Old Conduit House on Lyndhurst Terrace
(Picture: Aston Chase)A Grade II-listed Gothic castle in north London, complete with marble fireplaces, turrets and gold panelled walls, is yours to rent – if you have a cool £20,583 per month to spare.
This works out at £247,000 per year – more than a third of the average London property price (£704,979).
Old Conduit House on Lyndhurst Terrace, Hampstead, was built in 1864 by stained glass manufacturers John Burlison and his son-in-law, Alfred Bell.
It originally contained residences for both of their families, divided with an internal door.
The property’s lavish Gothic interiors —round and square turrets, a triangular oriel and polychrome window heads, for example— came later, after Burlison died in 1868 and Bell’s family took over the whole house.
In 1934, the property was christened Old Conduit House by its then-owner, the artist and author Ernest Goodwin, who bought it in 1931, after it had been divided into two once more.
The upper floors became bedsits in in the 20th century, and were visited by the novelist Fay Weldon, who wrote the house into her novel, Splitting.
Today, Old Conduit House is one property again, covering a capacious 5,054 square feet over four storeys. There are five bedrooms, six bathrooms, four reception rooms and no less than four terraces overlooking the garden.
The rear garden stretches to 80 feet, while there’s also a private, gated courtyard and parking for two cars outside.
Most of the Gothic detailing incorporated by Bell (together with a pupil of famed architect Gilbert Scott) is still in place.
There is a dramatic entrance hall with an arched, vaulted ceiling, white brick walls and a white marble floor, patterned with terracotta tiles.
It leads onto the enormous, 30-foot drawing room, with its full height bay windows, green and gold panelled walls, gilded arches and terracotta marble columns.
Such is the value of the property’s fittings, that in 2004, more than £250,000 worth of artefacts were stolen from the house in a targeted robbery.
This included its stained-glass windows, worth £85,000 alone, along with a decorative stone fireplace, marble pillars and wooden bannisters.
On the lower ground floor is the kitchen, leading onto the garden, and an open plan family and dining area.
Upstairs are the bedrooms, with the principal suite —complete with dressing room, private balcony and ensuite with a freestanding circular bath— accessed via the round stair turret.
According to Land Registry data, the property was last purchased in 2003 for £1,790,000.
“This opulent family home with such an illustrious history really is the perfect plot for families with young children with big imaginations,” says Arron Bart, lettings director at Aston Chase.
“Old Conduit House presents an exceptional opportunity to experience life in your own mini castle.”
