Colvestone Crescent

This wonderful four-bedroom house occupies the top four floors of a handsome early Victorian house on Colvestone Crescent, brilliantly positioned within walking distance of leafy London Fields and Hackney Downs. The bright and generously proportioned spaces have been carefully restored with a modern outlook by Mookerjee Design, using a delicate colour palette and simple materials to emphasise their volume. Outside, the south-facing garden is a haven of quietude and home to a garden office.

Setting the Scene

The house sits in the middle of a wide tree-lined terrace set back from the road behind a low wall. The façade is London stock brick with white stucco accents and red brick lintels. At the entrance porch, a slim architrave rests above decorative corbels.

St Mark’s Conservation Area lies in the middle of the borough of Hackney, centred on the parish church of St Mark’s, around which the streets of this Victorian development were built. The scheme was conceived by the ground landlords and the Tyson-Amhurst’s between 1860 and 1870. Their architectural merit, both in design and detailing, has merited the conservation order.

The Grand Tour

The raised ground floor level of the building has been beautifully configured by the current owners, creating an open-plan kitchen and living space. Light pours in from north and south aspects, with a bay window that frames the front living room and a soaring sash window that lights the kitchen at the rear. Organising the period spaces in this way engenders a calm sense of conviviality and invites the green views over the garden. The original floorboards have been stripped, and shutters retained, in line with the careful approach to renovation taken throughout. The kitchen is bespoke, with slate countertops complimented by marble tiles and appliances by Rangemaster. There is a cleverly conceived utility room a half level down from the living space, with access to the garden.

A spacious hallway, where sensitively restored dental cornicing adorns the ground floor ceilings, runs down the right-hand side of the plan. There are two bedrooms on the first floor, the largest of which has been laid out as a library by the current owners. Bespoke bookshelves line one wall, while two large sash windows fill the voluminous space with light. French doors in the smaller second bedroom lead out onto a perfectly appointed balcony. The bathroom on this level is tiled in white, reflecting light from an overhead skylight.

On the second floor are two further bedrooms, both of which have bespoke cabinetry and marble chimneypieces. Sisal carpets run underfoot throughout. Stairs lead to a large bathroom on the fourth floor from the main bedroom, with a walk-in shower and free-standing bath. Set in the roof’s pitch, Velux windows allow light to pour into the room.

The Great Outdoors

A private garden lies to the rear of the house, with a charming patio perfect for alfresco dining. Its south-facing orientation means it captures light throughout the day. At the end of the garden is the self-contained studio or office.

Out and About

Colvestone Crescent is excellently located in central Hackney, and there are plans by Studio Weave to redesign the whole public realm of the Crescent into ‘Hackney’s first 21st-century street.

There are many fantastic restaurants locally, notably Little Duck The Picklery and Angelina’s on Dalston Lane, Pidgin and Violet on Wilton Way, and Elliot’s and Bright on Mare Street. The E5 Bakehouse, on the edge of London Fields, is excellent for freshly baked artisan bread and grains. Near Netil Market is a thriving hub of restaurants, breweries and coffee roasters.

Ridley Road Market is considered by many to be the beating heart of the local community. It has run every Monday to Saturday since the 1880s and is home to over 150 stalls offering fresh produce from around the world.

Dalston Junction and Hackney Downs Overground stations are a short walk away, providing transport links on the east/west and southbound branches of the London Overground. Hackney Downs runs direct services into Liverpool Street in approximately 18 minutes. Buses run regularly to London Bridge and the City from nearby Kingsland Road.

Council Tax Band: E