Victorian redbrick back on market for £720,000-plus

A three-bed Victorian semi-detached house at 51 Morehampton Road is expected to fetch over £720,000 when it is auctioned by Sherry FitzGerald on December 1st.

The two-storey home on the corner of Morehampton Terrace has been totally revamped since it last came on the market almost exactly three years ago.

In November 1996 it was sold after auction for around £290,000, which at the time was regarded as a strong price. While the redbrick house was in good decorative order, the new owners redecorated from scratch.

The main difference between the 1996 version of the house and today's is that the kitchen-cum-family room at the back of the house has been totally refitted.

At 35 ft long, there was plenty of scope to remodel it, but it has since been widened to make a bright dining-room complete with bay window, a seating area, a large utility room, and a high-spec SieMatic fitted kitchen. The owners were keen that the kitchen should fit in with the overall period feel of the house, so decorative details include reproduction sash windows, a large range and a newly-constructed chimney-breast now fitted with a cast-iron boiler.

Modern features include a beech floor, granite worktops and all the fancy details that come with the SieMatic range, including a larder unit and several vegetable baskets. At the front of the house, the hallway was given a new limestone floor and the walls were part panelled and then painted white. To the right are interconnecting reception rooms, both painted cream to emphasise the feeling of light and spaciousness. Both rooms have polished timber floors and cast-iron fireplaces.

Upstairs, the family bathroom on the first return is a particularly spacious room with a door leading to a roof terrace with deck-style flooring. There are three bedrooms on the first floor, and all have good built-in storage. The extension eats into the paved back garden, which also incorporates a parking area with access from Morehampton Terrace.

The house is set well back from the road and the front garden is nicely landscaped with a row of clipped bay trees along the garden path.