Property of the Week: A Huguenot home in Spitalfields with a unique Rousseau rendition

Опубликовано: 13 Март 2020
на канале: Boyd Digital: Business News

Reported today on City AM

For the full article visit: https://www.cityam.com/property-of-th...

Wander a little beyond the balti houses and beigel shops of Brick Lane, and you'll soon come across the Spitalfields Conservation Area.These narrow, relatively secluded residential streets offer a glimpse into the old East End, and are home to some of the best examples of early Georgian-era townhouses in central London.The rows of red-brick properties with their distinctive sash windows mostly began life as the homes of the wealthy French Huguenots, who first brought their silk weaving skills to London in the early 1500s.Built in the early 18th century, the houses have plenty of history behind them and have seen many different iterations – perhaps none more so than number 24, which has just come on the market with Knight Frank for £3.1m.The four bedroom, three bathroom property started life as the home of a Huguenot doctor, who would probably have treated members of his community from the house itself.The next historical record of the home is in the 1940s, when parts of it were devastated by an intense vibration from a World War II bomb that fell nearby.This meant that it needed to be completely rebuilt, and instead of becoming another house, it was remodelled to create workshops, at a time when the East End was still the centre of the rag trade and manufacturing in London.Rousseau renditionFast forward to 1997, and the architect Chris Dyson bought the property from a manufacturer of leather coats. He completely redesigned it to turn it back into a family home, completing the project in 2011.The façade of the house was returned to its original 1725 design, complete with timber sash windows and decorative brickwork.The current owner has also added their own flourishes to the property, putting in a rear extension, hidden bathrooms and a self-contained guest suite.Read mor