An article in County Life – Summer 2021 edition – features The Annexe in Clapham Park, Bedford (Sole Agents: Artistry)
Just as some take for granted the beauty of our area’s glorious countryside, it’s perhaps not fully appreciated quite how blessed we are with a wealth of wonderful properties, the type of unique homes that Artistry Property Agents represent.
One such home, within the beautiful Clapham Park grounds, is The Annexe, a 4-bedroom wing of an historic house which was said to have been used by Winston Churchill as a secret safe house during World War II. It’s a secret to many still. The Annexe has a superb Summer House on its acre of private land, and the buyer has an option on 18 further acres, stables and manege. It’s approached along a lovely gated lane skirted by fields of sheep and bird-filled woodland and it’s no surprise that many don’t realise that such a peaceful spot to live exists on the edge of Bedfordshire’s county town.
The parkland setting is breathtaking, but so is the magnificence of the Gothic-style Victorian mansion for which The Annexe once housed the main kitchens and servants’ dining hall. Designed by the eminent architect, John Usher, it was built in 1872 for the Bedford MP, James Howard, whose family founded Bedford’s Britannia Works, and no expense was spared in using superior hand-picked materials and ground-breaking construction methods.
Whilst an Artistry home is always unique, it can be ancient or ultra-modern, a rural retreat or a Victorian villa in a bustling town. But one thing is for sure – as with The Annexe in Clapham Park, you’ll know an Artistry home when you see one.
For full details of The Annexe, or to arrange a viewing, click here.