£1,595,000

Wickham Road, Brockley SE4

Magnificent Detached Arts and Crafts House with Six Bedrooms and Vast Garden

The Red House was built circa 1869 by Alexander Kersey for his brother. There must have been a great deal of fraternal love in the Kersey family because this is an absolutely spectacular house. Like other grand homes of the same period it has a host of wonderful, original features. Unlike many of them, it feels fresh and modern throughout - there's no musty, fusty atmosphere anywhere. Over the years the property has been maintained and augmented, with no expense spared, and it now offers four floors (about 4,000 square feet) of beautiful living space, a stunning, original conservatory and a third of an acre of exquisitely landscaped garden - an Arts & Crafts garden to match the house in fact.

The house stands behind a sweeping carriageway in a corner plot in the Brockley Conservation Area, just a short way from Hilly Fields. The ground floor contains three enormous reception rooms: one formal, one family and one study, all with original oak parquet floors and some featuring borders inlaid with lighter woods. The formal and family rooms both open onto an original 19ft conservatory (recently restored with tessellated floor, planting and water feature). In the family room two sets of original French windows also open onto the rear verandah and the garden beyond - the views from the sofa are incredibly gorgeous. Next door is a 25ft kitchen/breakfast room with more French doors to the garden and, beyond that, a store room, w.c. and another back door. Back out of the kitchen and you find lots more storage space (a pantry?) and steps down to a converted basement which holds the original wine cellar (in super condition of course), a gymnasium, a large utility room and lots of walk-in storage.

Up again to the ground floor (where you have a cloakroom and w.c.) and an open well staircase takes you past stunning, tall windows whose coloured lights depict wildlife scenes - it turns a couple of corners and then delivers you onto a spacious landing. Up here are three double bedrooms and two bathrooms (all the bedrooms have marble fire surrounds). The front bedroom to the left has a triple sash window while the smaller on the right hand side has a bay window. The master bedroom, at the rear, is nearly 20ft long and frames the beautiful garden. On the second floor are three more bedrooms - cosily nestled beneath the eaves - and a smart bathroom with shower. The house has its own security system, including electronic metal grilles across the glazed doors at the rear.

Just minutes from Blackheath Village and from Greenwich, this conservation area is characterised by beautiful and enormous Victorian houses set in lots of space. Not at the expense of your connections though - this neighbourhood lies just four miles from the City. Brockley or St Johns mainline stations will take you to London Bridge in about 10 minutes. The new East London line extension at Brockley will also ease the commute. Or pick up the DLR at Lewisham station for access to Canary Wharf, the City and London City Airport. The excellent educational institutions nearby include Goldsmiths College, Prendergast Secondary, Myatt Garden Primary, St Dunstans and Dulwich College.

Approximate Gross Internal Area: 382 square metres / 4112 square feet