Strand Chambers: rare boutique scheme of nine flats facing London's Royal Courts of Justice for sale

Strand, Temple and Aldwych: few places in the capital have such a deep and rich history.

They have been urban since the Middle Ages, when bishops and royal courtiers built mansions with boat landings on the banks of the Thames, between the City of London and the Palace of Westminster, which were then two separate settlements.

Much later this patch was the domain of Samuel Pepys and Sir Christopher Wren, but apart from rebuilt Somerset House, the dozen-plus palaces have long since perished.

Aristocrats departed for more fashionable Mayfair, leaving the area to become a lively but dissolute district notable for its coffee houses, rowdy taverns and cheap women.

In the 19th century, much of Strand was rebuilt and separated from the river by Victoria Embankment.

It became the hub of London theatre nightlife, but changed character again after the Second World War, when successive waves of development turned the area into a commercial and business zone.

Now the district is changing again as it recaptures its cachet as a top residential address, boosted by a “Northbank” initiative stretching from Trafalgar Square to Ludgate Circus that aims to give the district a major facelift by improving historic lanes and passageways; tree planting; reinstating traditional shopfronts and using lighting to help celebrate the architecture above ground.

Strand Chambers, a bow-fronted period building with courtyard split into nine large apartments, faces across to the Royal Courts of Justice and is part of an auspicious streetscape that also includes St Clement Danes Church; Bush House, the former BBC World Service headquarters; the Australian and Indian high commissions and Marconi House, from where the world’s first television broadcast was made.

Ideal for legal eagles and barristers, the homes cost from £950,000 to £2.3 million. Call Dexters on 020 7590 7299.