Decorating Chester Terrace

Chester Terrace was designed by John Nash and built between 1825 and 1828 by the developer James Burton, one of the most prolific speculative builders of the Regency period. The terrace was named after the Earl of Chester, one of the subsidiary titles of the Prince of Wales, and was conceived as part of Nash's grand scheme to surround Regent's Park with a continuous ring of stuccoed palatial facades that would create the illusion of a single great palace set in a landscaped park. Chester Terrace achieves this effect with particular success: its 42 individual houses are unified behind a single colossal facade articulated by projecting pavilions at each end, marked by triumphal arches linking the main terrace to freestanding Corinthian columns. The central portion of the facade is defined by a giant Corinthian order of engaged columns and pilasters rising through two storeys, supporting a full entablature and parapet. The terrace has always attracted distinguished residents, and its architectural significance has been recognised since the earliest years of the architectural conservation movement. During the Second World War, the terrace suffered incendiary bomb damage, and post-war restoration work included the replacement of some original structural timber with steel and the renewal of sections of stucco and Roman cement ornament. The Crown Estate, which retains the freehold, maintains a rolling programme of conservation maintenance that ensures the terrace's facades are inspected, repaired, and redecorated on a regular cycle.

The conservation painting of Chester Terrace's monumental facade requires a systematic, phased approach coordinated across the terrace's full 280-metre length to ensure visual consistency. The Crown Estate's maintenance specification mandates a silicate mineral paint system for all lime stucco and Roman cement surfaces, providing a chemically bonded, vapour-permeable finish that allows the substrates to continue their essential moisture management function. Before any painting, the facade must be surveyed for areas of stucco distress, including delamination, cracking, sulphation crusting, and biological colonisation. Areas of defective stucco are repaired with a gauged lime mortar matched to the original through petrographic analysis of samples taken from sound areas. Roman cement enrichments, including the Corinthian capitals and entablature, require specialist repair: where profiles are eroded but structurally sound, a shelter coat of limewash may suffice; where material loss is significant, piecing-in with authentic Roman cement or a carefully pigmented NHL repair mortar is necessary. The silicate mineral paint, typically Keim Granital, is applied in two coats: a diluted primer coat for substrate penetration and a full-strength finish coat. The matt, mineral appearance of silicate paint is particularly well-suited to Chester Terrace, as it replicates the stone-like quality that Nash intended. Colour matching across the full length of the terrace demands rigorous quality control, with test panels assessed under varying light conditions before full application proceeds. Timber sash windows are overhauled and repainted on a seven-year cycle using a linseed oil primer and alkyd gloss system, with all glazing putty renewed in traditional linseed oil putty. The cast iron balcony railings receive a cyclical maintenance programme of de-rusting, zinc phosphate priming, and two coats of high-build gloss in black, with particular attention to the concealed rear faces where moisture accumulation accelerates corrosion.