This wonderful Arts and Crafts home is situated in the heart of Marlow town's conservation area in Buckinghamshire, on the southern edge of The Chilterns and close to the River Thames and the Berkshire border. The home unfolds over three immensely characterful storeys, with internal accommodation extending to over 3,200 sq ft and a further separate studio set in the beautifully designed gardens. The home has been entirely and painstakingly restored, careful to retain the countless historic architectural features both internally and externally; this includes individually crafted original chimney pieces, beautiful leaded fenestration and exceptional joinery throughout. Marlow is just 50 minutes by train from London Paddington, and links to the M4, M40 and Heathrow Airport are excellent.

Setting the Scene

The market town of Marlow is one of the loveliest locations on the River Thames, situated on a broad sweep of the river between Henley and Windsor and within the Chiltern Hills, a designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It has a lively town centre made up of historic streets with small, listed buildings; the town’s main landmark is the graceful suspension bridge which spans the Thames joining Buckinghamshire and Berkshire.

Maldah lies upon Institute Road, named after the Great Marlow Institute which was built in 1890 to serve the cultural and educational needs of the townsfolk. Houses were built along what was effectively a farm lane previously and filled with houses mainly in pairs of brick and tile villas. This home was built in 1896 and was originally a detached villa, built in the vernacular style but borrowing much from the work of architect Richard Norman Shaw and the Arts and Crafts movement.

The house remained a single large dwelling till the 1950s when this principal part of the house was divided from the smaller part to the rear. The original house was named Maldah by its first occupants who had ties to the British Raj, and specifically after their family's links with Maldah, a city and region of Bengal. For more information, please see the History section.

The Grand Tour

Maldah is brilliantly positioned in the heart of Marlow, yet on a peaceful residential road just to the east of the High Street. From Institute Road, Maldah is discreetly set back from the road behind a bank of beech hedging, pleached hornbeams and a mature beech tree in its wide-set plot. Brick piers open from the road to a pea gravel driveway, which has space for parking multiple cars.

The house has an exceptionally handsome appearance, built from traditional solid red brick at the ground floor and surmounted by a timber framed second storey, finished in intricate roughcast and separated by a distinctive heavy timber frieze. Leaded glass is used throughout all fenestration in variety of handblown designs, including overhanging oriel windows, while high brick chimneys and multiple varying roofs are clad with clay peg tiles. There are two gable ends, with two canted bays set below on both upper and lower storeys. The villa’s architecture and craftsmanship combine to give the exterior a pleasingly idiosyncratic demeanour, where obvious symmetry has been banished. A delightful ground floor loggia connects to the rear garden from the side, with the main ground floor elevation wreathed in wisteria. A colourful leaded glass paned door defines the entrance porch; a separate service entrance is set to the side, leading to a boot area and utility space.

Opening to the main entrance hall, elegant black and ivory floor tiles extend underfoot and a series of four arched windows line the east elevation of the hallway; a WC lies ahead.

The inner hallway and remaining ground floor rooms feature oak flooring underfoot and there is beautiful wainscotting, picture rails and oak box cornicing in the principal spaces. The hall is home to the first of seven working fireplaces dotted throughout the house, each one unique and designed with varying faience tiles and marble slips with intricate timber surrounds. Decorative cast iron grilles above each fireplace betray a now decommissioned original secondary heating system, involving an early form of heat exchanger built into each flue. Reclaimed cast iron radiators also feature throughout the house. The dog leg staircase rises from here to the first floor, with wide flat balusters and a proud oak newel post and handrail. The ground floor rooms all work on a circular plan, winding their way around the central hall in a charming fashion, with oak panelled doors opening to each room.

To the front of the plan there is a library and study, with a window seat set into the canted bay and bespoke joinery, comprised of bookcases and cupboards lining one wall. Adjacent is the handsome sitting room, also featuring a larger canted bay window to the front and a secondary west-facing one, with further wainscotting and a decorative strapwork ceiling. There is a particularly grand chimney piece in this room, inset with a large woodburning stove featuring a decorative metalwork design; walls are papered in a smart oxblood colour patterned wallpaper.

The kitchen is set to the rear of the plan off the hallway, where warm oak features as flooring and bespoke panelled cabinetry is by Mark Wilkinson Furniture. A large kitchen island is set centrally, inset with a prep sink and room for bar stools below, with richly veined Calacatta Oro marble resting atop. A black enamel six-door Aga sits within the large open-hearth space, incorporating an electric section for convenience; a further Miele microwave oven, dishwasher and two freestanding stainless steel fridge freezers are integrated into cabinetry. A generous utility room is adjacent, crowned with a pitched glass roof lantern; a useful laundry chute is also in the kitchen, connecting to the upper storey above. Further storage is located below the kitchen in the dry cellar, with pamment tile flooring and a wine store with slate shelves.

The kitchen opens through a wide architrave to a spacious addition, forming the second phase of the home’s construction and comprising a vast open plan dining and seating area with limestone tiles underfoot. The roof has an open pitch here and exposed joists are painted white, with French windows opening to the veranda; a further separate glass door opens directly to the garden behind. A stone bolection chimney piece grounds the room and is home to a warming wood burning stove.

Ascending to the first floor, a spacious landing looks out to a dramatic tall leaded window set within a canted bay. The principal bedroom suite encompasses the entire south facing part of the plan, with sleeping quarters positioned centrally. Large leaded windows feature at both the south and west aspects, flooding the room with light. House of Hackney patterned wallpaper is used for primary decoration above the painted wainscotting, and cream deep pile carpet extends underfoot. The exceptional fireplace here is inset with a gas fire and there are also excellent bespoke floor-to-ceiling wardrobes in one corner.

The primary ensuite bathroom opens from here, with further fitted wardrobing and a boxed bathtub positioned centrally, with marble atop. A separate shower enclosure and WC are discretely tucked away behind the wardrobing, with walls encased in Carrara marble tiles. The second en suite shower room is positioned to the rear of the bedroom, again with Carrara marble tiles defining the shower enclosure; the washstand is also crafted from a similar marble. Walls are lined with a patterned palm leaf design from House of Hackney and there is further bespoke fitted wardrobing. Both en suites have beautifully unique chimney pieces.

A door from the rear of the landing space leads to a secondary passage and further bedroom and shower room; a secondary staircase ascends to the uppermost storey and a third bedroom. A door from here opens directly to a mirror plan room beyond in the loft space, currently used for storage.

The Great Outdoors

The walled gardens at Maldah are exceptional, forming a series of outdoor rooms that span the entire west side of the home’s plot. From the garden room, a stylish timber veranda opens to the centre of the garden, with stone flags underfoot forming pathways through the spaces. The veranda has been very carefully designed to mirror the existing original joinery in the house, with flat balusters mimicking the staircase inside. Planting is rich and varied, including cloud planting with box hedges, banks of lavender, eucalyptus, hydrangeas, and climbing roses.

There is a lounging area to the front of the garden, nestled beside a bank of pleached hornbeams, and a palm area to the rear, with ferns and decking set around a pond—the perfect place for attracting wildlife. A further seating area is set beneath a large gazebo with a pitched wood tile roof. Much of the garden has outdoor lighting to highlight key planting, making a feature of the garden all year around when viewed from indoors.

Within the garden is an excellent outdoor studio, with a weatherboard exterior and pitched clay tile roof featuring finials atop. The building is fitted with water and electricity supplies for the shower room and kitchenette inside. The interior is brilliantly designed; currently used as a study and additional sitting room, it could also be used for occasional overflow sleeping accommodation if required. Two skylights are set into the roof’s open pitch and fitted bookcases line one expansive wall. Additionally, to the rear is a separate large garden store, for garden tools and further storage.

Out and About

Maldah is brilliantly positioned in the heart of Marlow, yet on a peaceful residential road just to the east of the High Street. There is a superb range of local purveyors moments from Maldah, with an eclectic mix of local independent and quality national retailers. There are numerous bars, cafes and restaurants dotted around the town. Of special note are Tom Kerridge’s acclaimed The Hand and Flowers restaurant and The Coach pub, both offering Michelin-starred fare. The Ivy Marlow Garden is also just a few minutes’ walk from Maldah. For more extensive shopping opportunities, High Wycombe and Maidenhead are both short drives away,

Just outside the town, the area opens out to glorious rolling countryside and a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, encompassing The Chilterns. Hambleden Valley is also worthy of note for its beautiful walks. As the town is situated on the banks of the River Thames, the Thames Path also follows the river through the town allowing for wonderful riverside walks and bike rides.  The local 23-acre Higginson Park also has lawns for picnicking, a children's play area and café.

Local recreation and sporting facilities are excellent, including golf at Harleyford & Temple; rowing at Marlow Rowing Club, one of the best clubs for rowing in the country and situated by Marlow Bridge; Marlow RFC & Marlow FC; horse riding; clubs for cricket, hockey, tennis & bowls are all in Pound Lane, alongside the Court Garden Leisure Complex with swimming pool & gymnasium, as well as The National Sports Centre at Bisham Abbey.

There is an excellent selection of local schools, both state and independent, including at senior level Sir William Borlase Grammar School on West Street and Great Marlow School. Further nearby senior schools include Wycombe Abbey for Girls, The Royal Grammar School in High Wycombe, St Piran’s in Maidenhead, Eton College and St Mary’s School, Ascot. Local primary schools include Spinfield Primary School, Marlow Montessori School, Marlow CoE Infant School, Holy Trinity CoE School, Burford School, Danesfield School, Foxes Pieces School, St Peter’s Catholic Primary School.

Transport links are exceptionally good from Marlow, with Marlow train station just a five minute walk from Maldah. Train times to London Paddington with a change at Maidenhead station are around 50 minutes. Alternatively, Maidenhead station is just a 20-minute drive away, where there is plentiful parking for direct trains, including on the newly opened Elizabeth Line, which also connects to Heathrow Airport. Fast trains to London are also available from High Wycombe station, just a 15-minute drive away, with journey times of just 25 minutes to London Marylebone. For international travel, Heathrow Airport is around half an hour away by car, and the M40 to the north is easily accessible from the A404, which bypasses Marlow, for connections to North West London, Oxfordshire and The Cotswolds, while the southbound A404 leads to the M4, for the West Country and West London.

Council Tax Band: G