The hard graft has been done for the potential buyers of this painstakingly-restored Grade II-listed Georgian townhouse on Cassland Road in Hackney.
On the market for £2.1m, the property was built between 1792 and 1800 and is set within a uniformed row of matching terraces that all feature sash windows and smart cast-iron railings.
But it’s the extensive and sympathetic renovation that the current owners have undertaken inside that really impresses.
The biggest project was undoubtedly the extension on the lower-ground floor that was built to be perfectly in keeping with the building’s 18th-century bones.
Famed for working on the likes of Buckingham Palace and Oxford and Cambridge universities, John Simpsons Architects were called in to create modern architectural details that couldn’t be told apart from original period features, the latter of which includes the likes of panelled doors, window shutters and mouth-blown glass.
Additional heavy-lifting included opening up a bricked-up fireplace in the kitchen and a vault on the lower-ground floor – to incorporate an Aga and wine cellar, respectively – as well as restoring fireplaces throughout and reinstating curved bow windows to the rear (using those in a neighbour’s home and architectural drawings as a guide).
Interior design didn’t play second fiddle, either. Papers and Paints, a specialist in its namesakes for historic buildings, advised on and supplied wall colours and coverings befitting of the era.
Think umber-hued dining room, green cabinetry and red wallpaper in what’s currently used as the study and yellow-and-white stripes in one of the bedrooms.
There are four rather grand floors spread across nearly 2,000-sq-ft that includes a kitchen, adjoining dining room, utility room and loo on the lower-ground floor, two reception rooms at ground level, and four bedrooms and a bathroom on the upper two floors.
Green space is plentiful without having to step foot in nearby Victoria Park with a 120-ft garden festooned with flowers and trees.
“Refined Georgian townhouses like this one are few and far between in this part of the city and so, it’s slightly incongruous profile, makes Cassland Terrace all the more alluring for those with an interest in historic architecture,” says Beth Moran, appraisals specialist for Inigo, the estate agent the property is listed with.
“The structure and form of these houses are far more reflective of the likes of Bloomsbury's Bedford Square than anything seen within skipping distance of Victoria Park.
“The current owners have cultivated a marvellously romantic garden full of rambunctious rose bushes and sheltered spots for sundowners that overlook the handsome rear elevation of the house.”
