Description: 52-55 Newington Green, Islington are a group of four Grade I listed buildings. Built in 1658, they are thought to be the earliest surviving terraced houses in England.

Issue: English Heritage purchased Nos. 53-55 in 1984 and undertook major structural repairs prior to their sale and refurbishment by private owner. No. 52 (on the right of the photograph) has been on the Buildings at Risk Register for 13 years, but is now being restored for residential use.

Strategy: Detailed historical survey of all four houses, and tree-ring analysis of No. 52 by English Heritage has revealed reused sixteenth-century timbers. Two of the houses have trompe-l’oeil wall paintings to imitate panelling, and seventeenth-century timber panelling has recently been uncovered in the ground-floor of No 52 – rare survivals in London houses. The Victorian shop front is being repaired with a grant from the Newington Green Heritage Economic Regeneration Scheme.

Outcome: This case study demonstrates the importance of carrying out research before repair strategies and management decisions are made.