GUIDE PRICE: £1,100,000--£1,200,000.

INTERNAL VIEWINGS AVAILABLE ON REQUEST.


A quiet haven with a rose garden at the front and unusually private, sunny oasis at the back this beautiful 5 bedroom Edwardian house has elegant period features including open fireplaces and comes with a rare double garage and off street parking space with a gate to the garden- and a vast attic with access to a roof terrace to inspire ideas stnc. Just an 8 minute stroll to Preston Park Station and its direct trains to Gatwick and London, the Preston Park area has a top spot in The Sunday Times Best Places to Live Guide for its friendly communities where you are never far from fresh coffee or a croissant with local shops and cafés within a short stroll, and this exclusive property has good primary schools as well as a choice of parks and playgrounds within a 5 minute drive.

Sensitively modernised, including double glazing at the front, this spacious home is on the market for the first time in 41 years with grand proportions which remain unspoilt - and even the hallway impresses with original pediments above the doors and a waiting area with a stained glass window and a fireplace. A refined reception with glorious plasterwork opens to the garden in summer, and guests can enjoy a roaring fire both here and in the gracious dining room next door. The third reception is ideal as a family room, home office or for an au-pair and at the back, an inviting kitchen diner is high end but family friendly. Upstairs, all five bedrooms are comfortable doubles ready for your move, the principal with a glimpse of the sea, and both the shower room and bathroom are good to go.

The good school catchment both state and private attracts families, and with Hove Park, Dyke Road Park and Preston Park’s cafés and playgrounds close by, family outings are easy. For people of any age, Withdean Sports Stadium’s gym and running track is within walking distance whilst around the corner Dyke Road, with bus routes, will take you to the vibrant 7 Dials, city centre and the sea, or to the National Park and A23/A27 in minutes.

Style Edwardian semi-detached house 1907
Type 5 double bedrooms, 2 bathrooms + separate w.c., reception, dining room, family room/home office kitchen/diner, attic
Area Preston Park area
Floor Area 3426sq.ft.
Outside Space Front and back gardens, roof terrace stnc
Parking Double Garage, 1 adjacent off street space
Council Tax Band F

Why you’ll like it:
Quiet and convenient with friendly shops and cafés around the corner, this is one of the most sought after areas of the city with local bus routes into or out of Brighton along Dyke Road around the corner, London Road at the bottom of the hill or Shirley Drive for Hove giving older children some independence. Picture perfect with a sheltering porch and original door with coloured, leaded windows, this double fronted Edwardian home is privately tucked away from a leafy street behind a pretty garden. For parking, a leafy lane at the back leads to the double garage and off-street parking place deep enough for a caravan, and there is a secure gate which opens directly to the garden.

The Entrance Hall and Family Room
Inside the house, the hushed hallway proclaims its Edwardian heritage in the rare shell pediments above the doors and a waiting area tucked away beneath a stained glass window and introduces you to the classic tone of the interior decoration with its subtle heritage hues. Oak underfoot welcomes company and discreetly hidden away, a spacious guest cloakroom also has a shower if you’ve just come in from the tennis courts of Hove Park, or joined in with Preston Park’s Saturday morning jog.

Bright and cheerful at the front of the house, the family room is big and bright with fitted shelving on each side of a pretty fireplace and a large bay to bring in the Sussex sunshine.

The Reception and Dining Room
Completely private – a rare asset this close to the city centre- the elegant reception is a classic beauty where a handmade frieze, full of the joys of spring, still adorns a ceiling which soars to almost 3 m above your head and has its original ceiling rose. With plenty of space for a sociable, contemporary lifestyle, French doors in the far bay open to the garden which becomes an extension of the house in summer, whilst in winter guests can enjoy a roaring fire in the magnificent Edwardian fireplace.

Next door, friends and family can enjoy a traditional dining experience in another elegantly proportioned room where a bay window almost fills the front wall, an iconic frieze wraps around the ceiling and a handsome, open, fireplace glints in firelight with a brass fronts piece.

The Kitchen Diner and Garden:
With ample room for a big family table, the kitchen diner is perfect for parties but also for everyday with a family- friendly focus, a practical layout, and a larder with power for a hidden tall freezer. Sturdy units deliver sophisticated storage and the fabulous, granite surfaces look great but are also very hardy. Well-planned, everything is to hand from a Stoves multi fuel range, which could stay, subject to circumstance, there’s a designated space for a dishwasher and tall fridge whilst plumbing and power for both a washing machine and a dryer are concealed in units close to the door to the garden so sports kits and beach towels can go straight to the machine from the car.

What was once a servant passage runs between the reception and the extended kitchen, and it is here that you will find the door to the landscaped garden. A tranquil retreat surrounded by gardens with a leafy lane behind it is unusually private, and it is child and pet secure. A cobbled path leads to the parking at the back and runs along the line of the house to the reception, where the broad side return has space for secluded seating, and at the heart of the garden, a spacious lawn is level for play, something hard to find in a city built on hills. Open to the east and west, we’re told it is large enough to get the sun from mid- morning to sundown and at the end, there is a paved dining terrace surrounded by mature planting for all year interest and the scent of jasmine and roses.

Three First Floor Double Bedrooms, Family Bathroom and Cloakroom:
At the top of the stairs, this house spreads its wings with a butterfly landing where there is a central family bathroom, airing cupboard and a separate w.c with a hand basin to keep life easy. Heading towards the back, two light and spacious bedrooms are inviting doubles with Art Nouveau fireplaces and the room at the back has a broad bay which looks over the garden to glorious, oblique countryside views. Also with garden views, the third of the generous double rooms instantly soothes with a sweeping bay window, charming fireplace and lofty dimensions.

The Principal Bedroom, Nursery/Dressing Room and Attic
A calm and peaceful refuge to return to, the principal bedroom has the soothing proportions only a period home can deliver and one of the most graceful Art Nouveau fireplaces which we have seen. A box bay window embraces an open view which leads to a glimmer of sea and floods the room with light.

Next door, the fifth bedroom, now used as a sun-lit home office, could be an ideal nursery or glamorous dressing room. Still a good sized double with a charming bay window, this is another relaxed room to enjoy with a characterful fireplace of its own.

Up at the top, the attic room is enormous – but remember it is a bonus as this uniquely beautiful home in this exclusive area is priced to sell as it is. It is rare now to find a house with such lovely intact period features where you can still add value, and this attic room with sea views and a ladder to a roof terrace which once had a balustrade offers a once in a lifetime opportunity to create something special.

Agent Says:
“Quiet but convenient for schools, parks and the city, this is a prestigious area where magnificent Edwardian properties just a few minutes’ walk from Preston Park Station sell fast! This beautiful period home has everything - style, graceful original features and a large sunny garden as well a double garage and off street parking, and the massive attic with access to a roof terrace offers a unique opportunity to make a fabulous principal suite stnc.”

Owner’s secret:
“Although we are ready to embrace our next step, we shall miss our beautiful home of 41 years which has seen many happy celebrations and has always given friends a warm welcome. When our four children were little, they ran around the ground floor which is all connected, but when it was time for me to cook or for homework, they could also be safe in the kitchen with me. As teenagers, they had their own space on the ground floor to entertain and bedrooms large enough for sleepovers, and in the summer, the house opens to the garden, which is very safe and private, and big enough to not to really notice if neighbours were also outside – although they are now longstanding friends! We have always enjoyed the beautiful period features of the house, particularly those in the hallway and fireplaces in the reception and dining room where the brass front pieces glow when you light the fire, as well as the balance of light, private rooms at the back and rooms at the front which are always full of sunshine, especially upstairs which is why I use the nursery as my study. I spend a lot of time in there, warm in the sun. Although the street is quiet it is convenient for the city and the station, and we used to walk our children to primary school as it is better for the planet but also teaches them about the changing seasons and road safety, and they caught the bus to the secondary schools, which made all of our busy schedules easier.”

Where it is:
Shops: Local Matlock Road 4 mins walk, 7 Dials 5 mins by car, Queen’s Road 8 mins
Train Station: Preston Park is a 5-8 minute walk, Brighton 8 by cab
Seafront or Park: Dyke Road Park & Hove Park 3 mins drive, Preston Park 5, seafront 10-15
Closest Schools:
Primary: St Bernadette’s RC, Stanford, Cottesmore St Mary, Bilingual School
Secondary: Varndean, Dorothy Stringer, Cardinal Newmaqn
Sixth Form: Varndean, BHASVIC, Cardinal Newman BIMM
Private: Windlesham Prep, Lancing Prep, Brighton College, Brighton Girls

8 minutes’ walk to Preston Park Station with friendly local shops, cafés and bistro pubs this area has a lovely community feel and the nearby primary schools, state or private, are good. Tucked away from the crowds, this house is between Dyke Road’s Park with tennis courts, open air theatre, playground and café, Hove Park’s playground, fingerprint maze and playing fields and Preston Park’s velodrome, sports facilities, fun runs and football clubs. Local bus routes go along both Dyke Road and London Road (both out of hearing) to the South Downs National Park or the beach, and along Shirley Drive to Hove, and you can get to the whole of the city including the world class shopping, fashionable bars, lively arts venues and international restaurants of Queen’s Road, the picturesque cultural heart of the city as well as Hove’s Church Road easily. If you commute by car, both the A23 and A27 are easy to reach.