Foreign Property News | Posted by Aye Myat Thu
The master of English fiction wrote her second novel from the airy brick-terraced house in Putney.
Holly Lodge, a three-story brick row house in Putney, London, and former residence of renowned novelist George Eliot, hit the market Thursday asking £2.795 million (US$3.44 million).
Mary Ann Evans, better known by her pen name George Eliot, moved into the spacious terraced house on Wimbledon Park Road in early 1859. It was there, in the sun-filled house with views over South London and its own spacious garden, that she wrote her second book, a semi-autobiographical novel “The Mill on the Floss,” according to English Heritage, a historical body that bestowed the blue plaque honoring Eliot on the house in 1905.
Eliot initially wrote under a pseudonym in part to protect her work from her somewhat scandalous private life as the partner of a married man, writer and critic George Henry Lewes.Initially, she expected to live at Holly Lodge for many years, finding the house “very comfortable, with far more of vulgar indulgences in it than I ever expected to have again,” she wrote to a friend, according to a record from English Heritage.
But as her professional fame—and personal notoriety—grew, she found the home, among streets of snugly built row houses, a little too exposed.
In her own words, Holly Lodge was overlooked by “houses full of eyes,” and she and Lewes moved to a large detached property in Marylebone in late 1860.
Today, Holly Lodge remains true to Eliot’s description: “a tall cake, with a garnish of holly and laurel.”
Built over four levels, the home has spacious interiors with vistas from a rooftop patio and a lush landscaped 75-foot-long rear garden, according to the listing with Savills.
“This gorgeous period house has it all: period charm and features in abundance, light contemporary living space throughout, ample off-street parking and a wonderful garden and terrace,” said property agent Alex Howard Baker.
The house, which last traded hands for £1.2 million in 2006, spans roughly 3,500 square feet, including five bedrooms.
The lower floors have been opened up in a modern way, including an open kitchen on the lower ground floor and a vast single reception room with two fireplaces on the next floor up.
There’s also a sunroom, study and two stairwells, “a very unusual feature at this price range,” according to the listing.
Mr. Baker added: “The blue plaque and its special historical context rounds it all off quite beautifully.”
Ref: Property Report
