I think I'm safe in saying that the word 'rubberised' is an unusual one to find in Country Life.
In fact, a quick search reveals just four uses in the archives: one in this wonderful article on military watches; one in a piece on shooting jackets; one in Nicholas Foulkes' favourite shops in Britain; and finally a mention in Martin Fone's 'Curious Questions' entry on the invention of the pneumatic tyre.
Today, all that changes as the word 'rubberised' appears four times in this article alone, in reference to the rubberised basketball court at 2 Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge, a sprawling, charming and delightful country house on the south side of the city, just a brief stroll from both the mainline railway station and the Botanic Gardens, which is up for sale at £5.75 million.
If that sounds like a lot, well, it is; the days of University professors living in fine houses in the city are long gone, sadly, unless the professor in question has managed to pen a bestseller or get his or her name onto a lucrative patent.
The tech revolution in this part of the world means that the very best houses in Cambridge attract serious premiums from those who've hit it big; and once you step through the front door, it's not hard to see that this really is about as fine a house as you'll find in the city.
It's a spacious, airy, seven-bedroom house with high ceilings, huge bay windows and bi-folding doors opening from the kitchen/dining room onto a vast garden ringed by mature trees.
The garden is both long and wide, and includes a huge terrace area, wonderful lawns, soft fruit cages, specimen trees and — as previously mentioned — a rubberised basketball court.
It's not only outside that has space for fun: inside, the games room is big enough to swallow up a full-sized tennis table, table football, and what appears to be some sort of driving simulator, with pedals and a steering wheel.
The whole thing seems wonderfully liveable; no wonder the agent calls this property 'one of the most attractive I have had the pleasure to sell.'
For sale via Savills at £5.75m — see more details and pictures.
Credit: Strutt and Parker
Best country houses for sale this week
An irresistible West Country cottage and a magnificent Cumbrian country house make our pick of the finest country houses for
Queens' College, Cambridge: The seat of learning that helped set the mould for Cambridge's most beautiful colleges
John Goodall looks at the early history of Queens’ College, Cambridge, the college that helped define the tradition of academic
The sad decline of Cambridge Castle: 'How could this happen in one of our great university cities?'
Country Life's cultural columnist Athena bemoans the lack of care shown for what remains of one of the first Norman
New College, Oxford: The 650-year story of the college that dreamt it was a palace
John Goodall looks at New College, Oxford, the most widely copied university college in England, a building inspired by a
-
A flat for sale in the building where Agatha Christie lived, and it's both the most interesting and most affordable home for sale in Hampstead todayThe Isokon Lawn Road flats in Belsize Park are a Grade I-listed architectural icon with a fascinating history, and one of them is currently for sale. Toby Keel takes a look.
-
Guinness, The Beatles and Beckham's first game for England? It can only be the Country Life Quiz of the Day, October 15, 2025Test your general knowledge in Wednesday's quiz.
-
A flat for sale in the building where Agatha Christie lived, and it's both the most interesting and most affordable home for sale in Hampstead today
The Isokon Lawn Road flats in Belsize Park are a Grade I-listed architectural icon with a fascinating history, and one of them is currently for sale. Toby Keel takes a look.
-
Five homes with their own orchards that will be the apple of your eye (almost literally)If you've been looking enviously this year at neighbours with apple trees that have been heaving with fruit, here is the solution: five lovely homes for sale that come with their own orchards.
-
A beautiful Victorian vicarage that was home to one of the Cadbury family heiresses is on the marketPenny Churchill tells the tale of Monks Bridge in Warwickshire.
-
An outrageously opulent mansion in London's answer to Beverly Hills, with a gym that 'wouldn't look out of place in a 7* hotel''One of the finest houses in St George's Hill' is on the market. Annabel Dixon takes a look at what's on offer.
-
Six homes with fantastic features, from pools and paddocks to waterside settings, as seen in Country LifeOur look at the best homes to come to the market via Country Life this week includes a Chipping Norton farm and a Cornish dream home
-
Queen Victoria's chaplain's house on the Isle of Wight is for sale, and it's a riot of colour, charm and joyA stone's thrown from Queen Victoria's beloved Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, the house where her chaplain lived is now on the open market.
-
An Art Deco masterpiece with five-bedrooms, a private pool, a cinema, a helipad and the ability to conquer oceansLady Christine is the very essence of opulence and could be yours for a cool €55.75 million.
-
The elegant 19th century townhouse where JFK and Jackie Kennedy dreamed of the presidency, and made their wish came trueThis beautiful five-bedroom house in Washington DC's Georgetown was once home to perhaps the most celebrated couple of the 20th century: John F. Kennedy and his wife, Jackie Kennedy.
