Frobisher Court II
Sydenham Rise, London SE23
Architect: Austin Vernon & Partners
Register for similar homes"A five-metre south-facing window runs the width of the living room, allowing expansive views to the city beyond."
This fantastically bright three-bedroom flat on the third floor of Frobisher Court has spectacular views over central London from its elevated position on Sydenham Hill. Designed by Austin Vernon and Partners in 1959, the building forms part of the Dulwich Estate and won a Civic Trust award in 1964.
Frobisher Court is set among planned gardens and mature trees in a location much loved for its outside spaces; the Horniman Play Park is across the road and Dulwich Wood and Park are a few minutes’ walk away. It is a fourteen-minute walk to the centre of Forest Hill and the station.
These apartments were intended to provide high-quality housing for working professionals, and as such were finished with lovely hardwood floors and Crittal windows to create a prevailing sense of space and light.
The communal areas in these blocks are extremely well-considered. Inside the apartment, a bright lobby leads to the large living space through a set of fantastic original hardwood and glass doors. This room is full of light, with an almost five-metre south-facing window that runs the width of the room allowing views to the City.
Across the hallway is the kitchen, with a neat corner window and an inbuilt larder. There are excellent mid-century details throughout, such as the sliding doors that lead from the kitchen to the hallway that are seen often in Austin Vernon and Partners’ designs.
There are two equal-sized bedrooms with in-built cabinetry at the far end of the apartment. These have an interconnecting door, part of the original concept, and both look to the surrounding treetops from the elevated position. This apartment is larger than many designed by the architects, with a third bedroom at the far side of the plan that also has inbuilt cabinetry. This apartment also has the lease of a garage on the estate.
The apartment is a fourteen-minute walk from Forest Hill station, which runs London Overground services to Highbury & Islington via Shoreditch High Street and Canada Water (for connections to the Jubilee Line). Southern Trains runs direct services to London Bridge with a journey time of around 20 minutes.
Forest Hill has become an extremely popular area of south-east London with the help of the London Overground extension. As a result, there are plenty of very good independent cafes, restaurants and pubs in the area. Frobisher Court is well placed for the shops and restaurants of Dulwich Village and East Dulwich, as well as the open spaces of Sydenham woods and Dulwich Park. Eliot Bank Primary School (Ofsted rated Outstanding) is a few minutes walk away, and The Horniman Museum and Gardens with its weekend farmer’s market is close by. The nearby V22 Collective houses a number of artist studios and a community library.
An area well-known for its exceptional Modern architecture, the Dulwich Estate occupies approximately 1,500 acres, with numerous private roads that are managed by the Estate. It is noted for its concentration of outstanding 1950s and 60s design, much of it by Austin Vernon & Partners. The mix of houses and exceptional landscaping make for an appealing and unique place to live.
Tenure: Leasehold
Lease Length: approx. 118 years remaining
Parking: private garage and off-street
Council Tax Band: Band C (approx. £1,465 per annum)
Service Charge: approx. £1,400 per annum. The charge covers: cleaning services and communal garden
Building’s Insurance: approx £650 per annum
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
Frobisher Court is situated in part of a large area of land in South East London that has been maintained for over 400 years by the Dulwich Estate. In the 1950s the estate ran into difficulty. The area had been badly damaged during the Second World War, and lease lengths were running so short that banks were no longer happy to lend on the houses and selling was becoming more and more difficult. People were leaving the area and renting their houses out.
In 1954, Austin Vernon & Partners were called on to design a scheme that would rejuvenate the Dulwich Estate. Vernon himself had formerly been a pupil at Dulwich College from 1898 -1901 and so knew this area well, whilst his uncle Frederick Austin Vernon (1882-1972) had already been the surveyor and architect to the Dulwich Estate.
By 1957 Vernon’s first scheme of building was completed. Over the next 20 years more than 2,000 new homes were designed by Austin Vernon & Partners, resulting in a remarkable area of 1950s and 60s-era architecture.
The houses and flats were designed to a high standard, with use of large expanses of glass, open rooms and central heating. Also quite remarkable was the landscaping that was planned for the estate. The roads were separated from pedestrian areas and large areas were given over to communal gardens and spinneys. The result was an estate which was and remains beautifully designed, verdant and peaceful.
