Cabanel Place III
London SE11
Architect: Conran & Partners
Register for similar homes“Thoughtful contemporary alterations by Conran and Partners speak to the building's architectural history”
This bright two-bedroom apartment is positioned on the top floor of the Grade-II listed Cabanel Place in Kennington. The apartment is one of few in the building to have a large, private roof terrace and the quadruple-aspect living spaces have far-reaching views towards Westminster and the London Eye at one aspect and The City and Imperial War Museum from the other. Cabanel Place is quietly positioned in a residential part of Kennington, within easy walking distance of the River Thames as well as many good pubs, restaurants and shops in Kennington and Vauxhall.
The Building
Cabanel Place was initially designed as a school in the early 1960s by Architects Co-Partnership (ACP) and was converted to gated apartments in 2014 to a design by Conran and Partners. The building has been carefully maintained over the years, with beautifully maintained communal gardens with allotments that are tended by the residents. VauxWall East Climbing Centre lies at the heart of the development and is discounted for residents. This particular apartment has an onsite parking space. For more information, please see the History section below.
The Tour
The communal areas in Cabanel Place are definitively characterful; this top floor apartment is accessed via an original concrete and hardwood school staircase with beautiful mid-century bannisters. Unusually, due to its position on the top floor, this apartment in particular has no adjacent neighbours. The apartment lies within one of the central buildings in Cabanel Place and is thought to have once been an art classroom. As such, its thoughtfully conceived spaces are incredibly bright, with huge expanses of glass framed in original windows encompassing the east and westerly aspects of the plan.
Entry is to a bright hallway that leads to the open-plan living space on the right. This reaches 35ft in length and has been cleverly divided into natural zones; the living area has space for a dining table and is bathed in the evening sun, while morning light streams into the sleek white kitchen that lies adjacent. The current owners have introduced warm-hued wooden blinds that chime with the building’s heritage. As part of Conran and Partners’ restoration of the building, the original hardwood windows were refurbished and new oak floors were installed.
There are two bedrooms, each with an adjacent shower room. Both have new herringbone parquet flooring and large built-in cabinetry; the newly refurbished main bathroom is finished in striking marble and features 1960s rosewood cabinetry. The second bedroom is currently used as a home office, while the adjacent shower room is finished with slate. The current owners have made thoughtful alterations to the original Conran and Partners finish, such as in this second bathroom, that speak to the building’s history and work harmoniously with its original design.
Outdoor Space
This apartment is one of only a few in Cabanel Place with a large, private roof terrace, accessed via a set of steps that lead from the third to the second floor. This outdoor space has a wonderful sense of retreat; it is wonderfully private care of bamboo, small trees and vibrant acers that have been planted in huge containers around the perimeter.
The Area
Cabanel Place is a short walk to Kennington Road, which has excellent amenities. There is good coffee and cake to be had at Vanilla Black, Sally White and Urban Botanica and there is a local flower market. The nearby Tommyfield and Prince of Wales on Cleaver Square are loved by locals, while only a little further afield is the bastion of pub cuisine, The Canton Arms. Bonnington Square, home to renowned deli and cafe Italo, along with the ever-popular Lower Marsh and The Cut are also within easy reach.
The Kennington Triangle has undergone something of an artistic rebirth in recent years. Within a short walk are Damien Hirst’s Newport Street Gallery, Cabinet, Gasworks, The Camera Club, The Tea House Theatre and The City & Guilds London School of Art. The manicured open space of the Grade II-listed Kennington Park is under 10 minutes’ walk away from the apartment. Closer by are Archbishops Park and Lambeth Walk Doorstep Green. It is a short walk or bus ride to the River Thames and the Thames Path, with access to Tate Britain as well as other local riverside favourites such as Borough Market.
Cabanel Place is ideally situated within easy reach of Kennington and Oval underground stations (Northern Line), as well as Lambeth North (Bakerloo Line) and Vauxhall (Victoria Line and Overground services). Also within walking distance are Waterloo and Westminster Stations. There are excellent bus links into central and south London, and good cycling and walking routes towards the South Bank and Soho, which can be reached within 10 and 35 minutes respectively on foot. There is a Santander Cycle Hire Station directly outside the development.
Tenure: Leasehold
Lease Length: approx. 118 years remaining
Service Charge: approx. £2,600 per annum
Ground Rent: approx £300 per annum
Council Tax Band: E
Please note that all areas, measurements and distances given in these particulars are approximate and rounded. The text, photographs and floor plans are for general guidance only. The Modern House has not tested any services, appliances or specific fittings — prospective purchasers are advised to inspect the property themselves. All fixtures, fittings and furniture not specifically itemised within these particulars are deemed removable by the vendor.
History
The old Lilian Baylis School is a set of historic school buildings laid out across a series of intersecting courtyards and plazas, which have been transformed into a gated community of apartments and houses that retain their brutalist origins.
The school opened in 1964 and was an integral part of the Ethelred Estate in Kennington, south London; it was named in honour of the theatre producer Lilian Mary Baylis, who once ran The Old Vic and Sadler’s Wells. As with much of the well-conceived public architecture of the time, it was designed by the Architects Co-Partnership for the London County Council (LCC).
It closely resembles the familiar idiom of concrete and dark brick used by Lyons Israel Ellis for a series of well-known schools constructed during the same period. What makes Lilian Baylis special, however, is its plan. Whereas the Lyons Israel Ellis schools, like earlier LCC schools, place all their accommodation in one main block, Lilian Baylis comprises a series of low, linked blocks that form a series of asymmetrical courtyards, with the principal circulation consisting of galleries at first-floor level.
Conran and Partners were invited to reinvent the old campus based on a sustainable vision, after the school was relocated locally. The ambition was to preserve and reuse the existing spaces, building on the unique identity of the expressed concrete structure, expansive brickwork and generous runs of glazing with linked blocks, while adding subtle new extensions to create 149 homes.
