Historically important 1930’s home never sold before

03 Apr Historically important 1930’s home never sold before

A beautiful Lutyens-inspired Arts & Crafts home with three double bedrooms and large gardens on a no-through road in Nailsea is for sale for the first time ever, having been built and then occupied by the same family for almost nine decades.

Hensons, the Experts in Property estate agency in Nailsea is thrilled to bring to the market 11 Mayfair Avenue – not just a prestigious address, but one of only a handful of Grade II Listed 1930’s properties in the country.

Largely unchanged since it was first built and simply gushing with 1930’s charm, the house sits at the end of a terrace of four, all listed ‘for their architectural quality as exceptional Arts & Crafts-inspired suburban houses, strongly influenced by Hampstead Garden Suburb, with interesting direct connections with Sir Edwin Lutyens’. The terrace was designed by Robert Maclaren Love, who enriched the cottages with notable architectural details typical of the Arts & Crafts movement, including unusually good pine parquet flooring, continuous skirting boards and picture rails, high ceilings, marble windowsills, internal doors with Douglas fir panels and fireplaces with marble surrounds, keystone motifs and bolection moulded frames.

These details were specified by Mr Love for his client, the landowner and stonemason Hedley Willington Pippett, who’s family retained ownership of the cottages well into in 1970’s. Architect, Love played a key role in the Homes for Heroes program after The Great War then in 1928 he joined Sir Edwin Lutyens in New Delhi as Chief Architect in his department, designing a number of civic buildings in and around the new capital of India. In 1932, Love was elected a Fellow of RIBA and a year later he designed the properties in Nailsea. A book is available from leading bookshops and the RIBA bookstore about Love and the Mayfair Avenue terrace, his only known private commission.

The house is full of character with almost all its period details beautifully preserved. An arched porch leads through the front door into the attractive reception hall with a deep window over the half return panelled staircase. There are two generously-sized reception rooms – in the sitting room is a marble fireplace with a keystone detail and moulded surround, and the dining room fireplace has tiled slips and a gas fire with back boiler.

In the double aspect kitchen is a quarry tiled floor, a selection of cabinetry, a built-in double oven and a door to the garden. There is also a pantry, that in the other cottages has been converted to become either a utility room or cloakroom.

Upstairs, the spacious landing is galleried over the stairwell and the enormous, boarded attic space, currently an office, is accessed via a high-quality pull-down ladder. There appears to be space to continue the staircase to the attic, if required, subject to the relevant consents. The three double bedrooms all enjoy a lovely outlook and include original built-in wardrobes, while the bathroom is fitted with a classic white suite and separate shower enclosure.

To the front of the cottage is a driveway for several cars leading to an integral garage, and a long lawn, which sets the house well back. A pathway around the side of the house leads to the private rear garden with terrace, vintage summerhouse and a gate to a footpath beyond. Stuart Burdge, principal of Hensons, said: “We are thrilled to offer for sale this architecturally and historically important house for sale. It is available for the first time since new in 1935 having been occupied by the same family since The Blitz in 1940 when they moved out from Bristol at the request of the War Department due to the nature of the father’s employment, who was a structural engineer. They initially rented the house and finally bought it in 1961 from the developer, their landlord who retained ownership of the rest of the terrace until more recently. We have sold every one of the cottages over the years except this one and they are absolutely lovely. The original interior features are still intact in each house, which is remarkable after nearly nine decades and almost certainly due to the continuity of ownership. It’s an honour to bring number 11 to the market.”

For further information, to make an appointment to view this 1930’s delight, or for advice on any property matters, pop into Hensons on Nailsea High Street or call 01275 810030. To browse property for sale across the Southwest, visit hbe.co.uk or www.theexpertsinproperty.co.uk.