Summary:
Malplaquet House is an extraordinary Grade II-listed early Georgian home with a fascinating history in east London’s Stepney Green conservation area. It was built between 1741 and 1742 and later adapted in the 1790s. It has been fully restored in more recent years in consultation with The Spitalfields Historic Buildings Trust. The house unfolds over four spacious and atmospheric storeys, which contain five bedrooms and measure 4000+ sq ft in total.
The Space:
On Mile End Road, ivy, wisteria, jasmine, climbing roses and creepers grow over tall cast-iron railings to form a mysterious screen, giving few clues to the majestic home that lies behind. A black-and-white marble-tiled pathway leads through the garden to a stone balcony with iron railings and the entrance to the house.
Four storeys high and five bays wide, the house is made of London stock brick, carefully repointed with lime mortar. The entrance hall bisects the plan, with aged pine floorboards and a clear vista directly to the staircase and garden entrance beyond. The sense of history is immediately palpable, with walls scrapped down to their original discoloured paint. All walls in the house feature traditional thin paints and chalks, hand-applied in countless layers by specialist artisans, upon lime plaster.
Two large reception rooms lie on either side of the hall, both with double-aspect windows allowing the rooms to be flooded with light. The west-facing room features a green Florentine marble bolection chimney piece from Lord Rosebery’s demolished townhouse in Berkeley Square. The east-facing room features two bullseye Carrara marble chimneypieces and open iron grates.
Descending to the lower-ground floor rooms, the guest bedroom has beautifully distressed panelling, old cupboards in the alcoves, and a door to the front garden. The chimneypiece is 18th century and from the celebrated meeting place ‘Tom’s Coffee House’ in Covent Garden, which was later demolished when the Royal Opera House was built in its place.
The kitchen is a wonderful room overlooking the garden, equipped with a dining table. The kitchen counter is supported with Victorian table legs, with Swedish green marble used for countertops that once clad the foyer of a 1950s office block. The stoneware sink is reclaimed and features a Vitruvian scroll; the taps are in a crosshead design in antique chrome by Barber Wilson.
Ascending to the first floor, a sitting room is positioned at the front of the plan. Three bays wide, it has an antique fireplace in an Asiatic design made from carved wood, home to an open fire. Panelling remains untreated, and there are doors to the surrounding alcoves.
At the east range on this floor are two connected rooms, separated by wedding doors that remain from the house’s conception in 1741. The rear room is formed of two original panelled ‘closets’, with the original arsenic green décor found beneath layers of wallpaper mounted on hessian secured on battens. The original panelling remains, updated in the 1790s, and cupboards are set into the alcoves. The chimneypiece with ancient marble slips is from a farmhouse in Norfolk. The second room to the front of the house is panelled with remnants of wallpaper from the 1800s.
Also on the first floor are a shower room and a separate WC. The WC was installed in the 1850s and features original cupboards and water pump housing, while the shower is lined with coloured specimen marbles and 19th-century tiles.
The uppermost floor has three bedrooms, a home office and a generously sized bathroom. The office space was once a modest kitchen when the house was used as divided dwellings in the mid-19th century, and a working fluted stoneware sink remains. The west bedroom remains panelled with a cupboard in one alcove containing the original dry closet, a precursor to the WC. The bathroom has aged lime plaster on the walls, with a reddish aged wash applied. A hob grate is set into the fireplace, and two cast-iron roll-top claw foot baths are positioned by the high-set windows. Both are reclaimed, and one has a shower attachment to the tap fittings. This room is a wonderful space to relax in the evenings, a deux.
Guest Access:
Guests will have sole access to the entirety of the home.
The Neighborhood:
Stepney Green and nearby Whitechapel are an incredibly vibrant and centrally located part of east London. A short walk or cycle from both the River Thames and the City, the area offers excellent local amenities. The historic buildings on nearby Whitechapel Road have been extensively and sensitively restored in recent years in consultation with Historic England, presenting a multifarious union of the finest late 19th-century commercial architecture. The original Royal London Hospital building and its façade are being restored for use as the Tower Hamlets new town hall. They complete the full architectural restoration of the area. The green open spaces of Mile End Park, Limehouse Basin, Victoria Park (which provides access to the Regent’s Canal), Stepney Green Park and Stepney City Farm and Cafe are also a short walk away.
The eclectic George Tavern is recommended for drinks and occasional music events on Jubilee Street, while the Whitechapel Gallery and independent Genesis cinema provide cultural distractions. Nearby Spitalfields and Shoreditch offer further opportunities for dining, entertainment and shopping, with restaurants including Ottolenghi, Cecconi’s and St. John Bread & Wine. Spitalfields Market and the surrounding streets now offer shopping opportunities comparable to the West End, and the famous Brick Lane is just a short walk round the corner. Just down the road you will find Genesis cinema - a family owned & independent cinema continuing the tradition of entertaining East London since 1848.
Getting Around:
Transport links are excellent; a 10-minute walk away is Whitechapel underground station, which runs Circle and Hammersmith & City Line services and provides access to the East London branch of the Overground. A one-minute walk away and nearest to Malplaquet House, however, is Stepney Green station, which also runs both District and Hammersmith & City line services. The Elizabeth Line has recently opened and operates from Whitechapel underground station, from which trains run to Paddington station in 14 minutes and Heathrow Airport in 38 minutes. The house also lies immediately upon Cycle Superhighway II, a separate cycle lane directly connecting the City of London to the west and Stratford to the east.
Other Things to Note:
The current Wifi is provided by two dongle routers and given the size of the house the signal may be inconsistent in areas of the house - we are sourcing a permanent solution in the meantime.
The home is very unique in terms of design and function so we suggest anyone looking to book to look at all the photos before doing so as they are a fair reflection of the home and we acknowledge it may not be to everyone's taste.
When booking with us your stay will be protected by a Deposit Guarantee, Guest Guarantee and public liability provided by our risk management partner, TRUVI. To benefit from this protection you will be contacted by TRUVI directly to verify yourself.
No open fires
Dogs only
Strictly no parties
Unfortunately we do not allow under 12s
Interaction with Guests:
We will be on hand throughout your stay to make it as enjoyable as possible for you :) You will be greeted on the day by a member of staff who will show you around!
