Peckarmans Wood VI
London SE26
Architect: Austin Vernon & Partners
Register for similar homes“The Dulwich Estate: A hillside haven in south-east London” (Mid-century Magazine)
This wonderful four-bedroom mid-terrace house, designed in 1963 by Malcolm Pringle of Austin Vernon & Partners, can be found on Peckarmans Wood, a peaceful road on the Dulwich Estate. The house directly overlooks Dulwich Wood with dramatic views of the City of London in the distance.
The Tour
The house is slightly raised, with a front garden and a set of steps up to the entrance. A wide and light-filled hallway opens onto a spacious living room with floor-to-ceiling glass windows, leading to a modern open-plan kitchen and dining room at the rear which overlooks the garden.
The first floor contains a master bedroom with en-suite shower room, three further bedrooms and a family bathroom. Light floods the landing and staircase from above through landscape skylights, a key design feature in the original architectural plan.
The house has a garage en-bloc and there is unallocated parking for residents on the estate. An area well known for its exceptional modern architecture, the Dulwich Estate is composed of approximately 1,500 acres in South East London and includes 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. Ranging from large detached houses with expansive gardens to rows of smaller terraced houses, the typologies of homes, as well as the exceptional landscaping and planting, make for an appealing and unique place to live.
Outdoor Space
Sliding glass doors open from the dining room onto the garden, with an enclosed terrace and shrubbery acting as the gateway to expansive communal lawns beyond.
The Area
The house is surrounded by both Dulwich and Sydenham Woods, which are a wildlife nature reserve. This is combined with Dulwich and Sydenham Golf Course as well as an allotment and sports club grounds to provide an unbroken green space as far as Dulwich Park and Lordship Lane. Other local attractions include The Dulwich Picture Gallery, The Horniman Museumand the local town centres of Crystal Palace and Dulwich Village.
Crystal Palace, which has previously been named as number five on Lonely Planet’s “Greatest little-known neighbourhoods in the world”, is a 15-minute walk away and is a vibrant area with award-winning restaurants and bars as well as having a thriving arts and music scene. Dulwich Village is also a 15-minute walk from the house, and the street is well placed for OFSTED-rated “outstanding’” primary and secondary state schools as well as some of the best private schools in London.
Peckarmans Wood is a short walk on a footpath to Sydenham Hill station, which runs services to London Victoria (13 minutes), Blackfriars (20 minutes) and City Thameslink/Farringdon (22 minutes). Connecting trains (via Sydenham) will take you to Canada Water in 20 minutes and Shoreditch High Street in 30 minutes.
Tenure: Freehold
Service Charge: approx. £500 per annum (includes maintenance of communal gardens and grounds)
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
Peckarmans Wood 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. The blocks on Farquhar Road were the first to be built and they proved to be such a success that a second scheme began, encompassing the nearby Lymer Road and beyond. Over the next 20 years more than 2,000 new homes were designed by Austin Vernon & Partners, including those of Giles Coppice, 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.
