Country Life: March 2, 2022 Early Property Pages by julialaurencefuture

EVERY WEEK

This sceptr’d isle

MARCH 2, 2022

How restless republicans changed it forever

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PRINTED IN THE UK

ISSUE: 09

MARCH 2, 2022

How Whistler took on the art world and won

£4.50

THE VOICE OF THE COUNTRYSIDE

Town vs country? Let’s heal the divide Why we all love Desert Island Discs

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ONE FAMILY SPECIALISING IN FINE FURNITURE SINCE 1866

A fine brass and onyx table lamp, the vase body with Neo-classical mounts, the base with onyx cabochons, surmounted by a hand sewn and embroidered silk shade. Inspired by the original Louis XVI.

£2,830

Width: 16 inches (42cm) | Depth: 16 inches (42cm) | Height: 39 inches (100.5cm)

NATIONWIDE HOME APPROVAL SERVICE | BESPOKE COMMISSIONS UNDERTAKEN OVER 1,000 ITEMS OF EXCLUSIVE CLASSICAL FURNISHINGS IN STOCK CALL 01491 641115 | WWW.BRIGHTSOFNETTLEBED.CO.UK NETTLEBED

OXFORDSHIRE

RG9 5DD (OPEN TUES-SAT)

KING’S RD

LONDON

SW6 2DX (OPEN MON-FRI)

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FRENSHAM, SURREY

ocated in an elevated position with south-facing views, a Grade II listed former hop house originally designed by Norman Shaw. The property has been beautifully restored, combining the original charm with modern family living.

Guide price £3,000,000 Knight Frank London & Guildford oliver.rodbourne@knightfrank.com 020 4502 7108 nigel.mitchell@knightfrank.com 01483 355875 Ref: POD180587

knightfrank.co.uk Winner of six customer service experience awards in 2021

CHACOMBE, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE

Guide Price: £3,000,000

5 Bedrooms | 4 Reception Rooms | 6 Bathrooms | B EPC

A modern stone-built property set on a plot of approximately 32 acres of gardens and fields with panoramic views over the surrounding countryside. The main house has over 4,650 sq. ft. of accommodation set over three floors with a lower ground floor featuring a cinema room and wine store. Outbuildings include a detached stone barn and there is planning permission in place to construct a triple garage with workshop and garden store.

Michael Graham Towcester Richard Irlam 01327 350022 Michael Graham London Bob Bickersteth 0207 839 0888

michaelgraham.co.uk michaelgraham_living

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B ODICOTE , OXFORDSHIRE

n elegant and recently refurbished family house with versatile accommodation including a wonderful converted coach house. Situated in the heart of the popular village of Bodicote, the house enjoys a peaceful village setting with private gardens.

Guide price £2,250,000 Knight Frank Oxford harry.sheppard@knightfrank.com 01865 987983 Ref: OXF012285040

knightfrank.co.uk Winner of six customer service experience awards in 2021

Grade I Listed Country House Much Hadham, Hertfordshire Much Hadham: 0.5 miles, Stanstead Airport: 12.7 miles A stunningly renovated home which is full of country grandeur yet close to local amenities. 5 reception rooms, principal suite across 2 levels with dressing rooms and 2 en suite bathrooms, 10 further bedrooms (3 en suite), family bathroom, library, bar, gym, offices, heated swimming pool, tennis court and separate staff apartment.

About 51 acres | Guide £12 million

Tim Phillips Savills London Country Department 020 3930 2806 tmphillips@savills.com

savills

savills.co.uk

Herefordshire, Uphampton

Guide Price £1,675,000

Over 50 Offices across England and Scotland, including prime Central London.

Hertfordshire, Hunsdon

Offers in Excess of £3,600,000

/struttandparker

Mark Rimell

Gina Simpson

Country Department 020 7318 5025

St Albans Office 01727 238 467

mark.rimell@struttandparker.com

gina.simpson@struttandparker.com

@struttandparker

struttandparker.com

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4 5 STORRINGTON, WEST SUSSEX

magnificent Grade II listed Arts & Crafts country house with stunning views of The South Downs. The house is situated within a parkland setting with a vineyard beyond, extending to approximately 15.62 acres. 8 B E D R O O M S | 8 B AT H R O O M S | 4 R E C E P T I O N R O O M S I N D O O R S W I M M I N G P O O L C O M P L E X | 2 S E L F - C O N TA I N E D C O T TA G E S GA R AG I N G STO R E S & WO R K S H O P S | GA R D E N & G RO U N D S

V I N E YA R D | S T O R R I N G T O N 0 . 8 M I L E | P U L B O R O U G H 5 . 4 M I L E S HORSHAM 15 MILES | CHICHESTER 16.8 MILES

Guide price available upon request Knight Frank London oliver.rodbourne@knightfrank.com Hamptons wheelerm@hamptons.co.uk 020 7493 8222

Winner of six customer service experience awards in 2021

knightfrank.co.uk

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3 CHIPPING NORTON, OXFORDSHIRE

ne-of-a kind Victorian townhouse on the edge of Chipping Norton located in the idyllic Cotswolds. The property benefits from a hot-tub, off street parking and a self-contained annexe.

Guide price £1,500,000 Knight Frank Oxford harry.sheppard@knightfrank.com 01865 987983 Ref: OXF012147527

knightfrank.co.uk Winner of six customer service experience awards in 2021

Interiors dressed by XXXXXX XXXXXX

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ESHER, SURREY

1930's detached character home set in a secluded and mature plot in one of Esher's premier private roads. The house offers scope to enlarge or develop, subject to the necessary planning consents.

Guide price £3,325,000 Knight Frank Esher adam.burlison@knightfrank.com 01372 885688 Ref: ESH012176048

knightfrank.co.uk Winner of six customer service experience awards in 2021

ROYAL WESTMORELAND, ST JAMES, BARBADOS - US$6,000,000 / £4,437,500* (*SUBJECT TO EXCHANGE RATES) This idyllic, 6 bed, all ensuite, coral stone home is uniquely set in 1.9 acres of enchanting, private, tropical gardens. With a large infinity pool and extended decking, there is ample space for the family and entertaining with potential for further accommodation. Ref: 3001 +44 (0)203 918 9635 international@hamptons.co.uk

2661 HAM Country Life - Half page ad March 2022 V6.indd 1

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Only With Us property showcase

Only With Us All these properties appeared exclusively with us, 24 hours or more before Rightmove or Zoopla.

Stapley, Somerset

Roughton, Shropshire

£600,000

This individually built five-bedroom detached home provides generous accommodation over two floors and sits within a 0.5 acre plot. Contact: Taunton Sales 01823 760844

£2,000,000

guide price

Nr. Largo, Fife

£725,000

offers over

A Grade II* listed, eight-bed late Georgian property with a separate two-bedroom cottage, 15.56 acres (6.3 Ha) and outbuildings. Contact: Ludlow 01584 539966

A unique five-bed detached property with outstanding countryside views and open-plan living space. Bespoke architecture/eco-designed.

Nawton, North Yorkshire

Weir, Lancashire

POA

A superb four-bed equestrian property with established grounds, stables, garaging, manège and railed paddocks. In all, about 9 acres.

Contact: York 01904 918773

Contact: Cupar 01334 408969

£625,000

A beautiful three-bed dwelling on a private lane boasting 3.5 acres of land. Truly a one of a kind property not to be missed. Contact: Bacup 01706 408702

Create an alert To view these and the finest selection of premium properties, search OnTheMarket Thorverton, Devon

£450,000

offers over

A unique Grade II listed thatched home offering flexible accommodation in the heart of this highly sought-after Exe Valley village. Contact: Exeter 01392 976719

Horham, Suffolk

£450,000

guide price

Whitehouse Cottage is a Grade II listed, five-bedroom property, which has been a cherished second home for a number of years.

Contact: Diss 01379 441944

Verify at www.onthemarket.com/only-with-us/. Agents specify exclusivity.

at CountryLife.co.uk and set up a property alert today.

BALHAM - HARRODS - HAMPSTEAD 020 8675 4808 www.indian-ocean.co.uk

Your indispensable guide to the capital

A G ARDENER’S DELIGHT

Ellie Ramsden

South London Botanical Institute, 323, Norwood Road, SE24 Tucked away behind a modest Victorian house just off the South Circular in Tulse Hill is the capital’s smallest botanical garden—measuring 80ft by 52ft. Yet, despite its size, the South London Botanical Institute (SLBI) garden is packed with a staggering 500 labelled species, from carnivorous to native, scented, poisonous and dye plants, all fighting it out for space among rare trees, shrubs and a small pond full of wildlife. This little-known gem offers a vast range of workshops, talks and walks for all ages, as well as housing a library of some 2,000 botanical books and

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a herbarium with more than 100,000 specimens of dried, pressed plants and ﬂowers. The garden is open every Thursday, when professional gardeners are on hand to answer any plant-related questions. Open-garden evenings—with wine in return for a donation —run from May to August, circumstances permitting. An annual £25 membership fee gives customers free entry to the garden, discounts on events and 10 complimentary packets of seeds, saved from the garden. Other events of note include botanist Dr Mark Spencer’s 10-part series, Botany for

Gardeners, which starts today (March 2) online, and walks around the capital, with guides such as writer Bob Gilbert. The SLBI was founded in 1910 by botanist Allan Octavian Hume (1829–1912), who went from collecting bird skins to being a strict vegetarian; his 1885 donation to the Natural History Museum remains the largest single collection of birds it has received. His legacy —a desire to make the study of plants accessible to everyone—lives on. Leslie Bliss Visit www.slbi.org.uk for more information and opening hours

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Your ideal London home awaits you. Planning a move this year? Let one of our magnificent available properties place the delights of the capital at your fingertips. Whether you're seeking a rental property or your 'forever home', are downsizing or upsizing, we can connect you with the home that's right for you. Take a look below at what's currently on the market with us - you might just find 'the one'.

If you're thinking of selling or letting your home, or would simply like some advice on the market, call us on 020 3797 0774. We'd love to help you.

+62%

Egerton Crescent, Knightsbridge SW3 Guide price £10,495,000

alastair.nicholson@knightfrank.com

Bickenhall Mansions, Marylebone W1 Guide price £2,750,000

The number of new prospective buyers in London in January was 62% above the five-year average.*

Englefield Road, Islington N1 ali.mathews@knightfrank.com

Guide price £6,750,000

nick.moore@knightfrank.com

Source: Knight Frank data January 2022 versus the five-year average.

The Vicarage, Church Road, Ham TW10

Hyde Park Place, Hyde Park W2

Guide price £15,000 per calendar month

Guide price £12,350 per calendar month

hannah.beck@knightfrank.com

sofia.lira@knightfrank.com

+119% The number of new prospective tenants in London in January was 119% above the five-year average.*

Warriner Gardens, Battersea SW11 Guide price £6,500 per calendar month

jack.alisiroglu@knightfrank.com

Paultons Square, Chelsea SW3 Guide price £20,583 per calendar month

Shelgate Road, Clapham SW11 ellie.white@knightfrank.com

Your partners in property for 125 years Winner of six customer service experience awards in 2021

Guide price £6,200 per calendar month

francesca.levy@knightfrank.com

knightfrank.co.uk

Ham

Small, but perfectly formed

TW10

LITTLE BLACK BOOK The Palm Centre This independent nursery is home to the National Collection of Trachycarpus palms (Ham Street, opposite Riverside Drive, TW10) Hansel & Pretzel This German deli with a fun name has some of the best bread in town (71, Ham Street, TW10) Ham House Riding School So popular it’s currently not accepting new applications. But keep checking, it’s worth it (Ham House Stables, Ham Street, TW10) Ham Polo Club London’s only surviving polo club also hosts Saturday brunches and Sunday picnics (Petersham Road, opposite The Fox & Duck, TW10) The Petersham Nurseries Great plants and even better food await at this picturesque garden centre (Church Lane, TW10)

They may be tiny, leafy and quiet, but the villages of Ham and Petersham have been ahead of the times for centuries, finds Carla Passino

EEN from the Thames, Ham House is a mere impression of a building, a glimpse of red, the shadow of a chimney peeking from behind the trees that so irritated Horace Walpole. ‘The house was so blocked up with trees and gates that you think yourself a hundred miles off and a hundred miles back,’ he complained in 1770. Despite the uneasy relationship some of Ham House’s owners had with the river, there is no doubt the villages of Ham and Petersham

are inextricably entwined with both the Thames (there has been a settlement here since the upper Palaeolithic) and the estate itself, which at one time spanned 640 acres from Richmond to Kingston. Originally built in 1610 for Thomas Vavasour, Knight Marshal to James I, Ham House belies its name and stands on land that belonged to the manor of Petersham, creating an ideal link between the two villages. ‘[The estate] was only leased by Vavasour at the time,

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Alamy

LONDON LIFE

Alamy

Ham

so it was quite a ballsy move to build such a big house on land you didn’t own,’ says property curator Hannah Mawdsley. Vavasour’s gamble was William Murray’s gain. A close childhood friend of Charles I’s, he leased the estate from 1626 and, in the late 1630s, redecorated the house using the same craftspeople as the King —unwittingly providing posterity with an insight of what the Royal Palace at Whitehall (which burned down in the 1690s) might have looked like. The miniature-studded Green Closet, in particular, is a window on the world of 17th-century collecting and on Charles I’s own taste, as there is evidence that Murray and the King swapped paintings. Being granted a Scottish title, Earl of Dysart, Murray was able to pass it to his daughter, Elizabeth, who later became the Duchess of Lauderdale. A formidable woman, she managed to prevent the house being sequestered by the Parliamentarians after Charles I was executed. She is buried in Petersham’s tiny, Grade II*-listed St Peter’s Church, which charmed Pevsner for its pre-Victorian interior, but her presence

still marks the house many centuries later, not least because she was far ahead of her times and had a ‘bathing roome’ built for her own use. However, some say she may have left something more than a bathroom, as story has it that her King Charles spaniel still haunts her former home: ‘There’s a legend that once we had a complaint from a visitor

‘Story has it that her King Charles spaniel still haunts her former home’ who had been told that dogs weren’t allowed in the house yet she’d just seen [one]—and was very surprised to hear “that was not a real dog,”’ recalls Dr Mawdsley (although she’s quick to add that she’s never seen any ghostly happenings herself). The Duchess also expanded the estate and, today, Ham House splits two green expanses that were once its domain:

LONDON LIFE

towards Kingston, the Ham Lands Nature Reserve, which in spring explodes into a riot of wildflowers, and, on the Richmond side, the Petersham Meadows, where cows still graze in summer, helping to preserve the views that so inspired Turner and Reynolds. Walking the sequence of footpaths that link Ham House to Ham Common, another nature reserve, it’s hard to imagine that the Ham Polo Club’s perfectly manicured grass, full of pretty ponies, was once a large orchard that kept the house fed. At the end of the avenue, however, Ham Common—its triangular green embroidered with pretty Georgian houses, the woods beyond thick with mighty oaks—looks as if it could be a slice of 18thcentury London (although it has changed much in the past 80 years). By the 1700s, many of the country’s great and good had discovered this picturesque stretch of countryside, including John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll, who had Sudbrook House built in the Petersham portion of Richmond Park, almost opposite Ham Common, in about 1725. Now listed March 2, 2022 | Country Life | 21

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LONDON LIFE

Ham

Grade I, the building is the august clubhouse of the Richmond Golf Club, which has a members’ roster to match its grand home—among others, George VI was captain in 1924, when still Duke of York, and the Queen Mother was the patron until her death. Despite their undoubted decorative value, the relationship between the big houses— particularly Ham House—and the local commoners wasn’t always idyllic. The 9th Earl of Dysart, explains Dr Mawdsley, tried to enclose the common grazing land, but the villagers managed to fight him off. Today, the local council (Richmond for Petersham and part of Ham, with the rest falling into Kingston) puts up its own ‘enclosure’ every March, fencing off a portion of Church Road, but residents are unlikely to complain—the reason the road is off limits is to allow safe passage to the toads that live on Ham Common, who migrate to reach their spawning pools. This is the kind of thoughtfulness you’d have expected of the Concordium, a vegetarian commune that made its home at Alcott House, on Ham Common, in the 19th century. Founded by followers of mystic James Pierrepont Greaves, the community combined socialist and almost monastic elements, renouncing property, luxuries and even cooked food to embrace a life of austerity.

Nonetheless, Alcott House’s raw-cabbage meals might have become too much to bear, or perhaps it was the early morning wake-ups and the cold baths, but, by the mid 1840s, the commune had broken up, putting an end to an experiment that anticipated today’s trend for a plant-based, raw-food diet by 200 years.

‘Gravel pits sprung up along the river and an aircraft factory opened off Ham Common’ The villages were still rural when COUNTRY L IFE visited Ham House in 1899, praising it for its ‘umbrageous beauty’, but the early 20th century changed all that. Gravel pits sprang up along the river and an aircraft factory opened off Ham Common, sending aeroplanes—first Sopwith Snipes, Dolphins and Salamanders, then, after a spell producing lorries and military trucks, Hawker Hunters and Harriers—to bases across the world. Ham remained at the cutting edge of military aviation for decades, designing new aircraft and testing them for stress and fatigue with the Mithraeum structural test frame, until the factory closed in 1992, making way for housing.

THE UPS AND DOWNS

Residents love the area’s green open spaces, idyllic walks and pretty lanes Residents enjoy the many opportunities for outdoor activity, from riding and polo to tennis, shooting and kayaking Residents could do with less traffic on Petersham Road

The area had already expanded by then, having acquired its most famous development in the 1950s. When pretty Langham House—once home to the Marquess of Tweeddale—was sold, some of its land went to a developer, who tasked the then fledgling firm of Brutalist architects James Gowan and James Stirling with designing three blocks of flats. Their ‘new tough style’ gained great acclaim, leading Langham House Close to beat its 18th-century namesake by a star—it’s listed Grade II*, against Langham House’s Grade II listing. After baths, vegetarianism and military jets, the one-time rural backwater had once again spearheaded innovation.

At home in Ham

Ham Street, £2.8 million With three bedrooms and 2,601sq ft of living space, The Old Bakery has been carefully renovated to combine a period feel with luxurious contemporary touches. The open-plan kitchen and dining area, with its concertina windows that open onto the south-west-facing garden, is particularly beautiful. The rooms at the front of the building look out towards Ham Common. Curchods (020–8546 6800)

Ham Common, £6.95 million Grade II-listed Avenue Lodge is a beautiful example of understated Georgian architecture. The eight bedrooms and four reception rooms are brimming with period details, such as the exquisite staircase and some fine fireplaces. There’s no shortage of modern comforts, such as underfloor heating and the solar panel-heated indoor pool. The grounds include a tennis court. Savills (020–8614 9100)

Sudbrook Lane, £2.85 million Dating from the 18th century, delightful Gort Lodge is listed Grade II. It has more than 3,000sq ft of living space that brings together period features with many striking, contemporary elements, such as the magnificent kitchen. Upstairs, split across the first and the second floor, are five bedrooms— the master suite, with its balcony overlooking the garden, is notable. Fine & Country (020–3940 5138)

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HAMPSTEAD, NW3 £9,500,000 FREEHOLD

[6 bedrooms] [4 receptions] [3 bathrooms] [South facing garden] A unique beautiful residence in a most wonderful tranquil setting adjoining Hampstead Heath, with south facing landscaped gardens, extensive driveway parking and a 53’ garage with planning decision in draft for a new detached house. EPC: TBC 020 3393 9642

HAMPSTEAD@HAMPTONS.CO.UK

HAMPTONS.CO.UK

LONDON LIFE

The great and the good

Seasonal suggestions Spring officially arrives on March 20, bringing with it the promise of longer days and warmer weather. Here’s how to make the most of it What to do Watch the Boat Race live on April 3. You’ll find the best viewing spots on Putney, Hammersmith and Barnes bridges (www.theboatrace.org) What to eat Treats from Vinoteca Borough in the brand new Borough Yards brick-lined arcade, SE1. Ingredients come from neighbouring Borough Market and there are 25 different wines by the glass to choose from (www.vinoteca.co.uk) What to buy Tickets to Katie Gillies’s terrazzo workshop at BookWorkShop, 76, Coal Drops Yard, N1C, on March 26. You’ll leave with your very own bespoke pair of Jesmonite terrazzo coasters (www. earlofeast.com/products/katie-gilliesterrazzo-workshop-saturday-26thmarch-3pm)

Here’s looking at Tudor London

• In Tudor times, London was by far the biggest city in the country and one of the largest in Europe, growing from 50,000 people at the start of the era to 200,000 at the end of it • The Tudors made much more use of the River Thames than we do today. As well as merchant vessels importing and exporting goods, river barges, ferries and private boats (the rich preferred to travel by water, rather than brave the narrow, dirty and dangerous streets) lined the banks • English-wool broadcloth was considered superior to anything else produced in Europe and it became the Tudors’ most successful commodity. The majority of it passed through London—in fact, the city exported more of it than Exeter, Southampton, Hull and Bristol combined—with trade peaking during the reign of Mary I (150,000 broadcloths exported via London). The majority of all Tudor London exports travelled to the Low Countries • In 1585, London alone provided Elizabeth I with one-quarter of the men in service abroad and formed ‘trainbands’—divisions of civilian soldiers trained to defend the country against the threat of Spanish invasion

Shop of the month

Berry Bros & Rudd 6 3 , PA LL M A LL , SW1

Open Tuesday to Friday, 10am–7pm, and Saturday 10am–6pm (0800 280 2440; www.bbr.com)

EHIND a sooty Georgian façade at the south end of St James’s Street, Berry Bros & Rudd began life as a grocer more than 300 years ago. A stone’s throw from the north gatehouse of St James’s Palace, it built a reputation for stocking the wine cellars of the great and the good. A slew of Royal Warrants are tacked up in a corner. Fortunately, the grandiose, oak-panelled bones of the shop are diffused by practical advice and those of us who come in wondering what to unscrew with the bolognese won’t feel out of place. The employee-recommendation aisle is dominated by bottles under £25 and the most popular product by volume is the Berry Bros own-brand Good Ordinary Claret (£11.95). Before the 1990s, there were no bottles on display. Customers would come into a room lined with artwork on St James’s Street, stand on a floor of ship’s timbers (askew since being bombed in the Second World War) and chat to the experts about what to buy. The wine would then be summoned from two acres of warren-like cellars beneath the shop. Shop manager Edwin Dublin notes: ‘The Berry’s Crémant is wondrous and incredibly good value. It’s the choice for weddings or celebrations with a big group. But if you’re looking for something lighter to have with a meal, I would go with a Beaujolais-Villages. It’s an underestimated wine I’m pleased to see is being taken much more seriously.’ Jo Rodgers

Illustration by Polly Crossman; Alamy; Getty; John Goodall

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The great and the good

LONDON LIFE

M Y P L AT E O F V I E W

The Barbary Next Door, 16a, Neal’s Yard, WC2

A green space VICTORIA EMBANKMENT GARDENS, WC2

FTER the Great Stink of 1858, the flowerbeds along this charming stretch of the River Thames—built between 1865 and 1870 to house Sir Joseph Bazalgette’s innovative sewer and an extension of the Metropolitan District Railway—must have been a welcome change. The 20 acres of gardens are much as they were then, paths winding

between the trees that were decried at the time for being too rural in character. Today, it’s a lovely place for a lunchtime stroll, with bright, bold planting and dozens of interesting monuments and statues. Don’t miss York Watergate, a mooring for York House, built in about 1626, and the Imperial Camel Corps Memorial, a marble plinth topped with a soldier astride a dromedary. Natasha Goodfellow is the author of ‘A London Floral’ and her next guide, ‘A Cotswold Garden Companion’, is out on March 7 (Finch Publishing, £ 8.50)

Psst... pass it on

Illustration by Polly Crossman; Alamy; Getty; John Goodall

London curiosities ON THE FACE OF IT

OMEDY and Tragedy flank the entrance to the Royal Academy of Drama and Art, 62, Gower Street, WC1. They were sculpted by Alan Durst when the building was reconstructed in 1927 by the architect Geoffrey Norman.

N audio guide to King’s Cross, narrated by actor Russell Tovey, is now available to download for free. The tour, which starts next to the largescale, illuminated birdcage sculpture outside the station entrance, takes about 45 minutes and charts the area’s history from industrial Victorian powerhouse to underground clubbing phenomenon. Visit w w w.k i n g s cross.co. u k /r u s sel ltovey-a r t s tour for more information and to download the guide for yourself

If you were interested in London restaurants in 2016, you’ll have queued outside The Barbary. The Covent Garden brainchild of siblings Zoe and Layo Paskin, it was a celebration of North African and Moorish cooking. With only 24 covers and a no-booking policy, actually getting to taste the food was no mean feat. Now, the Paskins have opened a streamlined offshoot in what used to be the coffee shop they shared a wall with called, simply, The Barbary Next Door. Like The Barbary, the little sister is all counter seating, around a brushed metal bar that looks into the kitchen. This can create cliched ‘chef’s table’ experiences, but it’s the opposite: the brigade laugh and joke with each other to a soundtrack of 1990s R&B. ‘I feel as if I’m in 192!’ the colleague I’d arranged to meet said when she walked in, and I knew what she meant—every woman who read Bridget Jones’s Diary in her teens dreamed of finding a cool neighbourhood restaurant where she could hunker down with friends. This feels like that sort of place, in Zone One. But the food at 192 was, if memory serves, mostly rocket and balsamic vinegar, and you won’t find either here. First up were pillowy khobz, sesamespeckled, fresh flatbreads with tirshi, a spicy North African pumpkin dip. A ‘sunset crudo’ of thick-cut sea bream came with carrot, orange and coriander oil, fashion-magazine gorgeous. Grilled lamb mechoui was fire-kissed blushingly pink. The cocktails were so terrific that we never made it as far as the wine list: commendably, the low- and noalcohol section is just as well thought out, with a 0% ‘petnat’ sparkling wine raising smiles served in a coupé glass. There are only two desserts on the menu, but when one is a sfenj, a plump, sugar-dusted Maghrebi doughnut in a brown paper bag with warm chocolate sauce on the side, and the other is hashpot, a pistachio crème diplomat with a crumble base like the world’s best Gü pudding, why would you need more options? Restaurant diffusion lines can be disappointing, but eating here was one of the most joyful dining experiences I’ve had in months. Emma Hughes

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Immaculate Townhouse Valentine Row, London, SE1 Waterloo station: 0.3 miles Spanning 1,900 sq ft of internal space is this beautiful, modern house in the heart of Southwark. Reception room, open plan kitchen/dining area with breakfast bar, 4 bedrooms (1 en suite), further bathroom, cloakroom, 3 balconies and private courtyard garden. EPC = B Leasehold, approximately 248 years remaining | 1,900 sq ft | Guide £2 million Max Maloney Savills Wapping 020 3627 5740 max.maloney@savills.com

Jacob Taub Savills Wapping 020 3642 9248 jacob.taub@savills.com

savills

savills.co.uk

Computer-generated imagery

Striking Sustainable Development Shoreditch, London, EC1 Old Street Underground Station: 0.3 miles The Arc offers just 100 all-electric homes, boasting contemporary interiors by the award-winning Bowler James Brindley. 24 hour concierge, roof terrace with panoramic views, yoga studio, fitness suite and gym, communal lounge, golf simulation room, cinema room and independent restaurant. Studios – 3 Bedrooms | Prices from £728,000 Sascha Moore Savills New Homes (East London) 020 4502 9566 sascha.moore @savills.com

Benjamin Hobart Savills New Homes (East London) 020 3797 4381 benjamin.hobart @savills.com

savills

savills.co.uk

LONDON LIFE

The great and the good

March at a glance We’re all guilty of ignoring what’s on our doorstep, so we’ve made it easier for you. Here’s what’s happening this month

Bottom: The daffodils are the star attraction in Green Park, with more than 250,000 blooms taking centre stage

From top: St James’s Park is a riot of colour in spring; the cherry blossom is emerging in Kensington Gardens

Alamy

ITH the first signs of spring festooning London’s streets and squares, this is the perfect time to head for the parks and enjoy Nature’s reawakening. A good place to start is Chiswick House and Gardens, W4, with its collection of historic camellias, including ‘Middlemist’s Red’, which is thought to be one of the world’s rarest (grown under glass, the blooms are perfect for a cold, rainy day, although some are also grown outdoors). From there, head west to the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew, which is covered in a thick blanket of purple crocuses, daffodils and, as the days get warmer, magnolia blooms and cherry blossoms, or go south to Hampton Court Palace, the grounds of which turn yellow with daffodils in spring (there are more than a million). Daffodils are also the star attraction at Green Park, with more than 250,000 blooming bright and yellow. This is the only time the royal park is carpeted with flowers, as it has no flowerbeds: story has it that this is because Catherine of Braganza discovered that her husband, Charles II, had gifted flowers from the park to one of his many mistresses, so she ordered all the rest to be uprooted and never re-planted. By contrast, nearby St James’s Park becomes a riot of colours in spring– there are plenty of daffodils, but also, at different moments in the season, crocuses, cherry blossom and tulips. Towards the very end of March and in early April, the first cherry blossom may begin to appear at Kensington Gardens and Holland Park’s Kyoto Gardens, where koi carp add to the illusion of being in Japan. However, the closest London gets to Japan’s sakura hotspots is Greenwich Park, where the avenue leading to Ranger’s House is flanked by cherry trees. On a warm day, it’s worth following Japanese tradition with a flower-viewing picnic.

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LONDON LIFE

LONDON’S F

PLEASANT

PASTURES

From evidence of prehistoric life in Greenwich Park to Shire horses in Richmond Park, there’s more to London’s Royal Parks than meets the eye, says natural-history film maker Peter Collins

OR the final few weeks of summer 2020, I was granted access to the Royal Parks to film behind the scenes for a new documentary series on More 4 (from tonight, March 2, at 9pm). The pandemic has made filming wildlife incredibly challenging, so, as a naturalhistory filmmaker, I was very grateful that things finally started to open up. We would miss the blockbuster summer-flowering plants, but if the RHS Chelsea Flower Show could make a good go of it, then so could we. To be honest, I hadn’t given much thought to the Royal Parks before; great for a picnic or a jog, but beyond that they were simply lovely green spaces. How wrong I was. Research and conversations soon uncovered their fascinating history and extraordinary flora and fauna. Having been given the green light by the channel, we assembled our specialist wildlife kit, including night-vision cameras and drones, and started to film. The Royal Parks cover 5,000 acres of London and are vital refuges for wildlife—more than 4,000 species of invertebrates and 100 species of birds have been recorded in them. A huge number of mammals also call these spaces home, including hedgehogs, pipistrelle bats and 1,000 free-roaming deer.

‘The Royal Parks are home to more than 4,000 species of invertebrates and 100 species of birds’ These glorious spaces also welcome more than 77 million human visitors each year, but things weren’t always so democratic. In the 16th century, Henry VIII snapped up huge swathes of the capital’s public land—starting with Bushy Park, St James’s Park and Hyde Park—and claimed it all as his private hunting ground. Richmond Park, Green Park, and Kensington Gardens became royal spaces in the 17th century and, in 1812, Regent’s Park became George IV’s very own playground. The first Royal Park was at Greenwich and is, arguably, one of the most historic landscapes in Britain. It has been enclosed within its present boundaries since 1433 and at its heart was Elizabeth I’s and Henry VIII’s favourite palace, known as The Palace of Placentia, now lost. But it was Charles II who had plans to transform the rather bland hunting grounds into a garden to rival other fantastical creations around the world. A fine prospect: Maj-Gen James Wolfe surveys London from Greenwich Park

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LONDON LIFE

Charles hired the only person he considered up to the job: André Le Nôtre, the brains behind Louis XIV’s garden at Versailles. Le Nôtre sent drawings to the English King in the 1660s— detailing sweeping avenues of trees to frame the gardens and join the bottom to the top. These lines of trees can still be seen today. Sadly, the centrepiece of Le Nôtre’s design has been lost—a series of steps cut into the hill, which we know existed thanks to Samuel Pepys. Now, a new project, Greenwich Park Revealed, plans to restore and redefine key elements of this Baroque landscape, including The Grand Ascent, giant, grassy steps, flanked by parterres, that lead to the Royal Observatory. For the programme, we filmed alongside archaeologists who are exploring the park’s Anglo-Saxon history. The removal of a tarmac path, which cuts through a 6th- to 8th-century cemetery, gave the team a rare chance to understand how the site had been used over the centuries. It is dotted with 30 upstanding burial mounds or barrows, the last recorded excavation of which took place in the 18th century and unearthed a shield boss and spear, suggesting the burial mounds were pagan, rather than Christian. This time, the team found tantalising clues of prehistoric life, including fire-cracked flints that may have been used to heat water, plus Tudor pottery, animal bones and Victorian picnicware, from when the park was first opened to the public.

The view from Greenwich Park’s Wolfe Statue across to the City is breathtaking and it is rightly one of several protected views in London, which means that it must legally remain forever unobstructed. Others include a viewpoint at Richmond Park, from which you can see unobstructed for 10 miles all the way to the distinctive dome of St Paul’s.

‘A new project plans to restore and redefine key elements of this Baroque landscape’ Measuring some 2,500 acres, Richmond is the largest Royal Park and, thanks to swathes of acid grassland, a Site of Special Scientific Interest since 1992. Its particular make up is a key habitat for insects and nesting birds, best protected using old-fashioned farming methods. Enter the Shire, Britain’s largest native horse, rarer than the giant panda with fewer than 2,000 left. Only a century ago, these beasts were the engines of farming, numbering one million in England alone. Richmond Park is home to 10 of these gentle giants and our film crew was lucky enough to film two in action, guided by head horseman Edward MacDowell. Far from being a romantic re-creation of a country idyll, this ‘real

horsepower’ trumps modern machinery in nearly every way. Unlike heavy tractors, the Shires can get into hard-to-reach corners and their gentle tread doesn’t compact the ground, even when pulling a traditional plough, so wildflowers, such as harebells and mouseear hawkweed, can grow more freely. The horses are a tad quieter than the tractors, too, so Mr MacDowell and his team can listen out for nesting birds when breaking back the bracken and give them a wide berth. Back in Central London, our film crew was given privileged access to one of London’s best kept secrets. Tucked away in a corner of Hyde Park is a glasshouse built on an epic scale. The structure covers three acres and nurses 450,000 plants year round for all eight of the Royal Parks under a high-tech glass roof, similar to the one atop Wimbledon’s Centre Court, that can open and retract to 85%, allowing a whole range of growing conditions. Blooms from the glasshouse are used in the flowerbeds surrounding the Victoria Memorial, in front of Buckingham Palace. I wonder how many people walking past these beautiful floral displays are aware that the planting is by royal command? It was George V, back in 1935 (his silver jubilee year), who declared that there should be red geraniums, Pelargonium ‘Smart Senna’, in the beds, to match the Guardsmen’s red tunics. The tradition has stood the test of time ever since.

Alamy

From geraniums on the Mall to the Isabella Plantation and red deer in Richmond Park to bats over Albert Memorial, wildlife abounds

32 | Country Life | March 2, 2022, 2022

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LONDON LIFE

‘My faith encourages me to simply meet another human being as a person’ You have had an amazing career from St Michael and All Angels, in Little Ilford, to St Paul’s Cathedral—although it has been suggested that your appointment there was less than popular. How did you feel about this? I went to St Paul’s in the late 1990s. Women had been ordained for a few years, but it was still very controversial for some and, if I’m honest, it was a torrid experience. I have learned since that people, when they feel something perilous is happening to them or they feel their church is being taken away, sometimes react extremely strongly. Although it’s important to say that it was really difficult, it’s just as important to say that even the fiercest opponents became reconciled with me on the topic after a time, even if they didn’t all change their minds. We stuck at it and I can say hand on heart that we made our peace. From there you moved to St James’s. Your work in the parish is legendary:

The Rector of St James’s Church, Piccadilly, talks to Andrew Love, senior advisor to The Ritz and chairman of St James’s Conservation Trust

T H E C A P I TA L A C C O R D I N G T O ...

the Revd Lucy Winkett assisting with the homeless and those struggling with addiction. How do you personally deal with what you see in those that are less fortunate? This may sound like a cliché, but I receive more than I give and I learn more than I teach. Truthfully, my faith encourages me to simply meet another human being as a person, made in the image of God, whoever they are, wherever they are from, whatever their life experience, whatever they’ve done, whatever their regrets, whatever their complexities. Christianity is, at its heart, an utterly equalising faith. We all have choices about how we treat each other. I have received a lot of kindness from people who are deep into their own addictions or homeless. Is it different or more difficult compared with what clergy outside London have to deal with? City centres are often very polarising places. You can have eminent buildings and communities and individuals, as we do in St James’s, and also a population living on the streets, quite literally destitute. I’m passionate about trying to build community,

even in areas that don’t look as if they have a community. You have taken on a significant fundraising project called the Wren Project. What is it? St James’s Piccadilly was built by Sir Christopher Wren and is one of the most beautiful churches in the country. Our architect, Ptolemy Dean, has devised a scheme to regenerate and restore the whole site. The point is that these beautiful and historic buildings deserve our attention and to be made beautiful again, not only for their own sake, but so that anyone who encounters them is themselves made to feel they are beautiful. It’s a building project, yes, but, primarily, it’s a people project, because buildings are only purposeful with the people in them. It is a place where the environment is taken seriously (we have historic green space), where people show kindness, where they build community—all within a 17thcentury building that is open to people of all faiths and none. To make this happen, we have to raise £16 million. Visit www.sjp.org.uk/donate/the-wren-project to find out more and donate

Mike Swift

You won a choral scholarship to Selwyn College, Cambridge, where you studied Modern History, and later trained at the Royal College of Music. What prompted you to join the ministry? I’d grown up going to church, but stopped in my early twenties. One Sunday, I went back to my childhood church for an evensong service. The vicar, who I’d known as a child, was preaching the sermon. This was before women could be ordained and I later discovered he was opposed to the ordination of women. During his sermon, he said something about the ‘appearance of success’. He wasn’t talking about success itself, but about looking successful or people thinking that you were being successful, and he was criticising that desire. I thought he was absolutely right. I can’t explain it, except through the lens of faith, but I sat there and thought to myself: ‘I am going to be a priest’. I went into work [for a market-research company] the next day and told the unsuspecting managing director that I was going to be a priest. He was bemused. Eventually, I told my family and friends too, but it was a long time until women could be ordained.

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Brian Horton 2 – 25 March

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Property market

Penny Churchill

Go west, young man Three county houses in and around Dartmoor are ideal for the influx of buyers, now able to avoid a daily commute, seeking a dose of the wild West Country

Medieval stone manor house Morwell Barton, near Tavistock, Devon, listed Grade I, is set in 243 acres with wonderful views. £4.5m

CCORDING to a report in the Financial Times, people are now returning to their UK offices in their greatest numbers since the start of the pandemic, with average occupancy of workspaces between February 7 and 11 reaching 23.3% —levels last seen in November 2021, before the outbreak of the Omicron coronavirus variant.

With normal occupancy estimated at 60% for most companies and demand for offices currently 7% –14% lower compared with prepandemic years, Mat Oakley, head of European commercial property research at Savills, thinks ‘occupancy numbers will come up as the weather improves, and with a bit of peer pressure. But will it ever go back to levels we’ve seen before? I don’t think it will’.

Although it’s still too early to assess the full impact of hybrid working on the market for rural property, down in the West Country, Ed Clarkson of buying agents Property Vision has already seen a quantum shift in the attitude of owners and buyers in recent months: ‘It’s no coincidence that the latest figures from Nationwide put Taunton top of the list for house-price rises nationally

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Find the best properties at countrylife.co.uk

Grade II-listed Dartmoor longhouse Chilstone, Chagford, includes a party barn. £3.5m

last year,’ he says. ‘Many country-house owners whose families are based down here probably commuted to London four or five days a week in the past; they now find that they only need to be there for half that time, and can work from home in comfort for the rest of the week.’ With increasingly sought-after coastal houses throughout the West Country in desperately short supply, Richard Addington of Jackson-Stops in Exeter (01392 214222) has

seen a surge in the number of buyers seeking peace and seclusion inland, notably in and around Dartmoor National Park. He quotes a guide price of £4.5 million for historic, Grade I-listed Morwell Barton, near Tavistock, Devon, a restored medieval stone manor house with an adjoining courtyard and outbuildings set in 243 acres of rich farmland, woodland and pasture, with far-reaching views towards the Tamar estuary to the south and Dartmoor to the east. According to its Historic England listing, Morwell Barton—variously known as Morwell Priory, Morewell Farmhouse and Morwell House—was built in the late 15th century as a country retreat for the Abbot of Tavistock, with wings added in the 16th century to create a courtyard. The open hall was floored and chimneys added in the early 17th century. An attached late-18th-century barn was rebuilt in the 19th century, when the interior of the house was also greatly altered. Structurally, the building, with its imposing gatehouse, has been described as ‘one of the most perfect quadrangular houses of the period in the county’. The Tavistock Abbey estate was among the richest in Devon when, in March 1539, it was surrendered to the Crown by Abbot John Peryn. In 1540, Henry VIII granted the Abbey and its lands to John Russell, 1st Baron Russell, created Earl of Bedford in 1550. He chose to live at nearby Crowndale and the Morwell Barton estate was let for several centuries.

In the mid 1800s, the Russell family, by then Dukes of Bedford, built a series of model farmyards on their estates and the traditional farm buildings at Morwen Barton probably date from that time. In the mid 20th century, the somewhat neglected main house was sold away from the estate, changing hands for only the second time in 800 years.

It has been called “one of the most perfect quadrangular houses in the county” Since then, the manor has been renovated throughout and substantially altered internally to provide 10,000sq ft of accommodation, including three reception rooms, five bedrooms and an attached three-bedroom annexe, with part of the gatehouse converted to a wine cellar and a long barn running along the east side of courtyard serving as a splendid party venue. More than 1,000 years of Dartmoor history are woven into the fabric of Grade II-listed Shilstone, three miles from Chagford in the National Park. The beautifully restored, thatched complex of buildings, comprising a Grade IIlisted Devon longhouse, two cottages and a traditional farmstead set in 30 acres of pasture, paddocks and woodland, is now March 2, 2022 | Country Life | 83

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Property market

Grade II-listed Hamlyn House, near Crediton in Devon, is a successful boutique hotel, offering a chance for a new career. £3m

for sale through Jackson-Stops (01392 214222) and Knight Frank (01392 848842) at a guide price of ‘offers over £3.5m’. Its 1952 listing describes Shilstone as ‘an outstanding Dartmoor longhouse… attractively sited and, like many of the older moorland houses, tucked tightly into the hill-slopes. It forms a group with its associated 17th century farm buildings… It is remarkable that such a modestly-sized farmhouse should consistently be built to such a high standard, from its mediaeval roof to the 1656 front doorway. As early as 1935, the historian R. H. Worth recognized the house as one of the finest surviving examples of the Dartmoor longhouse type, and [a building] of national importance, in his book The Dartmoor House’. Set at the end of its own private drive and surrounded by delightful gardens, pictureperfect Shilstone, which reputedly dates from Saxon times, has been much improved by successive owners since it was last used as a farmhouse, although its spectacular views towards Castle Drogo and Chagford

remain the same. The house lies centrally within its land, sheltered by the rising ground to the south-west, but high enough to capture long views to the moor. It offers more than 6,100sq ft of living space in the main building, including three reception rooms, a garden room, kitchen/breakfast room, three bedrooms with bathrooms and a recently added master suite with a dramatic vaulted ceiling. Another addition of note is the converted party barn with its 34ft dining hall, as is the equestrian yard comprising four loose boxes with Victorian-style fittings, and an adjoining thatched barn with two further loose boxes leading to a full-size sand arena and a range of gently sloping post-and-railed paddocks. A pair of two/three-bedroom cottages, located next to the entrance drive, have also been recently renovated and are used partly as guest cottages or for occasional holiday lets. Londoners who are seeking to exchange a career in the metropolis for a standalone enterprise in the West Country, might consider

an interesting new entrant to the market in the shape of Grade II-listed Hamlyn House near Crediton in mid Devon, eight miles from Dartmoor and 14 miles from Exeter. Rebuilt in 1850 in the Victorian Gothic style by the architect John Hayward, designer of the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter and Blundell’s School in Tiverton, Hamlyn House underwent an ambitious renovation between 2007 and 2017, since when it has been run as the successful Paschoe House boutique hotel and wedding venue. The immaculate country-house complex—comprising the elegant, 14,150sq ft, nine-bedroom main house with its coach house, impressive Glasshouse garden room and Dairy Farm equestrian arena set in 25 acres of gardens and woodland in the heart of peaceful Devon countryside—is being offered by Strutt & Parker (01392 215631), either as a going concern at a guide price of ‘excess £3m’ for the whole, or ‘excess £2.3m’ for the house and coach house with some 15 acres of land.

84 | Country Life | March 2, 2022

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However, as CEO Alaster Bly describes them, they are very much a “pet with a toolkit built in”. This tool kit is the ability to react when commanded, and sometimes when not, to fearlessly defend those in their charge. All family protection dogs go through a rigorous testing and training regime from breeding, selection, socialization to training. Those that complete the program are available to be purchased as family protection dogs. I first started the business seven years ago after seeing the development of personal protection dogs in America says CEO and head trainer Alaster Bly. At the time I was serving as a police constable and dog handler in Wiltshire Police. We are now supplying around 280 fully trained dogs per year to families all over the UK and abroad.To find out how a family protection dog benefit your family visit our website www.k9protector.co.uk.

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Properties of the week

Annunciata Elwes

Come on in, the door’s open Beat a path through these exceptionally pretty front doors

West Sussex, £3.95 million There’s a Soho-Farmhouse-meets17th-century look to The Old Manor House, in the village of Milland, near Petersfield, just north of the border with Hampshire and within the South Downs. Listed Grade II, it has four bedrooms within its stone-and-timber frame and recent renovations have been both thoughtful and tasteful, with authentic lime plaster on the walls and local craftsmen used where possible for everything from the roof to fitted cabinets, plus smart-home controls and air conditioning. ‘It is truly exceptional,’ comments selling agent Theo James-Wright. ‘I have not yet come across a property that has been so sensitively interior designed to suit its heritage.’ A converted stone barn provides a two-bedroom guest cottage and the 1½-acre grounds feature lawns, borders and mature trees, backing onto farmland. Savills (020–7016 3780)

Hertfordshire, £1.75 million If you’ve ever wondered who the music-hall song The man who broke the bank at Monte Carlo is about, look no further. A confidence trickster named Charles Wells is the popular contender—he won 1.5 million francs at the casino, but, before that, he was born at Georgian Walton House in the town of Broxbourne, beside the River Lea, 17 miles north of London. Its manicured garden contains fruit trees, a summerhouse and fish pond and there are five bedrooms and several Juliet balconies. Hamptons (01992 939249)

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9000

Gloucestershire, £850,000 A clever combination of Nature, colour and Cotswold stone make the entrance to this Georgian townhouse as inviting as the pretty town of Painswick— famous for its Rococo garden—in which it resides. With a master-bedroom suite, three further bedrooms, a groundfloor annexe, west-facing balcony and a lovely courtyard garden, St Mary’s House has been kept in prime shape, its elegant bay windows and other period features contrasting well with 21st-century necessities, such as a Neptune kitchen. Within walking distance are the town centre, with its shops and boutique hotel The Painswick, plus open countryside, and Stroud is about four miles to the south. Murrays (01452 814655) Newcastle-upon-Tyne, excess £1.5 million Local businessman James Leathart, for whom Brackendene House was built in the 1850s, was known for his extensive art collection and friendships with interior designers of the day, including William Morris, who was a frequent visitor. Elevated above the village of Low Fell, the handsome house faces west over the Team Valley, with the Tyne Valley hills in the distance. Divided into three wings in the 1960s, it has been put back together again and refurbished well, peppered with elaborate carvings, friezes and period fireplaces, and now comprises five bedrooms, four bathrooms, four reception rooms and a one-bedroom coach house. About 1½ acres of grounds include mature woodland, a small dene and a former tennis court. Sanderson Young (0191–223 3500) March 2, 2022 | Country Life | 87

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