The peaceful Georgian mansion within striking distance of the city

A classic John Nash-designed Georgian mansion, the Grade II-listed Southborough House on the sought-after Southborough estate in Surbiton, Surrey, is up for sale.

The imposing stuccoed villa, built for Thomas Langley in 1808 and then called Southborough Place, has been in the same family for the past 30-odd years. It has rarely been occupied, however, instead having been used mainly as a popular film location.

As such, it remain wonderfully unaltered, as the pictures on this page show.

It stands in two-thirds of an acre of mature, south-facing gardens and has 7,920sq ft of gracious living space on three floors.

Highlights include an octagonal entrance hall with a copper dome, an oval cantilever staircase – something of a signature feature for Nash’s designs – as well as four light-filled reception rooms, three guest bedroom suites (two with adjoining bathrooms), three further bedrooms and a family bathroom.

There are also a further four second-floor rooms. On the one hand —with solid-wood floors and Victorian fireplaces —could be converted into additional bedrooms.

That preoject, and remedial other work needed, is expected to likely come to around £1m, in addition fo teh The house has a current asking price of £3m, and is apparently in need of around £1m of work done to restore it to its full majesty.

But that seems a small price to pay for a home like this, the inside the M25 and 20 minutes from Waterloo. And Alex Herman of estate agents Knight Frank reports that there has already been considerable interest from buyers.

Penny Churchill