1 QUALITY COURT, , CHANCERY LANE, WC2A 1HR
Open House website says:
Entry to 1 Quality Court is an alley with Victorian tiles and is now built over by a modern building with Tudor accents. The court was built up around 1700 . 1 Quality Court was originally the Patent Office .
A short ride on the Central Line from Bank to Chancery Lane followed by a walk brought me to the entrance to Quality Court, past which I’d previously walked and wondered what was down there?
The answer was that the covered passage opened into a long narrow courtyard between tall 18th century buildings with the door to No.1 being at the far end. Affixed to the door intercom with sticky tape was a handwritten notice saying “dial 1 for entry for Open House” and in front of it was a young lady who had already done so to no avail. While we were wondering if everyone had gone home some more potential visitors arrived and an OWM took over and tried calling again. While I was explaining to him that he’d dialled 11 not 1 the lady inside opened the door and we were in with the instruction “feel free to look around the ground floor, basement level, and help yourself to refreshments”. This was more like it.
In what was once the Patent Office before they moved is now a multi-tenanted office space with a mix of businesses. The central atrium has four storeys with modern steel galleries running round the upper three and a spiral stair to basement level. The walls on three sides are faced with white glazed bricks including the window and door reveals. Hanging down into the space are many light bulbs, unfortunately on a dusk sensor which couldn’t be overridden but must be great when it’s dark.
There was little else to see since the offices off the landings belonged to tenant businesses so were off-limits but more importantly that bean-to-cup machine in the basement level common area was on free vend and the coffee was excellent. In discussion with the office manager and another visitor I found out that I wasn’t the only one that was reminded of a Victorian gaol by the glazed brick tiling and overhanging landings. I a good way I hasten to add 😀
And having finished my coffee and thanked the office manager for showing us round that concluded my Open House London 2024 visits.
There are more photos in my Open House 2024 Flickr Album
I shall no doubt be going through the listings in 2025 when they’re announced to find anything else that I fancy nosing around.
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