A Grade II-listed house in Hampstead has come on the market for the first time since 1937, having been home to three generations of the same family for the last 86 years.
Built in the early 19th century on the corner of Frognal Rise and Lower Terrace, Frognal Rise House is surrounded by high brick walls and has a distinctive appearance.
Extensions in 1884 and 1900 by the architect Marshall N Inman have given the exterior a mix of architectural styles, with neat Georgian brickwork and sash windows meeting a newer, mock-Tudor façade with a segmental arch and hoodmould, cleaved in yellow London stock brick.
The painter and illustrator Angela Latham and her husband Peter, a music professor who later worked for MI5, bought the property in 1937, two years before the Second World War broke out.
Latham, whose work was exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts, painted Art Nouveau-style murals in the hallway, stairwell and walls of the first floor, depicting vast scenes from ancient Indian epic poems and images of nature, which still stand today.
The couple entertained many well-known literary and musical figures at the time in the house, including Poldark novelist Winston Graham.
During the war, the Lathams, who were both Air Raid Precaution wardens, used the house as a War Funds Comfort Association depot.
The cavernous lower ground level and garage were used to stockpile supplies, which were then distributed to the armed forces and to those made homeless by the Blitz.
In 1972, Angela and Peter Latham passed their house onto their daughter, Margaret Valentine Korah, UCL’s first female law professor. Korah passed away earlier this year, and the house is now in the hands of her four children, who are selling their family home.
The six-bedroom property is on the market for £11 million with joint agents Aston Chase and Savills.
“Frognal Rise House is a wonderful place that I have known all my life,” says Hermione Brown, Korah’s daughter and one of the executors of her estate. “It is filled with so much history and my grandmother’s wonderful artwork and family portraits.
“My abiding memory, however, will be of me as a little girl, with my grandmother sitting in her rocking chair listening to my grandfather playing his Steinway piano, while I danced. I know the family that buys it will find just as much joy here as we have.”
Today, the house remains largely unchanged since the 1930s, with its period features still in place.
As well as Latham’s murals, there are wooden floorboards, panelled doors, picture rails and decorative skirting boards.
Covering three storeys and 6,340 sq ft of space, the property is “a country house in London,” according to James Diaper at Savills.
The lower ground floor has been arranged as a self-contained apartment, with a separate entrance on Frognal Rise.
It is connected to a series of storerooms, including a former wine cellar and billiard room, which offer the potential to be converted into new uses.
There are three reception rooms on the floor above, looking out onto the property’s “magnificent” garden, as well as a kitchen and grand entrance hall, decorated with Latham’s murals.
A further five bedrooms are located on the first floor, with a large dressing room and bathroom adjoining the master bedroom.
There is also a detached, private garage for four cars with a roof terrace above.
“The property has plenty of historic charm and offers incredible potential as a refurbishment project,” says Diaper. “Its sale presents a wonderful opportunity for a new buyer to put their own stamp on one of the area’s most remarkable homes.”
