Yours for £3k a week, the townhouse with royal history woven into it

The 34 early Georgian houses that line Fournier Street, in the heart of Spitalfields, are a perfectly preserved microcosm of East London life through the centuries. Since it was built in the 1720s, the street – which runs between Brick Lane and Commercial Street, in E1 – has variously been home to the city’s wealthiest and poorest.

With many of its first residents Huguenot weavers escaping religious persecution in France, the street is characterised by its series of highly glazed lofts, harnessing the light vital for the skilled textile work, with many of the houses subsequently bought by those in the silk trade.

Arguably one of the finest houses on the street, No. 14, was built in 1726 by master carpenter and architect William Taylor, and subsequently leased by silk weavers Signeratt and Bourdillon. It is believed that in its attic space the fabric for Queen Victoria’s coronation gown was woven. 

The Grade II-listed five-storey house, which stretches over 3,546 sq ft of living space, is still an impeccable example of early Georgian craftsmanship – largely thanks to its present owner, the one-time television producer Ben Adler (whose credits include MasterChef).