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The house in Downshire Hill |
Warning of threat to house where recluse was killed
THE crumbling Regency home where Hampstead pensioner Alan Chappelow was killed needs urgent attention to stop it falling down, according to English Heritage.
The house in Downshire Hill was recently bought by a neighbour, but the conservation body has included it on its at-risk register for 2007. Without vital repairs, the villa – in a street where homes cost well over £3 million – could be beyond saving.
The Grade II-listed home is at “immediate risk of further rapid deterioration or loss of fabric, and no solution has been agreed”, says English Heritage.
It was damaged by fire as police forensic teams scoured the cream-coloured, bow fronted villa for clues after Mr Chappelow’s body was found in May last year.
Historic building expert Mike Dunn, who helps compile the at-risk list, said: “The house has deteriorated badly in the past year. As well as fire damage, the house is riddled with dry rot and the roof is in a bad way.”
Mr Chappelow, 86, was a biographer who wrote two books on playwright George Bernard Shaw.
The home, known as Manor Cottage, was originally owned by his father, an antiques dealer. Mr Chappelow, who lived in the house all his life, allowed the front garden to become overgrown and was rarely seen by neighbours. Despite frequent attempts by English Heritage to discuss the home’s condition, Mr Chappelow refused help.
Wang Yam, 41, a Chinese national who formerly lived in Denning Road, West Hampstead, appeared before Highbury magistrates in November last year charged with Mr Chappelow’s murder. |
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