Cannon Hill, West Hampstead, London, NW6

E. J. Cave, one of the district's most prominent Victorian builders, constructed Marlborough Mansions as part of the Cannon Hill estate, built in the triangle formed by Cannon Hill, Finchley Road and West End Lane between 1896 and 1900. The red-brick facades that resulted from that endeavour reflect the rapid suburban expansion that followed the arrival of the railway in West Hampstead. This is a neighbourhood that transformed, within the space of a generation, from farmland and parkland into one of north-west London's most enduringly sought-after addresses. The conductor Sir Adrian Boult lived at 78 Marlborough Mansions; the novelist Nigel Balchin spent his final years here too. It is, in the quietest and most English sense, a building with a distinguished past.

This first-floor apartment is well-proportioned and full of period character. The reception room offers: high ceilings, original sash windows, warm wooden floors, and an original iron hearth fireplace set between recessed shelving on either side. The kitchen is a generous L-shaped space, white throughout on walls and ceiling, with abundant worktop surfaces, ample storage and white cabinetry with a feature wooden section. The bedroom is calm and bright with an original sash window, wooden floors, and fitted wardrobes. A modern shower room suite completes the apartment, its statement lateral sink in grey stone a bold feature.

Beyond the building, the communal gardens are a genuine pleasure. The mansion block benefits from beautifully maintained communal gardens with plush green lawns, mature trees and shrubs, and brick-paved pathways that make the grounds feel more like a private park than a shared amenity.

West Hampstead's offer has long been one of north-west London's most compelling, with independent cafés, restaurants and boutiques along West End Lane and Fortune Green Road, with Hampstead Heath a mile to the east. Transport connections are exceptional, with the Jubilee, Metropolitan, Overground and Thameslink lines all within easy reach, as well as Finchley Road and Frognal station nearby.