“The loss of such a fine building would have been a great shame for this small conservation area and we worked closely with the council to guarantee its long term survival.”
Built in 1887, ten years before Queen Victoria’s diamond Jubilee, 15 Sundridge Avenue is a period gem which encapsulates the prosperity of the late Victorian era. The Sundridge Avenue Conservation Area consists of a unique and unbroken row of eight red brick Victorian Mansions with early Arts and Crafts influences. This is a near perfect example of a complete row of substantial Victorian Villas in a ‘Gentlemans’ suburb.’
Homes of this size and stature were typically built to accommodate a complement of servants, in addition to the main family in residence, and were the preserve of classic English Gentlemen until economic and social trends in the first half of the 20th Century gradually saw the demise of the Big House lifestyle. Many Victorian Villas, such as 15 Sundridge Avenue were demolished across London post 1945.
The local council’s main conservation objective was the retention of the unique spatial characteristics of the villa in it’s mature landscape setting, without additional disruptive development or hard vehicle landscaping.
The building had fallen into disrepair in the 1980s and was severely fire damaged in the late 1990s. The first priority was to prevent further structural collapse. The façade and flank wall were almost completely retained and fully repaired. Specialist stone masonry was required to replace some of the original Arts and Crafts details with new replicas. Imperial size brick, bonded in traditional Flemish Bond was sourced for the external walls. Due to neglect and fire damage, which had destroyed the original staircase, the interior of the building had to be completely rebuilt.
The eight apartments and two outstanding penthouses at 15 Sundridge Avenue have been designed to an exclusive specification including electronically operated, remote control entrance gates, German manufactured kitchens including five burner hobs, stainless steel integrated Neff appliances and natural stone work surfaces.
Other fixtures and fittings include a mixture of Philippe Starck, Villeroy and Boch and Hansgrohe. The two duplex penthouses feature open plan galleries with full height dormer glass walls and cleverly concealed roof terraces with private views across Kent.
