We have had churches, we have had water towers, we have had windmills, banks and warehouses. What we have not had, until now, is Cold War testing sites that are now family homes.
There is a first-time for everything and it is somewhat exciting to be able to (hopefully) entertain you, the reader, about Rotunda in Bushy Park, London. It is for sale with Savills for £7.5 million and is, as the name suggests, quite round.
In fact, you are probably looking at Rotunda and thinking that it looks a bit like the BBC Television Centre in west London. You would be right to think that because it was converted by the same architects, Norman & Dawbarn. Famous for their brutalist modern architecture, they have done some of their best work turning Rotunda into a six-bedroom, six-bathroom, family home.
r best work turning Rotunda into a six-bedroom, six-bathroom, family home.
The Rotunda is surely a Bond villain's lair in the making. In a good way, of course.
So what were the navy (for it was the navy) testing at Rotunda before it became a house? The answer appears to be torpedoes, of which the Royal Navy has some of the best, so clearly there was some decent work going on there.
Much of that history was demolished when the house was converted, but remnants remain, such as the two subterranean levels of the home, which so far remain undeveloped but provide ample opportunity for use as a swimming pool, gym complex, basketball court, and so on.
The rest of the home has been developed, as discussed, and is set over two floors. The ground floor is mostly an open entertaining space, comprising a vast kitchen/breakfast/dining/living room area which stretches to most of the length of the building. There is a separate study, playroom and conservatory. The interiors feature a host of modernist touches, from floating beds to sunken baths and beyond.
Upstairs, you will find six bedrooms and six bathrooms, including the master suite, which also features a small terrace with views over the 1.3 acres of gardens. In total, the property offers more than 10,000sq ft of living space.
And where is that living space? In the middle of Bushy Park, one of south-west London’s finest green spaces. Just a few hundred yards separate the property and the ‘villages’ of Hampton Hill and Teddington, which provide ample amenities.
No doubt in its former life, the activities occurring at the Rotunda were top secret. Well the secret is now out.
Rotunda is for sale with Savills for £7.5 million. For more information and pictures, click here.
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