On Saturday, during a conversation with the lovely Dan Cruickshank the chatter turned to the sad state of 76 Dean Street.  It's a subject Dan is passionate about, and we came to conclusion that the parlous situation of this fine building has somehow, and quite wrongly slipped under the radar.  Patrick Baty, everyone's favourite historical paint maven, suggested all the people he knows who should be contacted; you know, important people like The Georgian Group and so on, and I said I would blog, Facebook and Tweet about it.  We can but try, and this building deserves awareness, if nothing else.

On the 10th of July 2009, a fire broke out in 76 Dean Street, Soho.  In the news, the mass evacuation of the surrounding area was due to a fire in 'offices'.  Number 76 is indeed commercially-owned, but 'offices' is a poor description of a c.1730 building of significant importance to the fabric of Soho and Georgian London at large.  The house was built by Thomas Richmond and the first occupant was the 7th Earl of Abercorn.  Later, it housed Rundell Bridge & Rundell, the Royal Goldsmith and Jewellers and employers of Paul Storr, before being rented by the Church as a home for children removed from the local workhouses.

The interior was a fine example of a Georgian house (including the mural, featuring a ship in full sail, on the staircase) and many of the fixtures were intact.  The house is described as 'outstanding' in The Survey of London.  Well, outstanding it may be, but after the fire, the company owning the house have been unable or unwilling to protect it from further deterioration.  Westminster has declined to take action to make a compulsory purchase.<Although this appears to have changed according to news of 15th April 2010>  An initial attempt by English Heritage to salvage some of the panelling and the mural have led to many fixtures being collected together, then left exposed to the elements where they continue to deteriorate. 

We must face the fact that 76 Dean Street is now largely lost to us because of a 'faulty air-conditioning system'.  That this building was allowed to pass into modern commercial use is  unfortunate and inappropriate to say the least, but it is happening all over London (see also my personal hobby-horse in 78 Bermondsey Street).  However, the building shouldn't be allowed to deteriorate further.  What can and should be done for this wonderful piece of London fabric remains to be seen, but its plight deserves a wider audience.

The best outcome is that someone with the money and inclination to put this house as right as it can now ever be, will come forward to purchase it.  The worst outcome is that it will be allowed to continue to decline until it is beyond saving, after which the facade will be maintained, but an entirely modern (and cost effective) interior will be installed for more offices.    

So, beloved Georgian Londoners, please 'fan' the Facebook page here (a show of numbers can do nothing but help; it's about awareness, not money or action, that's for bigger fish than me) or use the hashtag #76DeanStreet to raise awareness on the Twitter contraption, feel free to add your thoughts here and please RT the post.