6 Bedroom Detached House

The Property

This property is an excellent example of a Garden City home. Built in 1907, outside is Arts & Crafts architecture, but what’s inside is unexpected… Since the current owners purchased it in 2009, they’ve given it real personality, turning what was a project into their palace. Each room has its own style, and together they create a unique and exciting residence.

Before any interior design began, the essentials were addressed: rewiring, replumbing, replacing windows and upping insulation. The boiler was replaced in 2020, and an alarm and CCTV are installed for security. The property may be 120 years old, but it’s now fit for modern life.

The side extension came in 2010. This increased the overall accommodation to 3,100 sqft and created open-plan living space. This space is the heart of the home – and has been the setting for many parties over the years! There’s mood lighting, ceiling speakers, even a hidden socket for a smoke machine. Dinner parties happen in the dining area, with the bow window offering guests outlooks of the garden, and bi-folds in the kitchen for accessing the deck.

The kitchen is contemporary, with gloss cabinetry, marble-effect surfaces and glittery floors. It’s also well-equipped, with a hob hidden in the island, a bank of ovens, an integrated dishwasher, an undercounter fridge, plus space for a freestanding fridge/freezer. The adjoining utility has space for a washing machine and a tumble dryer.

To the other side of the house is the lounge. This is very generous, yet with a cosy, characterful feel from the inglenook fireplace and the wood herringbone flooring. Double doors open onto the deck to bring the outdoors in, and there’s a box bay window to the front.

A third reception room is off the entrance hall. This is super flexible, used as a home salon in the past (with plumbing in place for sinks), and with possibility as an office, a gym, a separate snug or a teenager’s den. There’s a convenient cloakroom tucked between here and the inner hallway.

To the first floor, via the wow-factor open staircase, are five double bedrooms. The sixth bedroom is used as a dressing room as part of the principal suite. The principal bedroom is beautifully presented, bright from triple aspects, and also includes a stunning en suite. The en suite is in a monochrome design and features both a walk-in shower and a freestanding bath, while the shared wet room is in neutral grey and white with chrome fixtures and fittings. Bedroom five benefits from its own cloakroom, making it ideal as a guest room.

The Plot

The plot here extends to approximately 0.25 acres. The frontage has dual gravel driveways for ample parking, and the garage provides more if not using for storage. Further storage space is available to an outbuilding/workshop in the garden.

The garden adds huge appeal to the home, facing south for optimum sun, with an enormous deck for plenty of seating, full of established plants and with an allotment area, and offering an especially private setting. Tall trees and high fences provide screening, and properties along the road are more spaced out, not right next to each other.

The Position

While the leafy position neighbouring 25-hectare Norton Common makes it feel like you’re secluded in woodland, Wilbury Road is actually a central, accessible spot. You’re less than a mile from Letchworth town centre and station, and commuters can be in London in half an hour by rail or an hour by road.

Letchworth was the first Garden City. The bustling town centre is laid out in open spaces and with lots of greenery, and the streets are stocked with shops and amenities, cafés, pubs and restaurants, as well as entertainment and events.

Letchworth offers family days out such as Standalone Farm (also on Wilbury Road), sports and leisure facilities including a lido (within walking distance of the address), and well-regarded schooling including Stonehill, Wilbury and The Grange Academy for primary, Fearnhill for secondary, and St Christopher School and St Francis’ College for independent education (both just a short drive away).