So central that you share a postcode with Royalty! You can walk to Buckingham Palace in under ten minutes - and to many of the other main tourist attractions.
This spectacular family home is a classic Victorian London townhouse built in 1851 and quietly situated in a magnificent terraced crescent. A history of the house through to the present day has been compiled and published, - and we gift each group of guests a 'memento' copy. The house boasts 7 bedrooms (3 with desks), a conservatory/office (two or three people can work there), a sitting room, a kitchen-dining room (seats 12), 3 x bath/shower rooms + 2 x separate WCs. Free unlimited high-speed wi-fi throughout; 5 x SMART TVs with Netflix included and most other apps available, Bluetooth speakers and Amazon Echo. With the rooms laid out on four main floors (and some mezzanines), the house works well for extended families or a team of co-workers.
In the various bedrooms there are 4 x large Queen beds (150cm, 5'6' wide), 1 x smaller double bed (135 cm, 4"6" wide), 3 x single beds - and 2 x fold-out bed-chairs in 2 large bedrooms (for nervous children). There are black-out blinds or shutters in all bedrooms. Maximum permitted occupancy is 12 people plus infants (2 x cots provided). The main rooms have ornate ceilings, cast iron and marble fireplaces fitted with coal-effect open fires, chandeliers & working Victorian window-shutters. The house is fitted with every modern convenience: washing machine, separate tumble dryer, top-of-the-range espresso coffee machine, microwave, kitchen range (3 x ovens), American-style fridge freezer, dishwasher, 5 x hairdryers, 2 x irons.. All linen and towels are provided; and for children there are books, toys, 2 x highchairs (as well as the 2 cots) and other baby equipment. Cosy in winter (central heating + underfloor heating), cool in summer (air-conditioning on the top floor and high-quality fans in all other rooms, plus an air purifier), the house is comfortable in all weathers. There’s a suntrap terrace leading from the kitchen, plus a delightful patio garden wreathed in jasmine and wisteria and calming the soul with gently running water (which you can turn off!) An excellent sports centre with public-access gym and swimming pools is a two-minute WALK from the house.
The house is warm in winter and cool in summer. In winter, there is central heating in all rooms; in summer, we provide air-conditioning on the top floor, which can get uncomfortably hot. The lower floors never do, as the house is brick-built in a terrace, but we provide fans in ALL other rooms for the occasional days when the temperature in London is very hot.
We keep the house in immaculate condition, constantly re-painting to remove scuff marks and renewing furniture and accessories regularly. Over the last five years, every room has been refurbished. Guests frequently comment on our level of cleanliness and attention to detail. A welcome pack of groceries greets you on arrival.
We pride ourselves on the fact that the house is imaginatively decorated and laid out in such a way that there are great opportunities for privacy, as well as for all members of the household to meet sociably.
The location of this wonderful house is unbeatable. Although it is situated in the very heart of London, it is quietly positioned. The area is safe and well served in every possible way. The neighbouring streets are full of great local shops including supermarkets (open all hours), specialist delicatessens, hardware shops, a post-office, beauty salons and hairdressers, haute couture and antique shops, as well as a wide range of restaurants, cafes and marvellous food carry-outs. At one end of the street is a local food market; at the other, under two minutes' walk from the house, is Pimlico Underground ('Tube') Station and terrific local bus routes. From the house it is just a short stroll to Victoria Station, Tate Britain, the Thames, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Cathedral, St James’ Park, Battersea Park, Downing Street, the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey. Several theatres are close by, too, as is a beautiful cinema.
It is only a short tube/bus/taxi ride (or you can walk) to Hyde Park, Harrods, Harvey Nichols, Oxford Street, Piccadilly Circus, the West End, Chinatown, Covent Garden, Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, the National Gallery, the National Theatre, the National Film Theatre, the Festival Hall, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, the Tate Modern the London Eye, the London Aquarium, and other main London attractions. There are easy transport links to all London airports and mainline stations, and London and regional coach tours. For those who like to run or jog, there are accessible routes from the house along the River Thames and through the nearby parks.
This spectacular house is brilliantly located for special annual London events, including - within WALKING distance - all Royal Family celebrations, the Chelsea Flower Show , the London Marathon (finishing line), the New Year's Day Parade, the Lord Mayor's Procession & Show, the Trooping of the Colour, the Thames Festival, the State Opening of Parliament, Guy Fawkes Night (5 November - walk across the river to Battersea Park), the New Year Fireworks (watch them from outside Tate Britain, five minutes' walk from the house). Westminster Abbey, St John's Smith Square and Westminster Cathedral are all within ten minutes' walk and magical for Christmas Carols.
Within a short tube/bus ride you'll reach the London International Boat Show, the Olympia Fine Art & Antique Fair, the Holiday and Travel Show, Party in the Park, the London Proms at the Albert Hall, the Covent Garden Festival of Street Theatre, the Notting Hill Carnival, the Russian Winter Festival, the Chinese New Year celebrations - and outdoor skating during the winter months. Equally close is the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, the. National Film Theatre (the heart of the great London film festival), the Chelsea Antiques Fair, the Christmas lights and many other major cultural and sporting events. Wimbledon Lawn Tennis is an easy tube-ride away, as is Wembley Stadium.
We purchased our central London home in 1985 and lived there until 2008. The moment we opened the door we loved it. It felt then, and feels now, as if only happy things have happened here - which can't possibly be true, since it's more than 170 years since it was built! We wanted to live right in the heart of London, and you can't get much closer to the heart than this. We also wanted a characterful house, with high ceilings, original features and a sense of generations upon generations of people having lived there before us. And that is exactly what we got! We raised our family here, working from home, so the house has always been busy and full of children. When we left it, and downshifted to another part of London, we rejoiced that we didn't have to sell it, and that other people could enjoy it too.
The remarkable thing about 'Pimlico' (the area of the London Borough of Westminster in which our house is situated), is that it is quite like a village, and yet it is right in the heart of perhaps the greatest city in the world. Neighbours know and look out for each other; our street contains many family houses and has an active residents' association, the shop keepers know us and are friendly, and yet the district is at the same time both cosmopolitan and fast-paced. In Pimlico you can live peacefully, yet never feel that life is passing you by.
