A remarkably large one bedroom maisonette within a period property: with just under 900 square feet of floor space, set between two stairways, it has all the qualities of a ‘little house’. Brick built, with sash windows and steps leading to a recessed doorway, the building has an understated historic beauty.
Sears Street is one of Camberwell’s few intact Victorian terraces, once home to Sam King OBE, mayor of Southwark 1983-84, a former RAF aircraft engineer and just the second Caribbean man to own a house in Southwark. With much of its building stock destroyed in the extensive bombing of the first and second world wars, Southwark saw its historic architecture replaced with mid-century buildings. However, Patrick Abercrombie’s vast master plan for a new London highlighted the need for green space and resulted in the creation of nearby Burgess Park, which adjoins Addington Square, a well preserved Georgian and Regency garden square within a small conservation area.
Now a quiet no-through-road, Sears Street is a peaceful enclave, with houses set back from the road. The terrace overlooks a set of old-fashioned allotments and one of the houses on the street participates in the National Garden Scheme’, opening their ‘backyard botanic garden’ to the public. There is a gentle sense of community on the street and houses here are loved and lived in for many years.
The owners have made careful, considered decisions in their interior decoration and over many years have filled their home with artworks, sculptures and other creations made by artist friends.
The front door is painted in bold, botanical ‘Bancha’ and sets the tone for the entrance hall which is painted in natural tones and fitted with Beem lighting from Heals. With stripped and painted floorboards throughout, including soft grey staircases, the property has a pared-back atmosphere. Although it has been renovated and decorated to a high professional standard, with Velux roof windows in the bedroom and Fensa registered double glazed back windows, certain unique additions give it an artful, slightly bohemian feel.
In the kitchen the owners have chosen freestanding units, alongside high quality appliances such as a Miele fridge. A 1940s London gas cooker, which the owners found at a local salvage yard, is paired with a mid-century mother Hubbard and simple open shelving, painted in with the neutral wall colour, to create a style reminiscent of the interiors of artist’s studios.
Modernism meets old English charm in the living room. Looking out onto its twin Victorian terrace opposite, the room is filled with light through shuttered sash windows onto time worn wooden floorboards. As a decorative focal point, the owners have added a salvaged, carefully restored, antique cast iron fireplace; on either side custom built contemporary shelving, reminiscent of the shapes in Piet Mondrian’s ‘Composition with Red, Blue and Yellow’, provides an area for book collections and art displays.
In the bedroom under the eaves, the white wooden floorboards continue and light has been prioritised with the addition of Velux windows. Minimal architectural features and storage, along with a neutral palette of colours maintain the artistic loft style interior created throughout the house. The freestanding furniture choices of the kitchen have been matched in the bedroom with a mid-century wardrobe. The current owners consider this furniture to ‘belong’ to the home and would be very happy to leave them for the new house holders to enjoy.
A dedication to quality fixtures has been maintained in the bathroom, where the owners have installed a Grohe shower within a marbled enclosure along with Grohe basin taps. The Kaldewei enamel bath is in keeping with the utilitarian feel of the kitchen.
Burgess Park is just a moment’s walk away, at the end of Sears Street. Adjoining the park is the Georgian and Regency Addington Garden Square which hosts extensive tennis courts and the Club house Cafe, a popular coffee stop for locals on a Saturday morning stroll. Just a little further afield, up Denmark Hill, is the Edwardian era Ruskin park, designed by the famous landscape architect J.J Sexby.
The Fowlds cafe and the Toad bakery are just down the road, as is the famous Camberwell Arms, said to be one of the best pubs in London. Camberwell Church Street is bustling and dynamic, with an array of independent shops and restaurants and the Camberwell Green market provides a local option for grocery shopping.
Sears Street is a few minutes walk from Camberwell Road, where bus routes run to Elephant and Castle Underground station and Camberwell Green has connections to London Bridge and the West End. Overground services run from Denmark Hill Station to London Bridge and the East London link to Shoreditch and to Clapham Junction.
In December 2018 the current owners were granted planning permission for the ‘construction of a rear dormer extension, with sliding doors, configuration of a recessed balcony /terrace. including 2x rooflights to front slope’ In January 2020 ‘a non-material amendment for the reduction in size of proposed dormer and roof terrace’ was granted. This permission has now expired as the proposals were not carried out. However, as permission for an extension to this property, and various other properties on the street, have previously been granted, it would be straightforward to re-apply for the same proposals, subject to the advice of a planning consultant.
