Taymount Grange
Taymount Rise, London SE23
Architect: G. Bertram Carter
Register for similar homesThis beautifully presented two-bedroom apartment is situated on the top floor of Taymount Grange, a little-known Modernist gem in Forest Hill designed by George Bertram Carter and built between 1935-36.
Oriented towards the south and flooded with natural light, the flat has far-reaching views over south-east London through large original Crittal windows in each room. The current owners have renovated the flat to an exemplary standard, remodelling the kitchen and bathroom, and retaining and refurbishing original doors, cupboards, and cast-iron radiators.
All residents of Taymount Grange enjoy the use of communal gardens to the front and rear of the building. A garage can be rented from the freeholder if required. The flat has an intercom system, and there is a lift to all floors from the entrance lobby. The communal areas of the building are in very good condition, having been recently refurbished, and the exterior has been recently painted.
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. Taymount Grange is located close to the Horniman Museum and Gardens, and 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.
The nearest station is Forest Hill, running 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.
Tenure: Leasehold
Length of lease: approx. 147 years
Service charge: approx. £3,000 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
George Bertram Carter trained at the Royal College of Arts and was a pupil of Sir Edwin Lutyens from 1919 to 1922. He became a member of the MARS group, of which he was appointed Honorary Treasurer in 1944. Another of his residential blocks, Litchfield Court in Richmond (1935), was listed at Grade II in 2004.
In his thesis The Servant Problem Solved: Modernist 1930s Residential Blocks, Damian Minto describes the history of Taymount Grange:
“[It] is built on the site of the original Queens tennis club. An important similarity with many modernist schemes was the fact that the existing earlier building (often a detached villa) was to be demolished to make way for the new block of flats. The site’s natural contours made it an ideal location for panoramic views of the London docks and rural edges of suburbia, a feature of which the flats take full advantage. The aimed new tenants were the middle classes – an important similarity with all modernist British residential schemes.
“Facilities available for residents included guestrooms, lounge, restaurant, terrace, landscaped gardens, swimming pool, seven tennis courts and a putting green. Taymount Grange was also fully staffed with everyone from porters to domestic help.”
From the expanses of white-painted stucco to the handsome metal windows and chrome-handled entrance doors, Taymount Grange has retained the unmistakably Thirties details that give it a romantic Modernist appeal.
