Jan McNulty Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 I picked up from FB yesterday that Margo Fonteyn's old home on Talgarth Rd is up for sale. I must start buying a lottery ticket! http://www.theguardian.com/money/gallery/2015/aug/28/for-sale-margot-fonteyns-arts-and-crafts-live-in-studio http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/property/london/talgarth-road-w14/?include_retirement_homes=true&include_shared_ownership=true&new_homes=include&q=talgarth%20road%20W14&results_sort=newest_listings&search_source=home 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mallinson Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 By odd coincidence drove by there yesterday and saw the notice and was wondering…! However Talgarth Road must be one of the least desirable streets in London because of its continuous heavy traffic out to and in from Heathrow and parts west. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted August 30, 2015 Author Share Posted August 30, 2015 I suspect that is why it is so reasonably priced. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangorballetboy Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 By odd coincidence drove by there yesterday and saw the notice and was wondering…! However Talgarth Road must be one of the least desirable streets in London because of its continuous heavy traffic out to and in from Heathrow and parts west. But the houses are so lovely! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 The Zoopla link reveals that an offer of £1.4m has been made for this house. This is pretty incredible given the (external) condition of the property which can be seen from Barons Court Station. Yes - it has Talgarth Road in front of it and the District and Piccadilly Lines (and all those wonderful station announcements!) to the rear. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiz Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 Some people have more money than sense, Capybara. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primaballerina1 Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 Wow very reasonably priced for the property- though nothing I could afford!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mallinson Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 But the houses are so lovely! Agree, we've always lusted (perhaps too strong a word!) after one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terpsichore Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 (edited) I used to go to school on the other side of the Talgarth Road during the 1960s and our playing fields known as "Bigside" abutted the A4. Dame Margot's house was one of several artists' studios with massive windows called St Paul's Studios almost certainly after the school (see Hidden London, Barons Court and Studios with an artistic past 15 Jan 2010 Country Life). Those windows presented a very tempting target for batsmen on Bigside though nobody managed to hit a ball over the boundary, a fairly high wall and a 6 lane dual carriageway while I was there. Legend has it that a boy once accomplished that feat in a match against Eton for which he was simultaneously punished with a beating and rewarded with a half holiday. For many years the Studios housed the Royal Ballet Upper School and I believe they still accommodate LAMDA (London Academy for Music and Dramatic Art). We did not see much of the ballet students but I seem to remember that one came from Richmond and very occasionally took our tube. That was before I admitted to an interest in ballet and I can't remember her name and have no idea happened to her. My school moved to Barnes the term I went up to St Andrews and of course the Upper School is now in Floral Street. It would be nice if some philanthropist or foundation could purchase Dame Margot's house and dedicate it to the public for a dance museum or something similar. The London Jewish Cultural Centre bought Ivy House (Anna Pavlova's old home) and used it for talks on dance and music. I remember the thrill last year of sitting in what may have been the great ballerina's sitting room and watching James Hay re-create a fragment of Le Baiser de la Fee under the supervision of Donald MacLeary and with the help of the choreologist Diana Curry. Edited August 30, 2015 by terpsichore 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 No matter how nice the house nothing would induce me to live on Talgarth Road even if I had the money!! So many other much better places in London!! I love the idea of it being bought and turned into some sort of Musem connected to ballet or dance as Terpsichore has suggested. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 Is it actually her house, or was it just somewhere she used to practise? I spotted it in the property section this weekend, and recognised it instantly, because those windows are so recognisable. I remember going in it, or one of the similar properties, during Open House Weekend perhaps a decade ago, and thinking what an inspiring studio it must have been, for both dance and art. Again, I fear the "blurb" I picked up is in storage, so I can't check. Edit: now I've looked at the photos, I can see it's definitely not the studio I went into - that had lower windows, and rather more natural light on the Talgarth Rd side, IIRC. I suspect it may have been two buildings knocked into one. Either way, it's still a stunning property, although in this day and age it might perhaps be better suited for running something like a dance school rather than living in, given what people have said about conditions front and back, and the restrictions of being Grade II listed. In any case, I hope whoever buys it is able to renovate it sympathetically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 Actually, what shocks me even more is the 5-bed flat going for £575K What on earth can be wrong with it? It's actually pretty small, and the lease is getting low, but even so ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxi4ballet Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 Funnily enough we were sitting around the house today discussing what we would do with all the money when (!!!) we win the lottery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 Edit: now I've looked at the photos, I can see it's definitely not the studio I went into - that had lower windows, and rather more natural light on the Talgarth Rd side, IIRC. I suspect it may have been two buildings knocked into one. Either way, it's still a stunning property, although in this day and age it might perhaps be better suited for running something like a dance school rather than living in, given what people have said about conditions front and back, and the restrictions of being Grade II listed. In any case, I hope whoever buys it is able to renovate it sympathetically. The property you visited, Alison, is Colet House, the HQ of the Study Society (which can be seen clothed in scaffolding next door to the house for sale). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 Ah, thank you, capybara You're right. I remember the name now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa O`Brien Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 Funnily enough we were sitting around the house today discussing what we would do with all the money when (!!!) we win the lottery. My former landlords won about £150,000 on the Lottery years ago. They rented out their terraced house they were living in to me,and bought somewhere more fancy. They used to turn up every single week to collect the rent in person. Would not let me pay them by direct debit or any other bank transfer method. When they arrived for their money they would insist on "inspecting the house" [their words],by looking around every room including upstairs to check nowhere was untidy.I only stayed there for 8 years because it was with walking distance to Sean`s primary school. He was a builder and she was a school dinner lady. But the airs and graces on the pair of them was something else. They spoke down to me like I don`t know what. Forever promised to give me a contract or a tenancy agreement but never got one. I could only give them a week`s notice when I was moving out . I had to find somewhere new to live in a completely different area as the Catholic High School Sean wanted to go to was in a different catchment area. Nevertheless,they came round as I was giving them their keys back. They opened every cupboard door,and looked in every nook and cranny. Told me this was wrong and that was wrong.Most of it was just wear and tear. Nothing major. They never gave me my £400 deposit back, surprise surprise. I was speaking to a friend of theirs about a year ago. He was telling me what a great couple they were. I told him he is lucky he never had the misfortune to have a to rent a house off them. If he had,i`m sure he would have seen a very different side to them. She is back now living in my former house,and he is in the fancy one. Their marriage ended for good about two years ago. My heart aches for them.Not. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahw Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 Which goes to prove money doesn't necessarily make you happy - not that I'd turn it down! ! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 There are much stricter rules now about tenancy agreements and deposits etc and information much more readily available so everyone should know where they are so don't think this could happen today fortunately but very annoying. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa O`Brien Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Well the exact same thing happened to me again with my new landlord. Didn`t give me a tenancy agreement. I needed to be in this area ,and houses to let in this village are as rare as gold dust. So I didn`t have a choice.This house I am in now, my previous landlord,whose mother lives next door to me,he never paid the mortgage. Pocketed the rent money for himself. In January 2013 I received a letter from an Estate Agents telling me I had a week to vacate the property as the house was being repossessed. It frightened me to death. I had a teenage son,no partner,and no family whatsoever here. Luckily the house was bought by someone who was happy to keep me on as a tenant. But because the house was repossessed,guess who lost their deposit once more? Although it wasn`t too bad this time around. My cheating,lying ex boyfriend had paid the deposit for me to my new landlord,and I never got round to paying him back before I dumped him. Oops.!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa O`Brien Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 BTW,via the Estate Agents,I was finally given a tenancy agreement.! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 I thought it was a legal requirement now. Better not to do it privately I think and do through a reputable estate agent etc. I only know this because we rent out my dads old flat .....spent a fortune getting it completely up to date and had wonderful tenants for eight years. They left in March and we have been trying to find a suitable new tenant. But the law has definitely changed since we rent out originally and deposits etc have to be kept in special accounts and cannot be touched by the Landlord until the tenant leaves. We think we have drawn up a very good contract which serves both tenant and landlord to protect both so any possible future disputes( we never had any with previous tenants) are catered for in the contract. We were trying to do it ourselves but have now put with an agent and looks like we might have a possible new tenant for October!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terpsichore Posted September 5, 2015 Share Posted September 5, 2015 I thought it was a legal requirement now. Better not to do it privately I think and do through a reputable estate agent etc. ................... It may be different in Northern Ireland. They have their own legislature and courts system which looks like ours but is in many ways just as different as Scotland's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa O`Brien Posted September 5, 2015 Share Posted September 5, 2015 It may be different in Northern Ireland. They have their own legislature and courts system which looks like ours but is in many ways just as different as Scotland's. The vast majority of houses to rent are advertised in the local weekly paper. You just phone up the owner directly. Obviously there are estate agents who also let properties but they often charge more,E.G. they want a month`s rent AND a month`s deposit in advance. A private landlord will often be happy with just the month`s rent in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted September 5, 2015 Share Posted September 5, 2015 But unless you have a proper contract you can be very vulnerable in a private situation! We started off privately but still had a proper contract by joining the RLA and following Goverment guidelines. We were asking for a deposit of 1 and a 1/2 months rent which is then put into one of about three approved schemes. Unless there are VERY good reasons( eg not paying the rent or substantial damage NOT caused by general wear and tear) the tenant should get this back without any problem at the end of the tenancy. Because we don't live in the area where my dads property is( still see it as his rather than mine) we decided in the end to go with a local agent there who will just find us tenants ......we still will manage it etc. The standard deposit now seems to be 1 and a 1/2 months rent and this is what this agent would also charge for most of the properties on her books. Personally I'm glad it's been tightened up here in England then as everything is much more transparent for all concerned. I realise this is way off topic for Margots House so perhaps these rent discussions can be moved if it is felt appropriate!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fonty Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 I drive past those houses occasionally, and a couple of years ago I was horrified to see that there appeared to be some sort of horrid replacement window going in to one of the houses. I haven't been along there since, so perhaps someone else can tell me if this was just a temporary piece of work. I can't believe they would be allowed to replace them, the windows are what make the buildings so special. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 I drive past those houses occasionally, and a couple of years ago I was horrified to see that there appeared to be some sort of horrid replacement window going in to one of the houses. I haven't been along there since, so perhaps someone else can tell me if this was just a temporary piece of work. I can't believe they would be allowed to replace them, the windows are what make the buildings so special. All's well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fonty Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 Thanks, Capybara. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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