Ancient and modern: the ultimate period home in London

Just a few minutes from Hampstead High Street, a buzzy thoroughfare lined with designer boutiques, chichi shops, and chic cafés and restaurants, you will find Cloth Hill. Step into the verdant front garden of this handsome Grade II* listed property, with its mature shrubs and trees, and the noise of the north London village fades away. Inside, Queen Anne and Georgian features such as wood-panelled walls and hand-carved staircases transport you still further.

The house exudes a sense of warmth, and this is what attracted its owners, American couple Tom and Barbara, when they first saw it 30 years ago. Having been on the hunt for the perfect home for eight long years, they knew they had found it in Cloth Hill, Barbara recalls. “There’s something about the house that lives and breathes, and everyone who visits feels that welcoming vibe,” she says. “Despite it needing renovation, we could imagine living here with our family and being happy.”

“It’s like a country house in London,” says Tom, a retired lawyer. “There is all the activity of the village close by, but when we step through the gate, it’s like being in our own little oasis. The views accentuate this feeling – we look out to a conservation area of Georgian houses on one side, with views of a 19th-century Gothic church on the other, as well as our garden.”

Cloth Hill is thought to be the second-oldest residence in Hampstead after Fenton House, now owned by the National Trust.

The six-bedroom, four-storey house was built in the 1690s by a Quaker cloth merchant, but reputedly takes its name from the laundresses who used the area’s fresh water to do their washing. It played host to the French writer Voltaire in the 1720s and was bought by the portrait painter George Romney in 1796; in the mid-19th century, the house appeared in one of the Victorian artist Ford Madox Brown’s masterpieces, Work. Tom and Barbara are only the third set of owners in the past 140 years. They have photographs believed to be from the 1870s that show staff lining up outside the property. 

All of this meant that when they renovated Cloth Hill, the couple worked with English Heritage. “They appreciated the need to update the house and ensure it was suitable for modern living, so that it will be enjoyed for at least another 300 years,” says Barbara. The panelling throughout is painted in soft colours that are true to the history of the house and, outside, reclaimed bricks make for a seamless connection between the original building and its new additions.

In their 18-month renovation, as well as updating the plumbing and electrics, and damp-proofing the property, the couple opened up sash windows that had been bricked over, restoring Cloth Hill to its magnificent best. They also added a family kitchen, essential for life with four children. This large, light-filled space leads out to an expansive rear walled garden that is laid to lawn, with mature shrubs, a summer house and a historic fountain. 

“Despite its age and history, the house is not at all precious,” says Barbara. “Our children found it a wonderful place to be in with their friends,” Tom adds – as did he and Barbara, with theirs. “We held some pretty big parties here. For one, we had tables all round the house and entertained 60 people for dinner.”

The couple describe the house as feeling almost like a member of the family, but with their children now adults and living their own lives, they believe it is time for another family to make Cloth Hill their home. “We could not have been happier here,” says Barbara. “We hope those who follow us are, too.”