Blatant Advertising

The house is 135 Marine Parade, Leigh on Sea and has been in the current family for 3 generations, nearly 70 years. The lady, that unfortunately has recently passed away moved into the house when her parents bought it when she was 20 years old in 1948! Thank heavens there aren’t many families like this otherwise I would be out of business!

There was a rumour in the town that this property was previously owned by none other than Dame Vera Lynn which is very topical as she has recently been in the news with 100th birthday celebrations. The current owner, whilst can’t completely corroborate this, does vaguely remember something about it. Apparently his Grandparents at the time were in the process of purchasing a property in Tattersal Gardens when they were called by the then estate agent to say that the purchaser of 135 Marine Parade (Dame Vera Lynn, allegedly) had changed her mind and they were given the offer to step in and snapped it up.

Whether this is true or not, is not relevant, the property doesn’t need any celebrity endorsements to make it any more interesting. This is a fabulous property which has obviously been looked after and cherished by the present family.

The house itself is enormous, I reckon it must arguably be the largest property on the Marine Estate? It is also a handsome brute being very imposing and occupying a prominent corner position on a larger then average plot. The rooms are all huge and the layout really works.

It is obviously dated and whoever buys the property is going to need deep pockets to update it and bring it up to modern standards but what a house they will end up with. Also, although dated it has loads of fabulous original features which (hopefully) someone will retain. Things like Oak panelling, stained glass windows, loads of fireplaces even down to the light switches and door furniture.

The downstairs has a huge grand reception hall, the sort of room that you can imagine a large Christmas tree with loads of presents under or a large circular table full of drinks for big parties. There is a formal dining room which could easily fit a 12 seater dining table for big family gatherings plus a 21’ lounge which has a stunning fireplace and currently has ample furniture as well as enough room for a grand piano. There is also another good size sitting room which would be ideal for a kids play room or T.V lounge. On this floor you will also find another reception room/morning room which I would expect someone to knock through into the existing kitchen which is a bit small for a house of this size and would be where I expect the new owners to spend the most amount of money.

I wouldn’t normally make reference to the ground floor loo but this one is a bit special. It has 3 oval shaped stained glass windows, original green Travertine style tiles plus a green Art Deco style wash hand basin and high level toilet. If I see it all in a skip after the new owners have moved in I will definitely nab it all.

The first floor has a massive landing with 5 huge bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. The master bedroom is enormous and is on the corner of the property with amazing views. You can see for miles over Two Tree Island, the Thames and Hadleigh Castle.

One of the rooms is currently used as yet another lounge and has the original french doors on to the main balcony. Believe it or not this balcony is approx. 45’! It would make an amazing place for a few sundowners or to read the paper on a sunny Sunday morning and again has fabulous 180 degree views stretching from Southend Pier to Hadleigh Castle; on a clear day you can even see as far as Canary Wharf and The Shard.

The top floor we think originally would have been the servants quarters but most recently has been used as the billiard room with yet another enormous room that would easily accommodate a full size snooker table. I can imagine this room as a lads room with a massive telly on the wall, pool table, juke box and all of the usual toys. Yeah right, who am I kidding this would end up as a toy room or guest room for the in-laws. I can dream can’t I?

The rear garden is of a very good size with the plot being approx. 80’ wide. The gardener that the family employ has been working at the property for over 40 years and obviously takes great pride in what he does. The lawn is immaculate with sculpted box hedging and conifers as well as loads of mature trees and shrubs.

As I said this would make an amazing family home but will only appeal to someone who is prepared to roll their sleeves up and get stuck in with some serious renovation works. The other possibility, that even the current owner has suggested, is that a developer buys it.

A plot like this, in this area is easily big enough for at least 2 maybe 3 big modern houses like the ones the other end of Marine Parade and even (whisper it) a block of flats. Lets hope this isn’t the case but it is now on the market for all comers at a ‘guide price’ of £1,400,000 so we will see what happens?

For more details on this property please click here 

This article is by Rob at Scott & Stapleton
Tel: 01702 471155
To read all of Rob's previous blogs please click here