Sold STC
Romola Road, London, SE24
For Sale
Anerley Park, London, SE20
A split-level Victorian conversion flat arranged over two floors at the rear of a handsome stock-brick villa, offering three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a proper eat-in kitchen and communal gardens. It’s well presented throughout and full of period character; having been recently refurbished a few years ago, it offers a turnkey interior that blends classic style with modern finishes. Located within easy reach of multiple transport links and only 4 mins from the Park, with a fresh 125-year lease, this flat ticks an awful lot of boxes!
The layout here is worthy of mention, as the flat lives far more like a house than a flat, with living space, an eat-in kitchen, and a study on the main floor, alongside a beautifully presented bathroom. And both main bedrooms and a second bathroom tucked away quietly on the floor above, set well apart from the day-to-day of the living floor.
The reception sets the tone, it’s a very cool space, with a large square bay that frames a green view over the communal gardens. The window’s wide aperture floods the room with light, particularly in the afternoon, given its western aspect. There’s a period fireplace for a focal point, original coving overhead and warm oak flooring underfoot; it’s a classy affair and ready to move straight into. Space-wise, there’s lots of room for a large sofa to occupy that huge bay window, or a pair of sofas opposing each other in a more classical set-up. Given there’s an eat-in kitchen, that liberates you from having to put a dining table in here, so you really can stretch out and make this a pure living space. There’s also a large storage cupboard which is useful for board games, DVD’s, whisky, wine, etc.
The kitchen is a proper charmer, there are grey shaker units with white worktops and metro tiling, oak flooring underfoot, open shelving and a tall larder cupboard handling the storage. There’s a double oven, an induction hob and a chimney extractor, plus space for a proper table to eat at. It is again, finished beautifully and ready to move into.
Speaking of beautifully finished, the first-floor bathroom is a genuine highlight: a black slipper bath on claw feet beneath a ceiling-mounted rainfall shower, white metro tiling, a deep navy vanity and a sash window keeping it bright. It has real personality and oozes charm and class, but it is distinctly modern and will serve you for many years to come. There’s an immaculate, large sash window, which brightens the space up no end and is ideal for ventilating the room, something most buyers don’t want to compromise on.
There is a third bedroom/office/study on this floor, it would make a great child’s room if you found yourself at that stage in life, or it’s a great place to wfh or have guests over in, which it works really well for, given the main bedrooms are on the upper floor, that separation feels very private.
Up the stairs, the principal bedroom is a comfortable double with a full wall of fitted wardrobes and a dormer framing the green outlook to the rear — a lovely thing to wake up to. The second bedroom shares that top-floor calm, kept bright by a skylight and window, and there’s a second bath and shower room serving this floor, making it a true two-bathroom home.
Outside, the communal garden to the rear is mature and established — lawn, established trees and plenty of greenery, the sort of space that takes years to settle into itself. To the front, the gravel driveway provides off-street parking, no small thing around here. But the headline outdoor space is the park, and it’s all but on the doorstep: 352 yards away to be precise, from the entrance on Thicket Rd, which puts the boating lake and the famous dinosaur sculptures little more than a couple of minutes’ walk away. That also lands Brown & Green café almost at the door — coffee before work or a slow weekend brunch, the kind of place that quietly becomes part of your routine — and the Crystal Palace Park food market, which runs every Sunday with a mix of street food traders and artisan deli stalls, an easy wander for lunch.
For transport, Penge West is the same distance away as the park, (0.2 mi / 352 yards) — roughly a four-minute walk — with London Overground services connecting directly to Shoreditch High Street and Highbury & Islington, plus peak-time trains to London Bridge. Penge East is also close by at around 0.7 miles, with direct trains to London Victoria, while Crystal Palace station sits around half a mile off, a thirteen-minute walk through the park, adding further services to London Bridge and Victoria via Forest Hill.
Both Sydenham and Penge High Streets are nearby, with a growing mix of independent cafés, pubs and local shops — The General Store deli, Craft Metropolis for the craft beer drinkers, and the Bridge House pub for its quiz nights, comedy and beer garden. Along Anerley Road you’ll find Café Chic, Bob Wines, and the much-loved Chatsworth Bakehouse, where the queue for Tom and Sian’s sandwiches, focaccia, brownies and pizzas is a fixture. A little further up the hill, the Crystal Palace Triangle delivers one of South London’s most distinctive high streets — independent restaurants, cafés and galleries alongside the Everyman Cinema, yoga studios and a strong independent retail scene — with the Saturday farmers’ market down Haynes Lane bringing small producers to the neighbourhood every weekend.
Tenure-wise, the flat has a fresh lease with 125 years remaining, the service charge is circa £2500 per annum, and the ground rent is £500 per annum. Given the scale and age of the building, the service charge here brings some comfort in knowing that it is proactively maintained, which shouldn’t ever lead to any unforeseen major bills.