Decorating Kent Terrace

Kent Terrace was designed by John Nash and built in 1827 by William Mountford Nurse, one of the later additions to the ring of stuccoed terraces encircling Regent's Park. The terrace was named in honour of the Duchess of Kent, mother of the future Queen Victoria, reflecting the royal associations that Nash cultivated throughout the Regent's Park development. Positioned at the park's south-eastern corner, Kent Terrace occupies a particularly exposed site at the junction of Park Road and the Outer Circle, where the prevailing south-westerly winds create elevated wind speeds and driving rain loads that significantly exceed those experienced by the more sheltered interior-facing terraces. The terrace comprises 28 houses in a continuous stuccoed range articulated by a central pedimented feature and projecting end pavilions. The houses were developed for the professional and mercantile upper middle class and have maintained a predominantly residential character. The Crown Estate retains the freehold and manages the terrace under its comprehensive conservation maintenance programme, with cyclical inspection, repair, and redecoration carried out on a rolling schedule. The terrace suffered limited war damage and retains a substantial proportion of its original early nineteenth-century fabric, though successive maintenance campaigns have introduced varying qualities of repair and coating that require careful assessment during each conservation cycle.

The conservation painting of Kent Terrace must account for the significantly different exposure conditions experienced by the park-facing and road-facing facades, and the critical junction zone between them. The road-facing return elevation, which receives the full impact of prevailing wind-driven rain, requires a coating specification that maximises water repellency while maintaining full vapour permeability. A silicate mineral paint system with a hydrophobic additive, such as Keim Granital with Keim Silangrund pre-treatment, provides the optimal solution: the silicate base ensures a permanent chemical bond with the lime substrate and full vapour transmission, while the silane-based hydrophobic treatment creates a water-repellent surface that reduces the absorption of driving rain by up to 90 percent without forming a vapour barrier. This treatment is particularly important at the vulnerable junction between the return and front facades, where concentrated water run-off during rain events can penetrate cracks and accelerate stucco deterioration. Stucco repairs on the exposed return facade should employ a lime mortar with a slightly higher hydraulic set, typically NHL 3.5, to provide faster carbonation and improved moisture resistance compared to the NHL 2 that is adequate for the sheltered front facade. Roman cement enrichments require the standard conservation treatment of consolidation with nanolime, repair with compatible natural cement or pigmented NHL mortar, and shelter coating or painting with silicate mineral paint as appropriate. All stucco repairs must be allowed to cure for a minimum of 28 days before any coating application, to ensure full carbonation of the lime binder. Timber joinery on the wind-exposed elevations demands particular attention to weathertight detailing: all glazing putty must be renewed in linseed oil putty tooled to a smooth, paintable surface, all joints between timber elements must be sealed with a flexible mastic, and the paint system must provide a continuous, impervious film with no pinholes or holidays. The recommended timber finish is a high-build alkyd gloss applied over a micaceous iron oxide primer, providing enhanced moisture resistance compared to a standard aluminium wood primer. Cast iron rainwater goods on the exposed elevation should be checked for blockages or leaks at every maintenance inspection, as overflow from defective gutters and downpipes is a major source of stucco saturation damage.