Queen's Former Film Studio Reborn as Five London Homes

A Grade II-listed 1841 chapel in St John's Wood — once the studio where Queen filmed Radio Ga Ga — has been converted into five boutique homes by owner Marcus Cooper Group and developer Valouran, with architecture by Darling Associates and interiors by Gunter and Co.

Connaught House sits on St John's Wood Terrace, a stone's throw from Abbey Road Studios, Lord's Cricket Ground and Regent's Park. Architect John Tarring designed the original neoclassical building, which features Corinthian columns and white stucco. It served as a chapel, then a squash club, before its latest transformation.

The restoration recovered a key lost element: the chapel's crowning cupola, missing for almost 100 years after past alterations. Handcrafted windows and refined rooflines bring the structure into the 21st century.

What does the conversion change inside?

Just five apartments, each unique but tied by a shared palette. Green and neutral tones, timber and stone surfaces create a coherent collection.

Irene Gunter of Gunter and Co said: 'Our approach to the interiors was shaped by a pursuit centred on bringing back the chapel's original character - celebrating the arches, the period detailing, and the quality of daylight, and restoring features lost to a series of unsympathetic alterations over the years. We were careful, though, not to simply wind the clock back. It was just as important that the five homes felt luxurious, refined and considered for modern-day living, not a museum piece.'

The interiors follow the architecture room by room rather than applying one flat design. Front apartments with arched windows lean classical, matching the chapel's proportions. Rear apartments, where the building is more contemporary, shift into a modern design language.

Gunter said: 'What ties the apartments together is a shared material palette - sympathetic wood tones, neutral paint colours, and consistent ironmongery and tapware carried through both the classical and contemporary spaces. That common thread is what gives the collection cohesion, even as each apartment's character shifts depending on where it sits in the building.'

How British is the build?

Very. Around 80 per cent of what's found across the homes is UK-made, according to Gunter.

'Every supplier and maker was chosen through the same lens as everything else on this project - quality, craft and longevity,' Gunter said. 'We leaned heavily on a team of suppliers we've tested and trusted over years of projects, with a strong focus on UK makers. Around 80 per cent of what you'll find across the homes is UK-made. This is a proudly British project, and investing in that craftsmanship felt like the right way to honour it.'

The project also showcases new artisans. Each apartment contains bespoke pieces by makers discovered at craft fairs and elsewhere.

Tall ceilings and large windows opening onto surrounding green spaces amplify the sense of volume. Soft furnishings and curated artwork complete the interiors.

The conversion shows how landmark religious buildings can hold luxury housing without erasing their layered histories — a chapel, a squash club and a rock video set now living on as five homes.