Cable Street, Shadwell, London, E1

Lived in and slowly restored by the same owners for more than fifteen years, it’s a home with a strong sense of continuity. Later, inappropriate layers were carefully stripped back to reveal intact historic fabric; lost features were reinstated by following the building’s own clues. Haired lime plaster, distempers, breathable and linseed oil paints and traditional carpentry were used throughout. Shutters and panelling were remade in reclaimed and new timber; paint colours were researched and tested; original finishes were repaired rather than replaced. The interiors have attracted quiet attention over the years, appearing in Restoration Stories: Patina and Paint in Old London Houses by Philippa Stockley and The Bible of British Taste: Stories of Home, People and Place by Ruth Guilding, as well as in the Georgian Group journal.

Built in the late 1700s and thought to have been home to a sea captain serving the nearby docks, the house has the classic calm of Georgian proportions. Hand-blown glass on the upper floors softly deflects the light. Nineteenth-century iron railings guard the front, and a small garden softens the brick. In spring there are snowdrops, tulips and narcissi; summer brings foxgloves, fuchsia and lavender. Autumn and winter colour comes from scarlet Japanese quince and winter jasmine. A small crab apple is a recent addition, and a very old rose climbs the façade. The fan lit front door and exterior joinery – finished in traditional linseed oil paint (pictured in East London by Charles Saumarez Smith) – hint at the care within.

Inside, the house unfolds over four levels. The hallway, with distempered and limed walls, original waxed floorboards and dado panelling, feels like a long-loved home rather than a showpiece. An elegant double-return staircase, Georgian treads later overlaid in the 19th century, rises ahead.

On the raised ground floor, a double reception runs front to back. Walls in Invisible Green (Little Greene) read calm or dramatic with the light. A Venetian sash looks to the street; a rear sash frames the garden and the church beyond. Both have remade historic shutters: folding at the front and perfectly balanced rising shutters to the rear. Two open fireplaces, circa-1820 cornicing, original wainscot and wide Georgian floorboards complete the room. The rear is used for dining; the front for sitting – and with a projector, screen and speakers neatly concealed, it doubles as a home cinema.

As elsewhere, there are no ceiling lights, in keeping with the Georgian period; dimmable lamplight – and sometimes candlelight – does the work.

On the lower ground floor, the kitchen and breakfast rooms feel rooted in the age of the house. The floor is laid in quarry tiles salvaged from a Welsh chapel; hand sawn beams are lightly cleaned to retain the shadow of old laths. At the front, an old Belfast sink sits in an antique iroko worktop with simple cupboards, a marble pastry table and open shelves. A traditional larder with part-glazed panelling and heavy pine shelves set on an external wall, keeps food naturally cool and the kitchen warm. Matching panelling conceals a utility space for fridge-freezer, washing machine and dryer.

The rear breakfast room has a large open fireplace, book-matched from a house of similar age in Whitechapel. Shelves of homemade jams and pickles, the tiled floor and a small table catching the morning sun make it a room where breakfasts linger. A shower room and WC are cleverly tucked under the stairs.

The upper floors show the house’s Georgian character at its best. The first floor is used as a generous main bedroom suite. Two rooms are divided by large double doors on parliament hinges and could easily be separated. Fully panelled walls, original internal shutters and two fireplaces sit beneath conserved Georgian ceilings painted in oil-bound distemper; the joinery is finished in two shades of yellow – Woodbine (Little Greene oil paint) to the front and Gold Wash (Ingilby linseed oil paint) to the rear – giving a warm, restful glow. Rear windows look over the mews to the tower of one of Hawksmoor’s finest churches (where a pair of peregrine falcons return to nest each year) and its surrounding church yard.

The top floor holds two comfortable double bedrooms, both with panelling, wide boards, fireplaces and quietly atmospheric colours. A generous bathroom has an early 20th-century cast-iron bath, reclaimed ceramic basin and toilet with restored pull-chain flush; antique Delft tiles form a pretty splashback. Steps lead to a loft with a rooflight and excellent storage.

The private walled garden, reached by a half-turn stair between ground and lower ground floors, is an oasis of calm. Established planting surrounds York stone paving, itself reclaimed from a Georgian home in north London. A large camellia and an old grape vine – both planted more than fifty years ago – anchor the space and provide a yearly crop. Climbing roses and clematis cover the east wall, star jasmine clothes the west and scents summer evenings. Wisteria and a fig climb the south-facing rear façade, bringing spring blossom and summer fruit. Boston ivy turns the north wall brilliant red in autumn, while evergreen climbing hydrangea gives winter structure. Borders are filled with ferns and cottage-garden staples – foxgloves, hollyhocks, roses and seasonal bulbs – and the sunny south-facing steps are lined with pots of tomatoes and herbs.

Although the house feels a long way from the buzz of central London, getting around could not be easier. Shadwell station is a short walk: the DLR reaches Bank and Canary Wharf in around 10-15 minutes, and the Overground is one stop from Whitechapel for the District, Hammersmith & City and Elizabeth lines – so Liverpool Street is about ten minutes, Tottenham Court Road around twenty to twenty-five, and Paddington roughly twenty-five. The City is a twenty-minute walk via the Tower and Tower Bridge; Brick Lane and Spitalfields are a similar walk or a quick Overground hop. Cycle Superhighway 3 runs nearby for a largely segregated route into the City and west to Westminster, and Canary Wharf is about fifteen minutes by DLR, around twenty by bike along the river or roughly thirty-five on foot.

Life nearby settles into a satisfying rhythm. There is the historic Town of Ramsgate pub on the river with its Monday-night quiz, Smith’s of Wapping with long Thames views and the much-loved Il Bordello. Asian food is in all directions – particularly in Aldgate and along Commercial Road – with Wok the Pho a dependable Vietnamese favourite. Everyday shopping runs from Waitrose to Tian Tian and the recently opened Starry Mart for Chinese, Korean and Japanese ingredients. Watney Market offers South Asian and Middle Eastern groceries. Long Shot serves a reliably good coffee. Wilton’s Music Hall, tucked into Grace’s Alley, is a magical place for music and theatre (or simply a drink). The George Tavern and Troxy host regular live music, and Genesis and Curzon cinemas keep arthouse and independent films close.

Weekends mean walks, markets and riverside pubs. A favourite route is through St Katharine Docks and over Tower Bridge to Maltby Street Market for food stalls, then under the arches along Bermondsey’s Beer Mile, stopping at taprooms along the way. Continue by the river to the Angel at Rotherhithe—some of the best views back to the City—and on to the Mayflower, one of London’s most atmospheric old riverside pubs near Sands Films and the Brunel Museum. From Rotherhithe, the Overground brings you back to Shadwell in minutes. Or follow the canals north and east to Victoria Park and Broadway Market for flowers, bread and coffee, looping back via Columbia Road Flower Market, the bars and restaurants of Shoreditch and a late-night salt-beef bagel on Brick Lane before heading home. It’s this combination of a deeply historic house, a quietly green setting and a web of walks through some of London’s most interesting streets and waterways that has made living here feel so special for the current owners and they hope it will do the same for the next custodians

Material Information

• Property construction: Traditional Brick
• Heating type: Gas central heating
• Utilities: Gas, electric, water, broadband
• Gas & Electricity Supply: Independently supplied by OVO Energy
• Water supply & Sewerage: Mins connected via Thams Water
• Broadband: Standard download speed 17Mbps, upload speed 1Mbps,
• Superfast available (d/s 80mbps, u/s 20Mbps). No ultrafast available. Source: Ofcom
• Mobile signal/coverage: Likely good external cover on all major networks, variable internal
• cover linked to EE. No internal cover linked to Three. Source: Ofcom
• Restrictions: Located in St George in the East conservation area, E1. Grade II Listed – listing 1065285
• Flood risk: Very low risk of any type of flooding. Source: uk
• Planning permission: Planning permission from 2010 but no current applications known upon listing. Source: Tower Hamlets
• Accessibility/adaptations: Not suitable for wheelchair users
• Coalfield or mining area: No. Source: The Coal Authority
• Flight path: Yes. Source: Flightradar24

 

EPC rating: D. Tenure: Freehold, Known building safety issues or planned/required works: No current known at time of listing Planning permissions: No current known at time of listing Mobile signal information: Likely good external cover on all major networks, variable internal soccer linked to EE.