Listing of the Day
Location: London, United Kingdom
Price: £15 million (US$21.105 million)
This historic house in the posh Primrose Hill area of London was constructed by William Willett, a builder and promoter of British Summer Time, who’s often credit with leading to its adoption across the country.
Known as Elsworthy House, the seven-bedroom home has not been on the market for 60 years, having been in the same family for four generations.
"It’s a very unusual listing," said listing agent Michael Sulkin of Aston Chase. "It’s almost like a country house in the heart of London."
"There is a private garden, and then you have access to a three-acre communal garden," he said. "It’s very leafy and it’s only for the residents—it’s a pretty special space."
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This house on Elsworthy Road was built in 1890 by the luxury building firm Willett Building Services, headed by Mr. Willett. (Elsworthy Road was built in phases between 1875-81 and 1896-1911.)
The architecture of the double-fronted, three-story house was inspired by the Art and Crafts movement and Queen Anne Revival style, tailored into a local vernacular known as "Willet Style."
It has a long carriage driveway, Mr. Sulkin said. "You can get seven or eight cars on the drive, which is very unusual."
The seven-bedroom house has a grand entrance foyer that leads to two interlinking reception rooms, a large dining room, family kitchen and a glass conservatory that can seat up to 24 people.
"There are two working fireplaces in the reception rooms, a fireplace in the dining room and one in the entrance hall," said. "We’ve had a cold winter, so it’s been quite nice to have them."
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Designed in shades of white, the kitchen is bright and spacious with lots of storage.
The large dining room has dark oak floors and a restored period ceiling and bronze chandelier by Porto Romano. Other architectural details in the house include bay and dormer windows, high ceilings, original plasterwork restored by craftsmen and four sets of French doors that lead from the conservatory to the back garden.
"The private garden is very charming, with a barbecue area, a seating area and nice landscaping," Mr. Sulkin said.
Stats
The 5,845-square-foot house has seven bedrooms and seven full bathrooms. There is also a self-contained flat on the ground floor, with another bedroom, shower room, sitting room and kitchenette.
Talking point
After riding his horse near his home early one summer morning, Mr. Willett noticed how many of his neighbors’ blinds were still down, and the idea for daylight savings time first occurred to him. Using his own financial resources, in 1907 he published a pamphlet called "The Waste of Daylight."
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In it, he proposed that clocks should be advanced by 80 minutes in four incremental steps early in the year and then reversed the same way toward the end of the year. The evenings would then remain lighter for longer, increasing daylight recreation time and also saving lighting costs.
Through vigorous campaigning, Mr. Willett managed to gain support of various members of parliament, including a young Winston Churchill. The daylight savings bill eventually was passed into law in 1916. Mr. Willett, alas, had died the previous year at the age of 58.
Neighborhood notes
Primrose Hill is one of London’s most exclusive and expensive neighborhoods and is home to many prominent residents.
"It is a very discreet neighborhood," Mr. Sulkin said. "It has some nice restaurants—a very good mixture—and good cafes, an art gallery, and there is a food market on the weekends."
Agents: Michael Sulkin, Aston Chase; and James Simpson, Knight Frank
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