Property of the Week

Located on one of the most sought-after streets in Notting Hill, a magnificent Victorian mansion on Lansdowne Road has come to the market. The former childhood home of leading suffragist Clara Rackham, a politician and significant member of the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies at the turn of the 20^th century, the beautiful family home is available for £17,500,000.

One of the pioneering women involved in the first wave of women’s suffrage societies, Clara Rackham (née Tabor) has been hailed as the ‘right hand woman’ and close friend of Millicent Fawcett who led the NUWSS. Over the course of her life, Clara campaigned tirelessly for women’s rights, adult education, equal pay, and for juvenile rights as a magistrate.

Lansdowne Road is a traditional Victorian stucco-fronted house, designed and built in 1846 by William Reynolds and Richard Roy. The Tabor family lived at the property from 1865, with Clara growing up in the house attending Notting Hill High School before leaving for university. Today the family home offers elegant living space with direct access to the beautiful communal gardens behind.

Born in 1875, she studied Classics at Newnham College in Cambridge and went on to become a significant political figure and long-serving councillor for the city. The pioneering suffragists led the early movement of campaigning for women’s rights, with the NUWSS formed in 1897 using peaceful tactics and growing to over 54,000 members by 1914. Following this movement came the better-known suffragettes, led by ‘deeds not words’, which saw members arrested and imprisoned. In 1918, women aged over 30 who were either a member or married to a member of the Local Government Register were granted the right to vote, before finally all women over the age of 21 were granted the right to vote in 1928 on the same terms as men. Clara led a key role for the suffragists, chairing the executive committee for the NUWSS (1909-1915) and helping to shape the society’s campaigns alongside Millicent Fawcett.

Throughout her extraordinary life, Clara’s roles included founding the Cambridge Cooperative Women’s Guild, working as a Labour Party politician, as a government factory inspector for workers conditions during World War One, and as one of the first female broadcasters in the early days of BBC Radio.

In 2018, Clara’s dedication to campaigning for women’s rights and her role as ‘the most important civic figure early 20^th century Cambridge’ was recognised with a blue plaque on her former home in Park Terrace, Cambridge, where she lived for most of her adult life.

Lansdowne Road offers 6,886 sq. ft. of exceptional living space over six floors with the home offering high ceilings, classic parquet flooring and an abundance of natural light throughout. The stunning architectural staircase brings contemporary style to every floor.

The raised ground floor provides a spectacular dual-aspect reception room, with parquet flooring and a marble fireplace, with three balconies looking towards the private terrace. There is a formal dining room, filled with natural light from a sky light, with French doors leading onto the private terrace.

On the lower ground floor there is a sleek designer kitchen with a statement marble-topped island and integrated Miele appliances, with a relaxed seating area and triple French doors leading onto a further private patio space. There is also a large home study with smart wood panelling, and cloakroom.

The basement provides a spacious media room which is ideal for family cinema nights; a guest bedroom with en suite wet room; utility room; wine cellar; and staff accommodation which includes a bedroom, kitchenette and en suite bathroom.

The Principal bedroom suite occupies the first floor, with details including an elegant marble fireplace, bespoke fitted storage, marble-clad bathroom with twin sinks and adjacent walk-in dressing room. On the upper floors are a further four guest bedrooms and three bathrooms, each presented in immaculate condition.

Located within the Ladbroke Conservation Area, Lansdowne Road has gated off-street parking, and access to the desirable communal Notting Hill Garden from the private rear terrace.

As well as Clara Rackham, other notable residents of Lansdowne Road include judge Sir Harry Bevir Vaisey, who lived at the property with his family between 1911 and 1920. Vaisey sat on the Chancery Division of the High Court between 1944 and 1960 and memorably ruled against allowing a person to change their name by deed poll, arguing this could only be done by an Act of Parliament. Between 1935 and 1940, the property was also home to script writer, critic and journalist Patrick Mannock.

Gary Hersham, Founding Director of Beauchamp Estates commented: “Lansdowne Road is a magnificent family home on one of the most sought-after streets in Notting Hill, presented in immaculate condition. The property was once the childhood home of leading suffragist Clara Rackham and is where she spent her formative years before beginning her extraordinary activist career in Cambridge.”

Lansdowne Road is on sale for £17,500,000 with Beauchamp Estates. For further information please contact +44 (0)20 7499 7722 or visit www.beauchamp.com.