King William Walk Greenwich SE10

With King William Walk, you aren’t simply buying a five-storey house. You are acquiring a piece of maritime Greenwich in the heart of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Greenwich’s most famous monuments and Royal Park are all within moments on foot – and you can be at your desk in Canary Wharf within 15 minutes by DLR or boat.

THE AREA

There are few locals or visitors to Greenwich who haven’t strolled along King William Walk, the street that begins at the lower gates of Greenwich Park and heads riverwards to the Cutty Sark ship.
The street’s handsome terrace of Grade II listed townhouses is flanked by two historic pubs, the Greenwich Tavern and The King’s Arms. At one end of King William Walk are Greenwich Park’s 180 undulating acres where Henry VIII liked to hunt and joust 500 years ago – and where time officially began, in the Royal Observatory. At the street’s other end is the Old Royal Naval College, the University of Greenwich and Greenwich town centre’s many attractions, including its famous covered market. This is a home where you will never run out of places to eat, drink, shop and enjoy, all within a short walk of a front door that has seen centuries of colourful Greenwich history.

The vendor says: “The park is our back yard – a wonderful place to go running – and the Maritime museum is like our kids’ playground.”

THE HOUSE

While many of King William Walk’s houses have been converted into flats, No. 14 is one of the few that remains as a single, private home. In fact, it once housed the local pie and mash shop, Goddards of Greenwich, before it moved to its current location further down the street. No. 14’s previous owners then converted the building back into a large, five-storey residence.

Externally, this red brick house, built in 1695, has a classic grandeur that is distinctively Greenwich and beloved of film crews. It also benefits from the end-of-terrace spot alongside King William Passage, a handy cut-through to Greenwich High Road during the daytime and securely locked at night. The house has the further advantage of overlooking the landscaped gardens belonging to Devonport House, bringing daylight and verdant views into the large rooms at the front.

STEP INSIDE

.. and step back in time, to an era in which Greenwich’s maritime grandees would have entertained within these walls before retiring to enjoy a fireside tipple.
The feel of an elegant past is present in every room. But this is a house to suit a modern family too, with a master suite that occupies the whole of the second floor and three loft bedrooms that are perfect for children of any age to study, play or hide away.

On the ground floor are two spacious reception rooms with high ceilings and a curving, white arched doorway separating the space. The front room, with two sash windows overlooking the street, makes the perfect semi-formal reception room, with one of the original, working fireplaces that can be found in almost every room in the house. The reception room to the rear, overlooking the garden, lends itself to a lovely family music room, library, home office – or, as the vendors’ have enjoyed it, a combination of the three.

The vendors say: “We made all sorts of improvements with the intention of this being our forever home. They are things that you won’t always notice, but which will really make a difference to a buyer, such as repairs to roof drainage, upgraded roof insulation and repairs to sash windows and any damaged woodwork. We also installed air conditioning in the loft rooms so that they never feel too hot in summer.”

FIRST FLOOR

On the first floor, the spacious dining room with its elegant, aubergine-coloured walls, decorative curtain pelmets and a traditional chandelier hanging over a three-metre-long wooden table provides the perfect backdrop for entertaining guests.

But this room can equally be configured in a cosy, family-friendly way, as a dining/living space with plenty of room for a dining table at one end and sofas at the other. Three large sash windows see daylight flood into the room and provide views through the trees to the domes of the nearby Old Royal Naval College.

Next door is the kitchen, which could be modernised to provide an attractive and highly practical space for a family to cook and spend time together. There is an adjoining space – currently used as a back galley kitchen – that could cleverly be incorporated into the design too.
Few properties with this kind of heritage have Cat 5e cabling throughout – but this house does, meaning a buyer who will most likely be drawn to its history can also happily work from home with fast wifi.

SECOND FLOOR

The second floor provides the kind of space that is hugely sought-after today – an entire floor devoted to a master bedroom and a surprisingly large bathroom (with original fireplace) that currently leads through to a utility room overlooking the garden at the back.
For parents, it’s an opportunity to have your own sanctuary away from the kids. For couples, this floor could be modernised to provide a beautiful, large hotel-style suite.

THIRD FLOOR

Children will love the three loft bedrooms whose thick ceiling beams - occasionally at jaunty angles - tell of a house with a long and colourful past. Each of the bedrooms is different in shape and size, though all spacious enough for a double or king size bed and each has a working fireplace. Whether designed as bedrooms for babies, young children or teens, or as accommodation for visiting friends or family, these rooms have a cosy, characterful feel and a wonderful sense of quietness and privacy. They also benefit from a shared shower room on the same floor.

THE SURPRISE FLOOR

Along with four storeys above ground, No. 14 King William Walk has a subterranean surprise in store. Accessed by two separate stairways from the ground floor, ‘basement’ does not do justice to this large, partially renovated space that spans the full footprint of the house. These thick, original brick walls – some of which have been re-plastered and painted with lime-based breathable products suitable for historic buildings - and flagstone floors exude a feel of having seen centuries of activity.
While it could be modernised and turned into an independent apartment – if a separate entrance is permitted – the space would make a perfect basement level for a home gym, cinema room or games room and bar.

THE GARDEN

The private back garden, rejigged by Blackheath-based designer Catherine Clancy, has flower beds on a small, artificial turf lawn to provide year-round space for little ones to play – and a quiet terrace where you can enjoy a quiet morning coffee in the shade of a Judas tree. To check broadband and mobile phone coverage please visit Ofcom here ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/advice-for-consumers/advice/ofcom-checker