Wilton Crescent was created by Thomas Cundy II, the Grosvenor family estate surveyor, and was drawn up with the original 1821 Wyatt plan for Belgravia. It was named at the time of Thomas Egerton, 2nd Earl of Wilton, second son of Robert Grosvenor, 1st Marquess of Westminster on whose estate the road was built in 1825 through Seth Smith In the 19th and 20th centuries, it was home to many prominent British politicians, ambassadors and civil servants. Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma lived at 2 Wilton Crescent for many years, marked today by an attributive blue plaque. Akin to nearby developments, Wilton Crescent is characterised by grand terraces with lavish white houses which are built in a crescent shape, many of them with stuccoed balconies, particularly on the southern part of the crescent. The Portland stone-clad, five-storey houses toward the north are high and were refaced between 1908 and 1912 via architects Balfour and Turner. Most of the houses had originally been built in the stucco style, but such houses became stone-clad during this renovation period. Other houses today have black iron balconies. Wilton Crescent lies east of Lowndes Square and Lowndes Street, to the northwest of Belgrave Square. It is accessed via Wilton Place which connects it to the main road in Knightsbridge. Grosvenor Crescent is to the east, which contains the Indonesian Embassy. Further to the east is the back of Buckingham Palace and London Victoria station. In 2007, Wilton Garden in the middle of the crescent won a bronze medal from the London Gardens Society. There are two diplomatic buildings in Wilton Crescent: the High Commission of Singapore at No. 9, and the Embassy of Luxembourg at No. 27.
Layout and numbering
The 50 buildings, some subdivided, forming the headline Wilton Crescent addresses are listed at Grade II. The crescent is split into three terraces of lengthy proportion buildings, plus 31 which forms a terrace with 1-15 Grosvenor Crescent, plus 32 and 33 which face the opposing side of a brief continuation of the eastern broad link into Belgrave Square which form a terrace with 1-11 Belgrave Square. The western broad link into Belgrave Square is however termed Wilton Terrace, split into 1-3 Wilton Terrace and is of identical date, style and proportions.
Architectural details
Of the main two quadrants and main facing return of the crescent, forming 47 of the 50 buildings, the first floor has stucco-applied doric order pilasters between the windows and a subsidiary cornice above. The second and third floors are united by paired ionic order pilasters set between houses. These are surmounted by a heavy modillion cornice. Most have a balustrade finished with urns to the final unit. They have dipped parapet walls with ball finials.
