A charming chocolate box cottage for sale in an idyllic setting — and it's well within the M25

(Image credit: Ray Dowling/ Hamptons)

published 29 March 2022

Totteridge Common — which sits in the space where the capital begins to turn green, just north of Finchley — is a rare spot: a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation within the M25. Historically in Hertfordshire, this is now in the northern realms of the capital, and once a part of the former manor of Totteridge.

Just around the corner on Totteridge Lane is a little idyll in the form of a one-acre garden of mature shrubs, roses and trees overlooking farmland and greenbelt, attached to five-bedroom Willow House.

Although Grade II listed and dating back to the 16th century, various additions were made from the 18th to the 20th century and planning permission has previously been granted for an extension to the rear, opening the house further into the garden.

Currently on the market via Hamptons with a guide price of £1.95 million, Willow House offers a wonderful opportunity to transform the already charming interiors — with its large sash windows, open fireplaces and wooden beams — into a truly magnificent home.

The current configuration allows for three reception rooms, a kitchen and utility on the ground floor; whilst four bedrooms (which could probably do with a bit of rejigging) and a large terrace are set out on the first floor and a loft space/potential fifth bedroom can be found on the second floor.

Willow House is currently on the market via Hamptons with a guide price of £1.95 million — see more pictures, or enquire with the agent for further details.

Totteridge: What you need to know

Location: North London, approximately 11 miles from Central London. Totteridge & Whetstone Underground station runs a Northern Line service into the centre, King's Cross and London Waterloo.

Atmosphere: Totteridge is known for its prestigious properties and greenbelt countryside and is a popular neighbourhood for commuters.

Things to do: Make the most of the green spaces by visiting the Totteridge Fields Nature Reserve, Darlands Lake Nature Reserve, or visit the numerous independent cafes and shops in the area.

Schools: The Totteridge Academy, St Andrew's C of E School and Manor Hill Greek School are all within the area, with future independent options closer to central London.

See more property for sale in the area.

Credit: Strutt and Parker

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Annunciata grew up in the wilds of Lancashire and now lives in Hampshire with a husband, two daughters and an awful pug called Parsley. She’s been floating round the Country Life office for more than a decade, her work winning the Property Magazine of the Year Award in 2022 (Property Press Awards). Before that, she had a two-year stint writing ‘all kinds of fiction’ for The Sunday Times Travel Magazine, worked in internal comms for Country Life’s publisher (which has had many names in recent years but was then called IPC Media), and spent another year researching for a historical biographer, whose then primary focus was Graham Greene and John Henry Newman and whose filing system was a collection of wardrobes and chests of drawers filled with torn scraps of paper. During this time, she regularly gave tours of 17th-century Milton Manor, Oxfordshire, which may or may not have been designed by Inigo Jones, and co-founded a literary, art and music festival, at which Johnny Flynn headlined. When not writing and editing for Country Life, Annunciata is also a director of TIN MAN ART, a contemporary art gallery founded in 2021 by her husband, James Elwes.

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Totteridge: What you need to know

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