We’re galloping through the summer; the school holidays are almost upon us, yet hardly anyone I meet is regaling me with tales of where they’re off to for their well-earned break.
Apparently, 17m Brits haven’t got a holiday planned, so it’s not surprising many of us are a bit vague.
Most are considering a staycation, but are prepared to set off on a last-minute sunshine getaway if we have one of those glowering English summers where menacing grey clouds become a permanent fixture.
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Gosh, even writing about them gives me the shivers. I hope the mere act of typing doesn’t conjure up the steely skies. It’s been such a fantastically sunny spring and early summer — Easter and last weekend were so particularly tropical, we must soon be due for the English monsoon, that time in “summer” when it just rains and rains and rains.
A couple of years ago, we went to Alnmouth, Northumberland, in August. It was fantastically beautiful: mighty sandy beaches with superbly jumpable sand dunes; ruined castles perched on windswept promontories where “nothing, save the waves and I, may hear our mutual murmurs sweep” (as Byron put it).
Even the food wasn’t too ghastly: Howick Hall had great home-made quiche, local smoked salmon and top cream teas. We went back there rather a lot.
The rub? Aye, that’ll be the weather. On one particularly sopping day, my six-year-old turned to me. “Mum,” she said balefully. “Is this our summer holiday?” She had a point: the closest I've ever got to hypothermia was swimming off Lindisfarne without a wetsuit.
The wet and watery theme is central to this week’s property, even though it seems a million miles away — a splendiferous flat in the New River Head building, in Clerkenwell, London, with a huge 36ft by 25ft reception room.
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Built between 1915 and 1920 as the headquarters of the Metropolitan Water Board, this imposing Grade II-listed building has an atrium to die for, the size of half a football pitch, all stunning parquet. The junior residents of the flat make full use of it: on the day I visited, five or six small Far Eastern children were whooping and hollering up and down its immense length, while the concierge, like a modern-day Mary Poppins, smiled benignly.
It’s funny how some of the capital’s swankiest residential developments have become popular with foreign families. When I visited a £13m penthouse on the Thames recently, the block’s pool was full of oligarchs’ kiddies having a swimming lesson. Apparently, the international rich are used to apartment culture and see no reason to give it up when they breed.
Anyway, back to the building. The New River in the name refers to a manmade channel, begun in 1602 to funnel water from Hertfordshire into London, easing the city’s water shortages. This “river” terminated in a reservoir near Amwell Street (named after the springs at Amwell, near Ware, in Hertfordshire, that fed it), adjacent to the block.
In 1902, London’s eight water companies merged to form the Metropolitan Water Board, which needed a grand headquarters, so they knocked down the 17th-century water house on the site — keeping the panelling and timbers of its historic Oak Room — and installed these ancient timbers into the boardroom of their new HQ. These days, residents of the building can still rent it on the 359 days of the year when it’s not used for meetings by Thames Water.
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Today’s flat is next to the boardroom (it was once for the chairman’s private use) and that mighty drawing room, replete with aqua-themed mouldings, a gilded ceiling and a parquet floor, has three huge windows that look out over the substantial communal gardens (full of kids, barbecues and sun loungers).
The owner — he is half Vietnamese and half French, and his wife is from the Philippines — designed the marble galley kitchen next to it, as well as the bathrooms (two upstairs with the bedrooms), with loving care, and the look and finish are extremely fine. The master bedroom measures 15ft 6in by 13ft 10in. It has plentiful walk-in cupboards and a sit-down shower in the ensuite, while the slightly smaller guest suite has an extra office.
Sandwiched in between is a third long but narrow bedroom, less than 9ft wide, occupied at present by the owner’s two young children, in a cot and lower bunk, and by their Filipina nanny, who has to sleep on the top bunk.
The family require more space for visiting relatives and are moving to a seven-bedroom house in Chelsea. With 2,519 sq ft of living space, it’s a fantastic pad, and would make a great base for a City whiz-kid or even a couple with young kids. I’ve never seen a flat with such proportions — you could take a holiday in it.
New River Head, London EC1, £2.6m leasehold
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What is it?
A three-bedroom flat in a Grade-II-listed building
Where is it?
Clerkenwell, a stroll from Islington and close to the City
Who is selling?
The Modern House; 0845 634 4068, themodernhouse.net
If you’d like Eleanor to look at a property you’re selling, email btb@sundaytimes.co.uk