotline worthy of a historical drama. Behind its Georgian façade lies nearly 300 years of layered London history, beginning with its builder, John Meard, a carpenter who helped restore St Paul’s Cathedral after the Great Fire of London. Meard’s name now graces the very street he developed in the 1720s, on land that was once designated for Henry VIII’s royal hunting park.
Today, the £5 million (about $6.5 million) property wears its past with poise. Once home to the king’s first violinist and, later, members of the Sartorius family of famous equestrian painters, No. 11 has survived everything from 19th-century overcrowding to 20th-century neglect. It took a conservation push in the 1970s—and two meticulous restorations by the current owner, most recently in 2017—for the house to become what it is now: an elegant blend of 18th-century craftsmanship and modern flair.
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“Built in 1732, this Grade II* listed home has stood as a silent witness to centuries of transformation in Soho, from its aristocratic beginnings to its bohemian heyday, and now to its current renaissance as one of London’s most desirable residential districts,” says Richard Bryce, co-founder of House Collective.
On the ground floor, classic sash windows and a marble fireplace anchor the formal dining room, while a sleek stainless-steel kitchen injects a gleaming note of modernity. French doors lead to a southeast-facing patio garden, a leafy, serene retreat just steps from the buzz of London’s Theatreland.
Upstairs, the first-floor drawing room is all high ceilings, wood paneling, and natural light. A moody study and a paneled bathroom—its original timbers rediscovered beneath layers of plasterboard—complete the floor. Further up, a surround-sound media lounge and guest suite share the second level, while the third floor is devoted to a decadent principal suite with a freestanding bath, custom wardrobes, and access to a rooftop garden cocooned in greenery. The lower ground floor hosts two more double bedrooms, one en suite, offering flexible space for guests, offices, or studio use.
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“Now meticulously restored, the house seamlessly blends its period elegance with modern sophistication,” Bryce adds. “Grand reception rooms with original fireplaces and intricate cornicing sit alongside contemporary comforts, including air conditioning, a NEST thermostat, and a home cinema. The principal suite, complete with a freestanding bath opening onto a private roof terrace, epitomizes luxury, while the secluded rear garden offers a rare oasis in the heart of the West End.”
Click here to see more photos of the London home.
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