Perfect harmony: how music inspired this Primrose Hill home

The story of Peter Hall’s home begins with an unlikely muse: Morrissey, frontman of indie rock band the Smiths. “I’m a huge Smiths fan and read that Morrissey lived in Primrose Hill, so when I moved to London from Sydney in 1996, I decided to have a look,” Hall says. “I turned onto Regents Park Road and saw the park, the red postbox, the two red telephone boxes, and the houses and shops in all their variety and colour. And I said to myself, ‘This is it. This is where I’m going to live.’”

It was the beginning of an almost 30-year love affair, not just with the area but with this house, too. Chalcot Square is renowned for its brightly coloured Italianate terraces arranged around a pretty garden square, and Hall’s home commands one corner, giving it a unique triple aspect that ensures light on all sides throughout the day.

Grade II listed and built in the mid-19th century, the house was originally split into apartments and Hall spent six years acquiring the entire property. He then embarked on a “once in a 100-year renovation” to create the wonderful home that it is today. “I wanted to do everything to the highest specification possible and restore to the house the dignity it deserved,” says the financier and philanthropist.

“This house is one of the loveliest in Primrose Hill, possibly in London, because of its location, and the south-facing aspect means it is filled with light throughout the day. It’s private and very quiet – at night all you hear is the lions roaring in nearby London Zoo. The area has a very special community feel, too.”

The renovation took four years and the entire house – including foundations – was remodelled. “It was in a poor state because Primrose Hill became a slum when the steam railway came through and coal dust fell on the area,” says Hall. “It wasn’t until the electrification of the trains, in the early 1960s, that it became gentrified.” A 1974 prohibition on new buildings meant the area could revel in its period character.

Today the house has almost 4,000 square feet of living space and includes two self-contained apartments in the basement, accessible via a separate entrance. In the main house are expansive entertaining areas with views across the garden square, and the main bedroom suite occupies the whole top floor, with access to a private balcony. “It’s at roof level and it’s lovely to wake up, open the curtains and have the light stream in,” Hall says. 

The house is an eclectic mix of styles that are an ode to Hall’s life journey. “I’m Australian so I’m not afraid of shameless pastiche,” he laughs. The façade is original but restored, the “insipid pink” swapped for a more vibrant orange that is the result of another musical inspiration. “I am an obsessive Led Zeppelin fan and the house colour is an approximation of the orange cover of their Houses of the Holy album. Robert Plant lives nearby so I hope he enjoys it when he passes the house!”

The entrance hallway is flanked by classical Corinthian pillars, and black and white marble tiles in a chequerboard pattern give an early Georgian feel. A beautiful, hand-carved staircase is a replica of a 17th-century example that Hall admired in a home near historic Lincoln’s Inn Fields. As well as a large reception room, with an 18th-century French fireplace, the ground floor also features a striking oak-panelled room that Hall uses as his study. “I love 17th-century Dutch art and Queen Anne style and so I wanted to create a room that is an evocation of that period.”

Throughout, wide bevelled oak floorboards accentuate the sense of space, and windows are handmade glass, “so when the light comes through and hits the floorboards, you get a beautiful rippling effect in the reflection”, Hall says.

Despite its historic character, the house is fully modernised with underfloor heating throughout, a water filtration system, electronic smart controls, Sonos audio systems, air conditioning in the main bedroom, and ample vault storage.

After lavishing so much love and attention on the house, why is Hall giving it up? “My son is 14 and away at boarding school and it’s like living in a palace,” Hall says. “It’s time to downsize and let someone else enjoy living in this wonderful house.”

Pictures from top: interiors of the Chalcot Square house