Sash window repairs and restoration in Belgravia
We restore, repair and draught-proof timber sash windows in Belgravia and in Belgrave Square, Eaton Square and Chester Square. The housing is the Grosvenor estate's stucco terraces of the 1820s to 1840s, nearly all of it listed. The Belgravia Conservation Area covers the whole district, and the estate's own consent applies alongside the council's.
Belgravia's windows
Belgravia was built as a single composition, much of it by Thomas Cubitt on the Grosvenor estate, and the windows are part of the design. On the principal floors the sashes are tall and slender, often with margin lights, set behind cast-iron balconies; above, they diminish floor by floor to the attic. Original crown glass is common and the glazing bars are fine. Painted stucco surrounds hold water at the cill, so bottom rails rot behind paint that looks sound. In the mews behind the squares the sashes are smaller and have often been altered. Many houses keep internal shutters on the principal floors, and we overhaul those at the same time.
What matters most in Belgravia
Belgravia was built as one composition, and its windows are part of the design: tall, slender sashes on the principal floors, often with margin lights, diminishing floor by floor to the attic. Original crown glass is common and the glazing bars are fine, which puts glass and glazing first. Every bar means joints and panes to protect, and old glass is lifted and reset rather than replaced.
The painted stucco surrounds hold water at the cill, so bottom rails rot behind paint that still looks sound. Restoration cuts that decay out and splices in matching timber. Many houses also keep internal shutters on the principal floors, and we overhaul them alongside the sashes.
What we do in Belgravia
Conservation in Belgravia
The Belgravia Conservation Area covers the whole district, most of its houses are listed, and the Grosvenor estate's own consent may be needed alongside the council's. Our guide to conservation areas and Article 4 directions explains how it works. Check your own address on Westminster City Council's conservation area and Article 4 map, and we will go through what your windows need at the survey. Where an application does need drawings, we can prepare them. That is separate work and we quote for it.
Common questions
Do I need Grosvenor's consent to restore my windows?01
Not usually for repair, but check your lease. Changing the windows or the glazing can need the estate's consent as well as the council's. Where an application needs drawings, we can prepare them. That is separate work and we quote for it. If your lease sets its own obligations for the outside of the house, we work to those as well. Grosvenor's published guidance sets out which changes need its consent, and we can talk you through it at the survey.
Can slimline double glazing go into listed Belgravia sashes?02
Sometimes. It needs listed building consent, and fine sashes with original crown glass are often better kept as they are, with draught-proofing and working shutters. Where the sashes are deep enough and consent is likely, we fit slimline units. We look at each window at the survey.
Do you cover all of Belgravia?03
Yes: Belgrave Square, Eaton Square, Chester Square, Wilton Crescent, Eaton Place, Elizabeth Street and the mews behind them, and on into Pimlico and Knightsbridge. Send photographs for a free digital survey and we come back with what the windows need.
Book a survey
Send us photographs of your windows and we'll tell you what needs doing and what doesn't, with a written quotation. The digital survey is free.
Free digital survey with written quotation