Respecting the history and heritage of an iconic building while giving it a new lease of life is no easy task and often involves time-consuming research into the property's origins. But it’s vital to get it right.

Last year, work started on the restoration of one of the country’s most iconic Grade II* listed crescents. Now, as St Leonard’s Place in central York nears completion, the developer, Rushbond, has published a short paper by architectural historian Ingrid Brown to document its significance.

The paper provides an invaluable insight into how and why the crescent was designed. In it, Ingrid explains how St Leonard’s Place brought an 'extravagant architectural style to the North, hitherto prevalent in London and the South,' and how the scheme grew out of ambitious plans by the city’s then-governing bodies, the York Corporation and the City Commissioners, to deliver a programme of road-building.

Says Ingrid: 'In 1831, a new curved street was proposed and a significant number of residential plots were planned to line the west side, with additional plots opposite.These were advertised but it wasn’t until three years later that investors became interested and construction finally began, after a fresh proposal incorporating architect John Harper’s elegant crescent design.The new proposal was for fewer houses, much grander than those in the original plans and featuring large gardens, while the corner plot facing Blake Street was earmarked for the York Subscription Library, a long-established city institution founded in 1794 housed in St Helen’s Square. Each house was to be built and decorated according to the individual occupant’s taste.'

As well as Harper, prominent architect George Townsend Andrews contributed to the scheme as, it is believed, did the talented James Piggot Pritchett. J B and W Atkinson added more properties in 1851.

According to documents from the time, St Leonard’s Place soon became the ‘hub of elite social life’ in 19th-century York, and the most superior address in the city became home to a succession of prominent individuals and families. Despite being used as council offices for a time, many historic features throughout the property remain.

Following restoration there will be five grand townhouses and 29 apartments, along with six new mews properties. The care and attention that has gone into the project is truly remarkable, demonstrating a best-in-class example of modern city centre living combined with timeless elegance.

For us, it is a privilege to be involved with such a prominent and important set of buildings as they are transformed into the beautiful residential spaces they were originally designed to be. It has also has been very rewarding to be part of the next chapter of York’s St Leonard’s Place.