An elegant 3,807 sq.ft. (353.7 sq.m.) detached double-fronted four-bedroom Italianate Victorian villa on Fairfax Roadin South Hampstead, formerly the London home of English singer-songwriter and record producer Lynsey de Paul (1948-2014) where she entertained various music, TV and movie celebrities and composed music is for sale through joint sole selling agent Aston Chase.
Located close to Swiss Cottage and the high street shops and cafes of the Finchley Road, the detached three-storey villa on Fairfax Road was originally built in 1851-52 by Hampstead builder Robert Yeo to designs by noted English architect John Shaw under the auspices of the Eyre Estate.
Originally named Victoria Road after Queen Victoria, Fairfax Road was constructed to provide spacious family houses for professional people including merchants, bankers, lawyers and manufacturers who from the 1930s onwards would commute on the Bakerloo Line Tube from Swiss Cottage into the City of London.
Set behind high walls and secure gates the villa on Fairfax Road has an elegant Italianate brick façade with stone quions, tall sash windows with decorative pediments and large dormer windows to the roof. It benefits from off-street parking for several cars and a private, generously sized south-west facing landscaped garden.
Beautifully restored and interior designed throughout by award-winning interior designer Shalini Misra of Shalini Misra Design the impressive villa offers generous proportions, a luxurious specification with bespoke fittings and fixtures, high ceilings to the principal rooms and exceptional entertaining spaces. The house is arranged over four floors – garden floor, raised ground floor and two upper floors.
The accommodation includes a large open plan family kitchen, dining and living room, guest bedroom suite, guest wc/cloakroom and utility room on the garden floor; entrance hall, two reception rooms and study on the raised ground floor and the principal bedroom suite with walk-in dressing room and main bathroom on its own private level on the third floor. On the top floor are two further ensuite bedrooms.
The villa has the benefit of a large attic, currently accessible through the linen closet, which could be transformed to provide another floor and serve as a playroom/club lounge for children/family members. There is a 132 sq.ft. (12.26 sq.m.) pavilion/studio in the garden which is ideal as either a home office, music studio, gymnasium or family retreat.
Hampstead born and raised (attending South Hampstead High School) Lynsey de Paul acquired the villa on Fairfax Road in 1995, relocating from a small Gothic cottage in Highgate’s Holly Village which she had owned since the early 1980s.
During the 1970s Lynsey had written and performed a series of singles which became major hits. The first was “Sugar Me” released in 1972, followed by “Won’t Somebody Dance with Me” (1973) and “No Honestly” (1974), the latter two each winning her an Ivor Novello Award. Lynsey and her single “Rock Bottom” (1977) were chosen to represent the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest 1977, the UK coming in second place and Lynsey almost winning.
In early 1979 she had started dating Hollywood movie star James Coburn and between 1979 and 1983 Lynsey and Coburn spent much of their time in Hollywood. After her relationship with Coburn ended in the early 1980s Lynsey relocated back to London full time. To her friends she jokingly named her Gothic cottage in Highgate “Moot Grange” an anagram of “No Mortgage” since her career success had enabled her to acquire the cottage as a cash purchase.
During the 1980s and early 1990s Lynsey wrote songs including “All I Am” (1980), “There’s No Place Like London” (1986), written for Dame Shirley Bassey and “Gold” (1988), the theme tune for Esther Rantzen’s Hearts of Gold TV series which ran on BBC1 between 1988-1996.
Lynsey was a prominent supporter of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and in 1983 she performed a specially composed campaign track “Vote Tory Tory Tory” at the Conservative Party Conference, later in 1984 and 1988 attending luncheons at No.10 Downing Street hosted by Margaret Thatcher.
In 1989 Lynsey had a secret affair with James Bond actor Sean Connery whilst Connery was working on Hollywood blockbuster move The Hunt For Red October (released 1990), the romance lasted several months before the actor cut contact following a final secret weekend away.
Lynsey’s purchase of the spacious family villa on Fairfax Road underlined her career success and marked a new chapter in her life. She was believed to want a place away from the gaze of the media having been involved in a number of alleged affairs, including with the songwriter Bernie Taupin, the footballer George Best and the Beatles’ Ringo Starr.
Unmarried without children, despite receiving as many as five proposals, Lynsey used her Fairfax Road villa as a retreat in which to write. The villa is also where Lynsey entertained her many friends and associates who included broadcaster and friend Esther Rantzen, Def Leppard singer Joe Elliott, singer-songwriter Suzi Quatro, musician Roy Wood, TV broadcaster Henry Kelly and comedian “Spike Milligan” who affectionately nicknamed her “Looney de Small”.
In 2001 Lynsey downsized from the villa on Fairfax Road to a smaller house in Mill Hill where Lynsey died in October 2014. The Fairfax Road villa was then owned by the Groves family before being purchased in 2003 by BBC London and Heart 106.2 radio presenter Jonathan Coleman until his move to Australia in 2006 when he sold the villa to the current vendors.
Now the former home of Lynsey de Paul has been listed for sale for the first time in 20 years. In 2013 the current vendors commissioned award-winning designer Shalini Misra to interior design the villa, the refurbishment providing a new luxurious specification and the remodeling of the garden floor. The owners and Shalini spent a year collaborating on the design and dressing of the villa sourcing items from both the UK and Europe, the makeover completed in 2014.
The garden floor, where Lynsey, a strict vegetarian, would cook in the kitchen her favourite Italian and Chinese food, was transformed by Shalini Misra to provide an open plan kitchen with an island/breakfast bar with a robust custom-made lava stone worktop. The kitchen opens onto a spacious informal family living and dining area, with full height glazing and sliding glass doors opening onto the garden. The garden has seasonal pink roses, mimosas and birch trees.
On the raised ground floor the drawing room and dining room have high ceilings with elegant coving and features including tall sash windows and a striking period fireplace to drawing room. The principal bedroom suite, formerly Lynsey de Paul’s bedroom, occupies the entire third floor, with the house providing a further three bedrooms, all four bedroom suites have walk-in dressing rooms and ensuite bathrooms.
The high quality specification includes impeccable fixtures and finishes, a fully fitted designer kitchen with integrated appliances, parquet or woodstrip flooring to principal rooms and bedrooms, underfloor heating and electronically operated entrance gates.
At the southern end of Fairfax Road where it meets Fairhazel Gardens there are local convenience shops, cafes and restaurants including the Singapore Garden Singaporean/Malaysian restaurant, Fair convenience store and Liten Coffee, known for its superb coffee and hot chocolate beverages.
Fairfax Road is also close to Swiss Cottage and the high street shops, restaurants and cafes of the Finchley Road which include Waitrose and Sainsbury’s supermarkets and the O2 Shopping Centre with its 12 screen Vue Cinema complex.
Mark Pollack, Co-Founder of Aston Chase says: “Beautifully restored and interior designed by award-winning designer Shalini Misra this elegant Italianate villa in South Hampstead was during the 1990s the London home of singer-songwriter Lynsey de Paul where she entertained various music, TV and movie celebrities and composed songs. Fairfax Road offers the perfect blend of leafy village style charm and urban convenience. The address is renowned for its stunning Victorian architecture, spacious family homes, superb transport links and top-tier local schools.”
Michael Sulkin, Director (House Sales) of Aston Chase says: “Fairfax Road is one of South Hampstead’s most sought after addresses offering elegant Victorian homes and leafy tranquility with the beautiful green acres of Regent’s Park and Primrose Hill just a short walk away. Swiss Cottage in Zone 2 allows residents to reach Bond Street in 6 minutes, London Bridge in 15 minutes and Canary Wharf in 25 minutes allowing for West End shopping and business community.”
The Fairfax Road villa is for sale for £4,850,000 (freehold). Viewing is strictly by appointment, contact joint sole selling agent Aston Chase (Michael Sulkin or Howard Kayman) on on Tel: +44 (0)20 7724 4724 Email: howard@astonchase.com
