Surrey Homes | SH63 | January 2020 | Travel & Wellbeing supplement inside

Below: The sitting room features a whole wall of bookshelves
and original double doors leading out to the garden
In the heart of one of Britain’s most classic towns
a great change is afoot. In a Tunbridge Wells street
so central you could easily stroll to it from the
railway station, the Assembly Hall Theatre and Fenwick
blindfolded, in your highest heels, there are very grand
villas being reconverted from offices back into gracious
family homes.
When you walk through the immaculate front
door and vestibule of this one, into the large hall
with its original Victorian tessellated tile floor,
three large doorways opening onto vistas of elegant
rooms, light pouring in from all directions, you
can almost feel the house taking pride in itself.
It’s like stepping into the ‘after’ reveal in a makeover
show. Gasp! And it becomes even more impressive
when you hear about the state the place was in after
decades of office use.
“We lifted three layers of carpet tiles in the hall, to
find the original Victorian tiles were still here,” says
owner Alex Jørgensen. That was just one thing they had
to see to. There were also the false ceilings, fire doors,
fluorescent strips and office cubicles to sort out.
Putting it all right was quite an undertaking. “We
33 surrey-homes.co.uk