Before & After: Hampton Court

A corner townhouse in an exceptional Victorian-era row receives a painstaking overhaul that elevates it from a collection of shoddy apartments to an elegant home suitable for luxurious modern living.

Exterior Before

Located at the corner of Wayne and Barrow Streets in Jersey City's Van Vorst Park Historic District, Hampton Court Terrace is known for its Gothic Revival Style and ample British influences, thanks to the English origins of the Paulmier family, Hampton Court's original builders and owners. Commonly known as row houses or townhouses in the U.S., this type of side-by-side residence is called a "terrace house" in England, and the name "Hampton Court" likely references the London castle, Hampton Court on the Thames.c

Built around 1880, the home's intricate styling stands out against the more uniform brownstones that fill the neighboring streets. The Van Vorst Park National Register of Historic Places report describes the homes as "detailed in brick with decorative tile panels, masonry lintels and sills, gables and mansard roofs with dormers. The quality of these buildings is unique and their immediate appearance conveys a story-book quality." Hampton Court's distinctive presence is further emphasized by the homes' consecutive addresses — Nos. 1 through 7 — rarely found on American houses on the same side of the street.

handsome building

Years of overall neglect and a series of poorly conceived subdivisions left the house at No. 1 Hampton Court Terrace a decrepit, crumbling mess — a far cry from its original grandeur which the Evening Journal of Jersey City once described as the "handsomest and most unique buildings in the city."

Dixon acquired the property in 2013 and has carefully restored the home, top to bottom, creating an elegant five-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bathroom showplace in the heart of Jersey City. 

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