Nelson thought this terrace built in the 1770s 'one of the finest rows of houses in the environs of the Metropolis'. The relatively isolated position made highwaymen and footpads a hazard - nonetheless prosperous City merchants and bankers soon moved in, attracted by the high and healthy land and far-reaching views. A wealthy wine merchant was the first resident of this house in 1775. Others in the terrace later included politician Joseph Chamberlain and author Wilkie Collins who attended a boarding school in one of the neighbouring houses - he attributed his talent for storytelling to the bullying he experienced there. At the start of the 20th century the house became the offices of the Great Northern & City Railway Co., the only tube to have had first-class seating. From the 1920s for 75 years it was an Italian restaurant - later a cafe - at one time frequented by Walter Sickert who ran a school of painting two doors down. The basement of a nearby house in the terrace was used as a recording studio by musician Curly Clayton where he recorded the first session with the Rolling Stones in 1962.
