The Paragon, Blackheath

The Paragon is a crescent of 14 semi detached houses built by John Cator between 1795 and 1806. Each house had a basement, ground floor, two upper floors and an attic. They were joined by single story colonnades and were designed for wealthy Londoners who were looking for a quiet and more peaceful location away from the hustle and bustle of city life. Cator imposed a number of strict regulations about who could lease one of the houses (for example no school masters or fishmongers) which were intended to maintain the exclusive nature of the crescent. During the 1920s some of the houses were turned into hotels and the area went into decline. During the Second World War the houses were badly damaged by enemy bombing and were rebuilt by Charles Bernard Brown.