2 bed Flat For Sale £385,000
This wonderful two-bedroom apartment is in striking Gwynne House, an elegant Art Deco building set amid the Georgian and Victorian terraces of Whitechapel. Smooth ivory external walls accentuate the soft curves that define the building's distinctive silhouette. The highly functional internal layout is designed with modernist principles in mind, maximising useable space and storage with wide windows drawing in plenty of light. A communal garden is at the rear, shaded by a sycamore and ancient mulberry tree. Brick Lane and the newly established Silk District are a short walk away, with excellent links to the City and the Elizabeth Line.
The Architect
Hume Victor Kerr pursued his architectural career in the interwar period from 1920 to 1939. His Art Deco style incorporated the most modern building practices of the age to create striking residential and municipal buildings. He was most active in east London, designing Commerce and Industry House (Middlesex Road), the recently renovated Empire House (New Road), and a series of residential buildings along Turner Street. His work was particularly favoured by the London Hospital, with several buildings commissioned across its Whitechapel Estate.
The Building
Gwynne House, with its bold art deco form, was built in 1937-38 and constructed using a pioneering reinforced concrete frame insulated with cork, finished with rendered external walls. Its ivory-painted façade emphasises its most expressively modernist features, which include a sweeping rounded stairwell and a rhythmic succession of curved exterior balconies reminiscent of Wells Coates’ Isokon Building. At the front of the block, the original metal fence remains, echoing the elegant curves of the building itself, subtly asserted by the elegant original lettering across the façade. The whole building was sympathetically refurbished in 2012. For more information, please see the History section below.
The Tour
The apartment lies on the first floor and is approached through the building’s winding stairwell and a slender external balcony. The porthole window in the front door is a further reference to the style of 1930s ocean liners from which this design draws many references. The entrance opens to a hallway connecting all the rooms in the apartment.
On the left sits the well-proportioned living room, its wide windows overlooking the communal gardens below. The kitchen is set at the front of the plan, overlooking the external balcony through a window above the sink. The view from here takes in the handsome Huguenot houses of Newark street and the imposing red brick St Philip's Church designed in 1888 by Arthur Cawston. The kitchen’s white cabinetry is topped with dark grey granite worktops and splashback. A thoughtful layout creates a feeling of connectivity within the living space, accentuated by the wide-plank solid oak floor that runs throughout.
The main bedroom faces the garden with leafy views of the lime tree. Built-in wardrobes along the right-hand wall create plenty of storage space. The second bedroom, currently arranged as a study, is a good-sized double at the front of the plan. The bathroom sits opposite, finished in a monochromatic palette of white and black tiles in keeping with the era of the building. A large frosted window bathes the room in light. There is a bathtub with a shower overhead. Generous storage runs throughout the apartment, with large cupboards off the living room and kitchen.
Outdoor Space
The building has a communal garden at the rear. A lime tree, sycamore and ancient mulberry tree cast shade over the courtyard, which has an array of integral planters and seating areas, with plenty of space to add tables and chairs for alfresco dining.
The Area
The apartment is wonderfully placed for the thriving cafés, restaurants and markets of Whitechapel and the East End. The Whitechapel Gallery is a 10-minute walk away with an exciting programme of exhibitions. An excellent restaurant, Mr White’s, Marco Pierre White's English Chophouse is nearby and a popular local haunt. The area is undergoing a huge amount of investment, establishing the new Silk District and the planned Arts and Life Sciences Hub around Turner Street.
Shoreditch, Commercial Street and Brick Lane are all a 10-minute walk away, and between them have some of the best restaurants and bars of the East End, including St John Bread & Wine, The Culpeper, Flat Iron, Cocotte, and Lyle's.
Stepney Green and Bethnal Green parks are nearby, and many buses run along Whitechapel Road towards the winding Mile End Park with its meadows and woodlands, sports pitches, cafes and canal-side walks.
Whitechapel Station is a five-minute walk away. It is connected to the Underground (District and Hammersmith & City Lines) and Overground (to Hoxton and Dalston). There is a separate entrance for the newly opened Elizabeth Line, which runs directly to Canary Wharf, the West End and Heathrow.
Tenure: Leasehold
Lease Length: Approx. 140 years remaining
Service Charge: Approx. £1,600 per annum
Ground Rent: Approx. £250 per annum
Council Tax Band: B
The Architect
Hume Victor Kerr pursued his architectural career in the interwar period from 1920 to 1939. His Art Deco style incorporated the most modern building practices of the age to create striking residential and municipal buildings. He was most active in east London, designing Commerce and Industry House (Middlesex Road), the recently renovated Empire House (New Road), and a series of residential buildings along Turner Street. His work was particularly favoured by the London Hospital, with several buildings commissioned across its Whitechapel Estate.
The Building
Gwynne House, with its bold art deco form, was built in 1937-38 and constructed using a pioneering reinforced concrete frame insulated with cork, finished with rendered external walls. Its ivory-painted façade emphasises its most expressively modernist features, which include a sweeping rounded stairwell and a rhythmic succession of curved exterior balconies reminiscent of Wells Coates’ Isokon Building. At the front of the block, the original metal fence remains, echoing the elegant curves of the building itself, subtly asserted by the elegant original lettering across the façade. The whole building was sympathetically refurbished in 2012. For more information, please see the History section below.
The Tour
The apartment lies on the first floor and is approached through the building’s winding stairwell and a slender external balcony. The porthole window in the front door is a further reference to the style of 1930s ocean liners from which this design draws many references. The entrance opens to a hallway connecting all the rooms in the apartment.
On the left sits the well-proportioned living room, its wide windows overlooking the communal gardens below. The kitchen is set at the front of the plan, overlooking the external balcony through a window above the sink. The view from here takes in the handsome Huguenot houses of Newark street and the imposing red brick St Philip's Church designed in 1888 by Arthur Cawston. The kitchen’s white cabinetry is topped with dark grey granite worktops and splashback. A thoughtful layout creates a feeling of connectivity within the living space, accentuated by the wide-plank solid oak floor that runs throughout.
The main bedroom faces the garden with leafy views of the lime tree. Built-in wardrobes along the right-hand wall create plenty of storage space. The second bedroom, currently arranged as a study, is a good-sized double at the front of the plan. The bathroom sits opposite, finished in a monochromatic palette of white and black tiles in keeping with the era of the building. A large frosted window bathes the room in light. There is a bathtub with a shower overhead. Generous storage runs throughout the apartment, with large cupboards off the living room and kitchen.
Outdoor Space
The building has a communal garden at the rear. A lime tree, sycamore and ancient mulberry tree cast shade over the courtyard, which has an array of integral planters and seating areas, with plenty of space to add tables and chairs for alfresco dining.
The Area
The apartment is wonderfully placed for the thriving cafés, restaurants and markets of Whitechapel and the East End. The Whitechapel Gallery is a 10-minute walk away with an exciting programme of exhibitions. An excellent restaurant, Mr White’s, Marco Pierre White's English Chophouse is nearby and a popular local haunt. The area is undergoing a huge amount of investment, establishing the new Silk District and the planned Arts and Life Sciences Hub around Turner Street.
Shoreditch, Commercial Street and Brick Lane are all a 10-minute walk away, and between them have some of the best restaurants and bars of the East End, including St John Bread & Wine, The Culpeper, Flat Iron, Cocotte, and Lyle's.
Stepney Green and Bethnal Green parks are nearby, and many buses run along Whitechapel Road towards the winding Mile End Park with its meadows and woodlands, sports pitches, cafes and canal-side walks.
Whitechapel Station is a five-minute walk away. It is connected to the Underground (District and Hammersmith & City Lines) and Overground (to Hoxton and Dalston). There is a separate entrance for the newly opened Elizabeth Line, which runs directly to Canary Wharf, the West End and Heathrow.
Tenure: Leasehold
Lease Length: Approx. 140 years remaining
Service Charge: Approx. £1,600 per annum
Ground Rent: Approx. £250 per annum
Council Tax Band: B
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