In case you’ve missed them, there are signs up in the street with notifications of parking suspensions for a selection of the bays in Morshead Road on Friday 24th January and Monday 27th January. The reason for the suspensions is tree works, which are planned to take place on both days.
If you own a car and park it in the street, make sure that it’s not left in any of the restricted bays after 8.30am on either day while the tree works are taking place. If it is, you’ll risk having it towed away! If you think your car may have been towed, you can find out more by clicking here.
On a seperate note, if you’re new to the street and would like to find out more about how to apply for a parking permit for your car there is a feature on the ‘news’ section of the Morshead Mansions website that tells you everything you need to know. If you’d like to take a look, just click here.
It’s also handy to know that if you have people visiting you or tradespeople working on your flat, you can find out where pay-to-park spaces are located nearby by accessing the MyRingo app here.
Morshead Mansions residents are fortunate to live within the City of Westminster, one of the best maintained and probably the best-known boroughs in London. As well as being blessed with some of the most famous residences and landmarks, it’s also a very green borough, being home to the Royal Parks of Hyde Park, Green Park, St. James’s Park, Kensington Gardens and part of Regent’s Park. There’s lots more to living in Westminster…
Westminster offers a host of resources, including transport, shopping, dining, entertainment, leisure, sport, fitness, culture and history. Most of what people living within the borough might need can be found relatively easily and usually not too far from where they live. So all in all, Westminster, with its abundance of tree lined avenues, conservation areas and amenities, is a pretty nice place to live.
The City of Westminster Website
Something that Morshead Mansions residents may not know is that the City of Westminster website is a very useful place to find even more resources. If you’re living in Westminster and need to organise a parking permit, pay a council tax bill, take part in local consultations or find out about rubbish or recycling collections, it has a wealth of information.
Once on the site, if you navigate to ‘All council services’ you’ll find all kinds of useful links. The first section is all about the council and their policies of operation, including the ‘Residents research panel’, which was set up so that residents could provide feedback on ways to improve services, projects and policies.
If you’re planning on getting married in the borough, everything you’ll need to know is here, from choosing a venue, booking registrars, the different types of ceremonies and what certificates you’ll need. They also have planning guides, sample scripts and feature their ‘Venue of the Month’ to give you some inspiration.
For those in business, there is a section on ‘Business support and guidance’, including information on improvements happening in the borough and growth initiatives, plus resources for grants and sources of funding, You can also sign up for the Westminster Business Newsletter, which will keep you up to date with what’s happening.
If you’re looking to do some filming or hold an event in the borough, you’ll find everything you need to know here too, along with information on business rates, parking, planning, commercial waste services, food safety for businesses, trading standards, business information points, health & safety at work and support schemes for businesses.
For those residents with children, there is The Family Information Hub, information on education, school holiday events, activities and support, plus parenting groups and courses. The City Lions initiative gives children from 13 to 16 interested in the creative industry the chance to boost their CV’s by taking part in talks, workshops and work placements.
Perhaps surprisingly, the site also showcases job vacancies, so if you’re looking for a new job or perhaps considering volunteering for a worthwhile cause, why not take a look! In this day and age, most people find resources they’re looking for online, there are still libraries in Westminster though and as well as vast selections of books they also offer club activities, such as craft sessions, podcasts and music events.
If you’re thinking about becoming a little more active, you’ll find info on leisure centres and cycling, including everything you’ll need to know about cycle hire, cycle parking, what to keep in your toolkit, road safety and cycling events. For those who like to walk, there’s an interactive map which shows suggested routes and where to find Westminster’s history, architecture, culture and green spaces.
If there’s something you need to report, such as illegal waste dumping, noise issues, graffiti or potholes, you’ll find all the resources on the site too. So, if there’s pretty much anything you need to know about living in Westminster, take a look at the City of Westminster website where you’ll likely find the answer!
For more info on the Maida Vale area, take a look at our ‘news‘ page.
London mansion blocks are a much-loved historic and iconic feature of London’s residential landscape, and Morshead Mansions is no exception. The History of London’s Mansion Blocks is a fascinating subject, with the first mansion block to be built in London thought to be Albert Hall Mansions in Kensington, which was designed by Richard Norman Shaw and constructed in 1876.
Designed in the ‘Queen Anne Revival’ or ‘Kensington Style’, which was based on the English and Dutch architecture of the early 18th Century, it was very well received and following this success, many more London blocks were built between 1880 and 1920, with Morshead Mansions arriving round 1904.
Known for their red brick facades, detailed stone frontage, decorative balconies and well-proportioned interiors, mansion blocks were originally conceived as a way to offer an option for people of wealth, who perhaps were unable to stretch to the cost of purchasing a grand house, to live in some of London’s most sought-after areas, such as Knightsbridge, Mayfair, Kensington, Regent’s Park, Marylebone, St John’s Wood, Maida Vale, Hampstead, Chelsea, Battersea, Fulham and Chiswick.
Prior to their arrival, higher net worth individuals tended not to live in ‘flats’, however, some developers saw the potential of building the kind of high-density living that would likely appeal to them. In order to reduce the risk of the idea not working, most blocks were built in stages, with further development once the original flats had been sold.
This was certainly the case in Maida Vale, which was developed by a variety of landowners, all adding more to the history of London’s mansion blocks. First to be built was Blomfield Road, north of the canal, and parts of Edgware Road, later renamed Maida Vale. This was followed by areas including Randolph Avenue and parts of Elgin Avenue.
In 1895, Essendine Road was built by William Henry Pearce, followed by Morshead and Grantully Roads. After the completion of these, Widley and Wymering Roads were built, closely followed by the remainder of Elgin Avenue and Lauderdale and Castellain Roads. Delaware, Ashworth and Biddulph Roads were eventually also developed around 1920.
As mansions blocks were designed to appeal to the luxury market, the style they were generally built in meant that the exteriors were usually quite grand, often with intricate ornate details. The interiors tended to have high ceilings and large windows, with generous hallways and wide staircases in the common areas
Many of these features still remain to this day and help to ensure that mansion block flats are still very desirable and sought-after places to live. Many fine examples can be found in and around the Maida Vale area. Considering the grandeur and general location of mansion blocks, it isn’t surprising that they are popular, especially as the blocks are usually well managed and kept in good repair, further preserving their appeal.
Now that Summer’s officially with us, we’re starting to see beautiful colours popping up all around Maida Vale, both in Morshead Road and the surrounding area. Each year, the window boxes that adorn the front of Morshead Mansions start to flower and they’re beginning to look particularly lovely as the weather heats up and we begin to see Maida Vale in bloom.
The communal gardens at the rear of Morshead Mansions is a relaxing space for residents to enjoy all year round. With the arrival of Summer, a variety of colours start to appear, making the space even more enjoyable to spend time in.
As always, we’d ask anyone using the communal garden with their children to take care not to damage the planted areas. The garden is for everyone to socialise or relax in, if using barbeques please be considerate and clear up after use.
Fortunately for Morshead residents, Paddington Recreation Ground is just opposite and is a wonderful resource. At this time of year colour starts to sprout up here too. The park has recently been undergoing improvements to the pathways and amenities and the secluded gardens are beginning to fill with a variety of colours.
On the other side of Elgin Avenue from Morshead Road is Le Cochonnet, a long-established bar and reataurant and a handy place to spend some time with friends. The beautiful hanging baskets on the outside are looking quite splendid and add to the collage of Maida Vale in bloom! We’re also fortunate in our surrounding area that Westminster Council take the time and effort to add and maintain an abundance of hanging baskets attached to the street lights. This certainly adds to the appeal of our neighbourhood.
If you’re thinking of adding some floral colour to your flat, why not take a short walk or drive down to Little Venice and visit Clifton Nurseries? This beautiful garden centre is awash with colour at the moment, with all types and varieties of flowers. They also have a lovely cafe to while away some time.
We hope that enjoyed some images of Maida Vale in bloom and that you’re able to get out into the local area to explore what’s on offer soon. In the meantime, we wish everyone a long and enjoyable summer!
Part of the charm of buying a Victorian Maida Vale mansion block flat is that they usually come with a host of original features, which for many people can add a lot to making them an attractive choice. However, since they were first built in the early 1900’s, the way that people live has evolved to the point where the original layouts of these flats may no longer completely suit their needs. So looking for some design inspiration for mansion block flats can be a good place to start if you’re thinking of updating your space.
For example, kitchen areas have become far more important, with many people now treating them as the heart of the home and the place where they tend to spend most time, an abundance of natural light is now widely thought to have positive effects on our overall wellbeing and many flat owners are now working from home, re-purposing extra bedrooms as ad-hoc office space.
It’s important to remember that work of any kind, even on a maintenance level, needs to be undertaken by tradesmen who are properly qualified to do the job. It’s also worth bearing in mind that no structural changes are permitted in Morshead Mansions and any alterations that involve major works or changes to the layout of your flat will need to be agreed by the building management before they take place.
That being said, there are many examples in Morshead of flats that have been refurbished to an exceptional standard and achieving this, along with the general upturn of demand for people looking to buy flats in the street, will significantly add to the overall value of your property. So, when considering materials, layout, furnishings and decoration style, it’s worth taking time to think it through carefully.
If you’re buying a flat that’s in need of renovation, or simply thinking of freshening up your existing living environment, there’s a lot to consider when making decisions on design choices. Ultimately, what you do will depend on your personal tastes but if you’re looking for some inspiration, it’s worth bearing in mind that there are far more resources available nowadays to help you conjure up some fresh ideas and it’s well-worth investigating some of them to get some perspective.
The first place that that’s worth spending some time viewing are the myriad of home style programmes available on TV, many of which will have some design inspiration for mansion block flats. From the days in years gone by when the only show on TV was changing Rooms, with Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and Handy Andy, nowadays it seems as though there are home renovation programmes on every channel, such as Grand Designs with Kevin McCloud, Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr and a whole host of programmes featuring George Clarke.
Recently re-aired on Channel 4 was an episode of ‘George Clarke’s Old House New Home’, which features the full renovation of a flat in neighbouring Southwold Mansions. Throughout the episode, the kitchen was re-worked and replaced, along with the bathroom. All other areas were redecorated while restoring original features where possible.
If you’d like to see the full renovation, it’s available at Channel 4 Online, Season 6, Episode 4 and on demand through the usual TV services. It gives a good idea of what renovating a Maida Vale mansion block flat is like and some of the hazards that you might encounter along the way. It also includes some great ideas and tips for good use of space.
Another great resource is the wealth of information that’s available online, with a wide selection of interior design websites, blogs and online magazines. Below are a selection of sites that are full of interesting ideas, complete with links that will take you to the features. Just click on the links below the images to see more…
If you’re looking for something to do this coming May Bank Holiday, why not take a walk down to Little Venice and Paddington Basin to experience the annual Inland Waterways Association May Bank Holiday Canal Boat Cavalcade? The boats will be moored between Blomfield Road, Warwick Avenue and Warwick Crescent, with entertainment stretching into Paddington Basin.
Each early May Bank Holiday, over 100 narrow boats from all over the country converge on Little Venice to create a truly unique spectacle. The event takes place over the whole weekend, this year it will be from the 4th-6th May and will showcase canal boat living to its full, with a wonderful array of floating colour and entertainment.
For 2024, ‘Fund Britain’s Waterways’ is the theme and there’s a lot to see. Along with the boats themselves, you’ll find stalls selling unique items, a real ale bar and a fantastic selection of street food stalls for a quick snack. Other features are the eclectic live music, Morris Dancers and plenty of children’s entertainment. This year, for the first time, there will be a special illuminated boat parade between 9 pm and 10.30 pm on Sunday.
Opening times for the May Bank Holiday Canal Boat Cavalcade will be 10am-6pm on Saturday and Sunday and 10am-5pm on Monday. You can find out more on the Inland Waterways Website.
I’m writing today in order to draw your attention to recent movements in market values in Maida Vale and their impact on the value of Morshead Mansions flat in particular. In recent years, flat sales in London have been erratic. While there was steady growth following the recession of 2007-2008, the last 4 or 5 years have been a lot harder to predict. However, lately we’re seeing a the upturn of sale prices in Morshead Mansions.
There’s no doubt that the pandemic which started at the beginning of 2020 had a significant effect on people’s willingness to move home, with the property market slowing down as a result. This naturally contributed to a dip in expected prices with fewer potential buyers chasing a greater supply.
We’ve seen the effects of this in Morshead Mansions. Prior to 2020, the highest sale price achieved in the street was £1,125,000 in February 2016. However, from 2019 to 2021, the average sale prices were fluctuating around £900,000 to £1,000,000. So how are things looking in 2024? Bearing in mind that there are currently 127 properties for sale in the W9 area with an average asking price of £981,512 (according to nethouseprices.com), it’s encouraging to see that values in Morshead Mansions are now significantly above this average.
October 2023 saw a Morshead flat sell for £1,145,000, which previously sold in April 2022 for £930,000 (and was then refurbished to a very high standard), representing a gross increase of £215,000 in just 18 months. Most recently, a top floor flat has just sold for £1,200,000.
Of course, it would be easy to say that flats in Morshead Mansions are well above the ‘average’ type of property in the Maida Vale area and therefore would be expected to be priced higher. But if you compare Morshead values to those of flats in Wymering Mansions, our nearest neighbours, these are currently hovering around the £850,000 mark, which is significantly lower than Morshead Mansions.
Needless to say, the level to which Morshead is maintained and the added bonus of the park vista opposite are significant contributors to this price difference, but it seems fair to observe that Morshead has become a very desirable address and is becoming ever more sought-after. It’s worth noting that top floor Morshead flats that have purchased and developed into their roof spaces are selling for significantly more than the current Morshead average, with the highest sales figure to date being £1,500,000 and others selling close to this.
All in all, Morshead seems to be punching above its weight!
If you’d like to find out how to add value to a top floor Morshead Mansions flat by purchasing the roof void, read the ‘Sale of Morshead Mansions Roof Voids‘ here.
This is a note of explanation of the landlord company’s policy regarding the sale of Morshead Mansions roof voids, i.e., the empty spaces above the top-floor flats. Morshead Mansions is comprised of 13 contiguous blocks each of which is in turn comprised of 8 flats arranged in pairs, two on each floor with a basement storey situated below the raised ground floor flats and a pitched roof above the third floor flats.
In 2015, the company was approached by Ms. Adamson, then the new owner of flat 40 Morshead Mansions, a top-floor flat. Ms. Adamson wanted to buy the roof void above her new flat and to develop a duplex apartment. Despite the doubts we had about the project’s viability, both physical and financial, Ms. Adamson was determined to achieve her goal and she overcame our doubts and the company made its first roof void for the price of £75,000.
Since 2015, down to the end of 2023, the company had agreed and completed the sale of a further 12 roof voids, all of which were sold at the same price of £75,000. Towards the end of 2023, we agreed the sale of the 14th roof void and a S5 LTA 1987 Notice was duly given to all of the leaseholders to that effect on 19 October.
Though it was agreed in 2023, the sale of the roof void above flat 23 Morshead Mansions was completed on 20 January 2024 and proceeds of sale duly received by the company. So, down to January 2024, the company has sold 14 roof voids realising £75,000 on each sale, making a total revenue realised during the past 8 years of £1,050,000. All of that money has been applied to the objects of the landlord company and has thereby reduced by a like total the amounts that would otherwise be sought from shareholders in the annual precepts authorised by resolutions passed under Article 16.
We have 12 roof voids left which presently remain unsold and which are available for sale. As the development of a duplex apartment has been demonstrated to be viable we expect to see the sale of Morshead Mansions roof voids taking place for most of the remaining flats.
Having dipped recently, but now boosted by the impact of the common parts stairwell refurbishment, values of Morshead Mansions flats are recovering and are apparently finding a new level at somewhere above £1.15 million. This might justify an increase in the asking price for the remaining, as yet, unsold roof voids to perhaps, £100,000.
If you’d like to read about the recent upturn of sale prices in Morshead Mansions, click here.
Morshead residents are very fortunate to live opposite Paddington Recreation Ground. Not only does it provide a lovely vista to look out onto, but it also has a wealth of recreational facilities to take advantage of, from simply pausing for some coffee, taking a stroll through the wooded areas and numerous footpaths, going for a short run, right up to taking part in a wide range of competitive sports, including tennis, football, hockey and cricket.
This 27-acre site first opened in 1888 and was the first park and athletic ground of its kind in London. Prior to 1888 it was used by the local church, who laid out a cricket pitch for the parish community. During the 1880’s, Richard Beachcroft, who was the secretary of the Paddington Cricket Club, led an initiative to extend the cricket ground by forming a committee of local cricket clubs and negotiating arrangements with local landowners.
Paddington Recreation Ground, on the left shown in an early layout in 1901 and on the right as it is today.
The pavilion, which still stands today, was formally opened at the same time as the park and was renamed ‘The Richard Beachcroft Pavilion’ in 2010 to recognise his work in creating the original space, with a commemorative plaque placed on the building. The park was originally conceived as a work creation scheme, to alleviate the severe 1887-1888 economic slump that coincided with Queen Victoria’s jubilee.
500 unemployed Paddington men were utilised for 10 weeks to prepare the land prior to opening, partly funded by Beachcroft himself. When first opened, the area where the cricket green is now sited was a cinder cycle track, replaced in 1900 with a banked cycle track, with a running track placed inside. These were removed in 1987 and the grass bank on the Grantully Road side of the park is now the only remaining evidence of the banking.
In the beginning, the park was only held on a risky annual tenancy, however, on July 9th 1890 the then Prince of Wales, who later became King Edward VII, came to visit the park and Lord Randolph Churchill, who was MP for Paddington South and had been instrumental in establishing the park, lobbied the Prince to save the area for public use. Over the following years and with the Prince’s patronage, £50,000 was raised to buy the freehold.
The Paddington Recreation Act was passed by parliament in 1893, which authorised the formal acquisition of the land to ‘provide the residents with a public recreational ground’. In 1896, a charitable trust was set up under the name of the Paddington Recreation Ground, owned by London County Council, and the future of the park as we know it today was secured.
Paddington Recreation Ground has been home to some significant history over the years. Catford Cycling Club first held track races in the grounds in 1889, soon after the park opened, which would regularly attract up to 7000 spectators. The original running track, which was turned into the new cricket pitch in 1987, was used by Roger Bannister in the early 1950’s, while he was a medical student at St Mary’s Hospital, to train for his four minute mile attempt. A blue plaque was unveiled at the pavilion in September 2000 to commemorate his achievement.
There is now also a second blue plaque at the pavilion to honour the successes of cyclist Sir Bradley Wiggins, who started riding bikes at the park as a child while living nearby in Kilburn. The hockey pitch is home to Hampstead and Westminster Hockey Club, who enter teams in both the Men’s and Women’s England Hockey Leagues. Established in 1894, this is one of the largest adult hockey clubs in the UK.
In 2006, Westminster City Council started a 3.5 million regeneration programme, which enabled extensive refurbishments to be carried out and today, Paddington Recreation Ground receives financial support from sports organisations that include Sport England, the Football Foundation, the English Football Association and the Lawn Tennis Association.
In its modern day incarnation, Paddington Recreation Ground has a wealth of sporting facilities available, including 13 tennis courts, 10 synthetic and 3 hard courts, all of which have recently been resurfaced and are in excellent playing condition, a 400m athletics track, which was refurbished in 2020, 2 artificial turf pitches, a ‘water-based’ hockey pitch, a bowling green, cricket nets, a cricket pitch, 5 a side pitches, an outdoor gym area and a fully equipped indoor gym, run by Everyone Active.
For less sporty people, there are secluded garden areas, including a rose garden. You will also find a bandstand, a nature trail, two enclosed dog walking areas, a large children’s play area and a café with outside seating. We really are very fortunate to have such a large, beautiful and versatile recreation space right on our doorstep, if you haven’t explored it yet why not take a stroll and see for yourself what’s on offer!
The Morshead Mansions 2023 AGM will take place at 6.30pm on Thursday 28th December. The meeting will be held in Selbourne House, Ground Floor, 36A Elgin Avenue, W9 3AZ, which is on the other side of Elgin Avenue from St Peter’s Church and is 100 metres or so past the junction of Elgin Avenue and Chippenham Road.
Unfortunately, St Peter’s Church, which has accommodated us for the past several years, is undergoing refurbishment so is not presently available. Minutes of the meeting will be available on the Key Documents page of the website in the New Year.
We look forward to seeing you at the The Morshead Mansions 2023 AGM, if you have any questions, please get in touch. We’d like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
