Commendation for Best House of Three or More Storeys
THEATRICAL ENTRANCE
Garrick House, 40 Burkes Road, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire HP9 1PN
England’s greatest actor-manager, David Garrick (1717-79), had little connection with Beaconsfield, except that he is known to have been entertained by the town’s most famous resident, the Irish politician and philosopher Edmund Burke (1729-97) at his mansion Gregories, where he lived from 1768 until his death. Burke was buried in the parish church, but his house was burned down in 1813 and never rebuilt.
David Garrick lived and worked in London, where he owned the Drury Lane Theatre, but he had a “country” house by the Thames, Hampton House in Middlesex, which is now called Garrick’s Villa. He died at his London house, 5 Adelphi Terrace, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
So, although there is no direct link with this Garrick House in Beaconsfield, other than its location in Burkes Road, it is possible to imagine David Garrick declaiming a soliloquy in the grand double-height galleried entrance hall of this new house designed in the Arts & Crafts style by Chris Higenbottam, principal of Berkhamsted architects Tempietto.
It is, by any standards, a magnificent house, boasting seven bedrooms, all with ensuite bathrooms, the master bedroom having “his” and “hers” dressing rooms. One of the bedrooms is on the attic floor, overlooking the private garden of just under one acre; another is in a self-contained suite over the triple garage, which is suitable for staff accommodation or as a leisure annex.
Electrically operated entrance gates, with a video entryphone system linked to the house, give access to a paved courtyard and a solid oak front door set in a distinctive arched porch. This door opens onto a small lobby (with cloakroom and cloaks cupboard on either side) and then to the double-height limestone-floored hall, with its staircase to the galleried landing on the first floor.
The suite of large reception rooms on the ground floor include a drawing room almost 30ft long, with a central stone fireplace and French casement doors opening onto a paved terrace and the garden. The luxuriously equipped open-plan kitchen has a walk-in pantry and a double-height breakfast room with double doors to the garden. A door from the kitchen opens into the dining room, which guests access by double doors from the hall. There are also doors from the kitchen to the laundry room.
Double doors from the kitchen lead into a large family room, from which there are double doors to an orangery (or conservatory) with full-height windows on three sides and a pitched glazed roof. There are also double doors from the family room to the drawing room, so that continuous two-way circulation is possible throughout the ground floor, with the exception of the library, which has an appropriately secluded entrance from the hall.
The triple garage can be accessed from the rear hall, off which is a separate shower room, convenient for anyone working in the garage, the laundry room, the entrance courtyard or even the garden, to which there is a door from the laundry room opening onto a side terrace for access to the refuse store and a garden store.
The house has underfloor gas-fired central heating, an integrated entertainment and communication system and a comprehensive burglar-alarm system. The specification for all the materials, fixtures, fittings and appliances throughout the house is of the highest quality, which is reflected in the sale price of £3.5 million.
Homebuilder: COUNTRYSIDE PROPERTIES PLC
Countryside House, The Drive, Brentwood, Essex CM13 3AT
Tel 01277 260000
Fax 01277 218056
Website: www.countryside-properties.com
Contact: Lisa Welton, Marketing Manager.
Email: lisa.welton@cpplc.com
Architects: TEMPIETTO CHARTERED ARCHITECTS
3 Churchgates, The Wilderness, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire HP4 2UB
Tel 01442 877808
Fax 01442 877868
Website: www.tempietto.co.uk
Contact: Chris Higenbottam, Principal.
Email: architects@tempietto.co.uk