House for sale in Battersea, SW11 3LD

Description

A unique opportunity to buy a piece of English History. This perfect Grade II* Listed Manor House, which is ideally situated just over the River from Chelsea, has been graced by Kings, Princes and Presidents. It is set behind electric gates with off street parking and garages and is surrounded by a pretty partially walled garden.
Designated by English Heritage as being of more than specific interest when it was listed in 1954, the Manor's handsome proportions include a include a baroque hallway, exquisite panelled drawing rooms, sweeping stairs and oak doors and floorboards all combining to make this historic and unique London house a sensational family home. Off a galleried landing on the first floor are five grand double bedrooms all of which either have their own, or share en suite bathrooms. The second floor boasts another five double bedrooms together with a further three bathrooms, one of which boasts a jacuzzi bath and a sauna. Six of these magnificent bedrooms have glorious views over the garden to the River and all are sumptuously decorated. Over the years various changes have been made to the house with a modern kitchen being installed.
Built on Tudor foundations in the late 17th Century, Old Battersea House was originally surrounded by lavender fields and watercress beds sloping down to the Thames. It is situated upstream from the site of Sir Christopher Wren's magnificent Chelsea Hospital and, although there is no provenance, he may well have been its designer. Its classical proportions both inside and out would indicate this as more than a possibility.
The House has had many owners over its history. In the early 20th Century it was saved from demolition by Colonel Charles G. Stirling and his wife who rented the house and brought with them a large collection of paintings by Mrs. Stirling's sister Evelyn De Morgan (1855-1919) together with a collection of ceramics by Evelyn's husband, William De Morgan (1939-1917). Mrs. Stirling lived on at Old Battersea House until 1965 just short of her 100th birthday. Before her death in that year she had formed the De Morgan Foundation to which she bequeathed her collection.
For the next five years Old Battersea House lay empty and neglected, virtually a roofless shell until it was acquired by the Forbes family and painstakingly and sympathetically restored by Malcolm Forbes under the guidance of architect Vernon Gibberd. The Manor was then restored to its former glory and was reinstated as a family home which housed one of the most important collections of Victorian art. In spite of this magnificent collection, which has filled the house for the past thirty years or so, it never felt like a museum but always a private house; it has an intensely intimate atmosphere , which remains today.

Situation

Old Battersea House is situated close to Battersea Square and has easy access to Chelsea and the green open space of Battersea Park.