White Lion Court, Garrett Street, London EC1

A joyful fortress of discretion lies behind the walls of White Lion Court, a building tucked down a quiet side street between rejuvenated Old Street and the Dickensian charm of Clerkenwell. Once the recording studio of The Pet Shop Boys, this sublime former warehouse is anonymously set behind a walled courtyard and contains within it approximately 4,400 sq ft of versatile, largely lateral internal space in addition to a substantial south-facing roof terrace. It was converted to its current live/work capacity by the architect Charles Tashima, whose energetic and intriguing design celebrates the many features of its industrial past.

The Tour

Victorian in origin, the building was once associated with the Whitbread Brewery; later iterations saw it serve as a smithy, stable, fodder store, engine house, sawmill and as workshops. Much of the intention of the design by Charles Tashima was to draw out as much of the history and character as possible by exposing the original brickwork, roof trusses and massive timber beams.

Despite the proud announcement of its number on Garrett Street, the high yellow-stock brick wall and timber-gated entrance reveals little of the rare house that lies beyond.
Stepping through the wonderfully humble trade door, which rests within a vehicular gate, one enters a partially cobbled, concrete courtyard to a front door of towering Crittall glazing. Beyond the threshold, a wide hallway leads ahead to a cloakroom, guest WC and AV storage. To the right is an enormous bedroom suite with an en suite shower room. To the left is a similarly sized room, currently a gym, which provides access to the former, though still soundproofed, recording studio.

A weathered timber staircase rises through the centre of the plan to the first floor, where a breathtaking open-plan reception spans over 17 metres beneath lengths of exposed timber beams. Zones graduate from kitchen to dining and culminate at the far end in a living space with double doors on to a substantial south-facing roof terrace.

A rich and eclectic material palette has been employed throughout, including reclaimed timber panelling, teak laboratory tops, polished concrete, patterned Moroccan tiles, blackened steel, coloured and reeded glass and even fossil limestone flooring retrieved from the renovation of London Heathrow’s Terminal 2. All external doors and windows have been replaced with double-glazed Crittall steel.

There are two further bedrooms at first-floor level, both en suite, and an open studio/office which has in the past been used as a fourth bedroom. Towering vaulted ceilings are clad in white timber and electric rooflights pour light from above. The principal bedroom occupies the western side of the plan and is arranged around an open dressing room.

The Area

Garrett Street is a quiet lane that runs parallel to Old Street. The wider area is popular with architects and design studios, and is renowned for the quality and variety of its bars, pubs and restaurants, most notably the nearby St. John and Luca. The Barbican Centre, with its world-class cultural programme of cinema, music, theatre, talks and exhibitions, is a few minutes’ walk from the house. Sat the end of the road is Whitecross Street, which holds a weekly lunchtime food market.Exmouth Market, Shoreditch, Covent Garden and Soho are all within walking distance and offer excellent choices for shopping and eating.

Transport links are excellent. Old Street Station is around six minutes’ walk from the house for the Northern Line to King's Cross, Moorgate, Bank and London Bridge. Nearby Barbican offers Circle, Hammersmith and City and Metropolitan Lines; Farringdon also runs Circle, Hammersmith & City, and Metropolitan Lines, as well as Thameslink services to Gatwick Airport, Brighton and Bedford. The Elizabeth Line has recently commenced service from Farringdon, offering high-speed transit across the east-west axis of London that extends out to Heathrow.

Council Tax Band: G