Found a short walk from the bustling harbourside at , this iconic granite-faced four-bedroom detached house has south-facing gardens with a pool and an intriguing history. April Cottage is a landmark house in for its notable architecture and the story behind this is particularly fascinating. The building was constructed in 1922 and has a date stone beside its elegant curving hardwood front door.
The house was designed by George Kennedy who is also known as the Bloomsbury Architect and was part of the Bloomsbury Group, an intellectual circle of mostly writers and artists including Virginia Woolf. Of her works, To the Lighthouse (1927) was written shortly after this house was constructed and April Cottage may well have been part of her influence as she spent her summers at the neighbouring Talland House. It is not too hard to imagine that with her connection via the architect to April Cottage and the time she spent in Cornwall, that she must have visited the house.
The novel itself is widely known to be about her experiences in St Ives with the lighthouse being Godrevy Lighthouse. April Cottage is a most intriguing take on the Arts and Crafts style of architecture with granite elevations under a slate roof including a semi-circular front door turret with matching roof line above and a curving granite staircase inside. The interior of the property has an appealing layout with design flare throughout.
Simple but beautiful forms such as the double-barrelled ceiling in the large lounge, numerous display areas perfect for art or sculpture, the simple but elegant polished stone fireplace in the sitting room and the expanses of geometrically cut Delabole slate flooring all combine to form a captivating interior. Window seats on the ground and first floors overlook the garden and the house is bathed with light as it faces south to the rear. Off the entrance hall, curving stairs descend to a lower-floor study or wine store and to the left is a wood floored sitting room or library with recessed display cabinets and a cut slate shelf over the fireplace.
The very large lounge forms a focal point in the middle of the house and has a door opening to the garden as well as the curving granite stairs to the first floor. Beyond this a short hall leads to the semi-open plan, beautifully refitted kitchen and the glazed breakfast room/utility beyond. After this double doors open into a vast dining conservatory with plentiful space for seating and from here there are captivating outlooks across the garden and between trees to St Ives Bay.
On the first floor is a split-level landing which broadens to form a gallery over the staircase and has further interest with an archway. To either end of the house are large double bedrooms, first the principal bedroom with a freestanding focal bath tub, with a further large en-suite double bedroom to the other end, and between them are two smaller double bedrooms with a refitted bathroom to the front. All of the bedrooms overlook the garden with an oblique view to the sea.
April Cottage enjoys about a quarter-of-an-acre of gardens with two large granite terraces across the face of the house with wondrous beds filled with arum lilies and a magnolia grandiflora trained across the rear of the house. The two good-sized lawns are divided by a further large terrace around a swimming pool. There’s also a detached garden office/studio Around the edge of the lawns are all manner of beautiful specimens that enjoy this mild, clean aired climate, sunny position and lack of abrasive winds.
There are delightful glimpses of the crystal blue waters of St Ives Bay edged by a ribbon of sand and this outlook changes throughout the garden with the inspiring Godrevy Lighthouse being visible from the top of the garden. With an asking price of offers around £1,450,000, contact Lillicrap Chilcott on 01872 273473 for more information..
