Southwark’s 19th-century “owl and the pussy cat” house could be restored and opened as a cafe under plans to redevelop the modern building next to it.
Sitting on Southwark Bridge Road, next to the railway line between Blackfriars and Elephant and Castle, the two 19th-century townhouses are locally famous for the small statues of an owl and a cat in the upper-floor niches.
It’s said the previous owner added them around the turn of the millennium.
Why they are there is still unknown, but it has been speculated that if they are related to Edward Lear’s famous poem, the Owl and the Pussy-Cat, then they might be because Edward’s father was imprisoned in the King’s Bench Prison, which is just a few minutes’ walk from the building.
Whatever their origin, the two statues have delighted people for several decades.
The buildings are now owned by a developer who wants to replace the modern Pocock House building next door with a 45-storey tower for student accommodation and plans to renovate the two old houses, opening them for public use, with a small outdoor seating area at the rear.
There’s also a roof terrace which might be opened up as a public space – depending on the planning consultation results.
The townhouses are not nationally protected, but they are locally listed by Southwark Council, giving them some measure of protection from development – although the council says they have “no architectural value and very limited historical value”
It’s the later addition of the two sculptures that gave them their local character.
According to the developer, 233 Southwark Bridge Road is an example of a ‘third-rate’ Georgian terraced town house (a category defined by the late-17th-century building acts). It was built circa 1830 and typifies the type of residential buildings constructed in London and other urban centres following the Napoleonic wars, showcasing characteristics associated with late Georgian speculative housing development.”
If planning permission is given, then construction of the neighbouring student accommodation is anticipated to start in mid 2027, with completion at the end of 2030.
At the moment, the developer, the student housing group Scape, is carrying out pre-planning and seeking local feedback on its plans for the townhouses.
Hopefully, the council will make it mandatory that any cafe or workspace occupying the old townhouses will have to be called The Owl and the Pussycat, otherwise there’s simply no justice in the world.
The consultation is here.
If you’ve never seen it, the owl and cat house is at 233 Southwark Bridge Road, just to the south of Borough Road.
