London Home of Virginia Woolf Converted into Two £3.75 Million Townhouses

The former home of early 20th-century writer Virginia Woolf has been converted into two Richmond townhouses - currently selling for £3.75 million each.

The pioneer of the modernist movement lived at the property in London with her husband, Leonard Woolf from 1915 until 1924. The building – which is complete with a Blue Plaque - is steeped in history and was the inspiration behind the name of the Woolf’s publishing house, Hogarth Press, which was set up in their drawing room.

While based in Richmond, the Hogarth Press published 40 books, including some that are now considered key texts in the development of the modernism movement, such as works by John Middleton Murry and Sigmund Freud.

It was bought by property company Berwick Hill Properties in 2012 and two years later was granted approval to restore the building and convert it back into two Georgian residential townhouses. This development reflects its layout during the time of the Woolfs’ ownership.

“We knew from day one that this was a very important building,” says Jeremy Richardson, director of Berwick Hill Properties. “The restoration took around 18 months with the intention to keep as many of the original features as possible.”

Named ‘Leonard’ and ‘Virginia’ respectively, the two townhouses were designed to make the most of natural light with high ceilings and large scale rooms. Custom furnishings, bespoke storage solutions and hand-crafted kitchens satisfy all the requirements of modern living while keeping much of the original architecture intact.

Leonard, which is on the left hand side, has 3,603 square feet of living space spread out across four floors, including four bedrooms, four bathrooms, a drawing room, a family room, a study and a laundry room. It also features an elegant staircase, wall panelling, a hand-crafted kitchen and a rear garden, according to the listing.

Virginia has also been carefully restored and appropriately decorated. The 3,728-square-feet home has four bedrooms, five bathrooms, a drawing room, a sitting room, kitchen/dining room and a study. There is also a dressing room off the master bedroom and a laundry room on the lower ground floor. A courtyard garden in the rear completes the townhouse

This year marks 100 years since the Hogarth Press was founded in this building and now two new homes are listed for sale through Savills Richmond. “In this centenary year, its significance as the birthplace of the Hogarth Press makes Hogarth House a very special place to call home,” says Daniel Hutchins, head of sales at the Savills Richmond.