I think I'm safe in saying that the word 'rubberised' is an unusual one to find in Country Life.
In fact, a quick search reveals just four uses in the archives: one in this wonderful article on military watches; one in a piece on shooting jackets; one in Nicholas Foulkes' favourite shops in Britain; and finally a mention in Martin Fone's 'Curious Questions' entry on the invention of the pneumatic tyre.
Today, all that changes as the word 'rubberised' appears four times in this article alone, in reference to the rubberised basketball court at 2 Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge, a sprawling, charming and delightful country house on the south side of the city, just a brief stroll from both the mainline railway station and the Botanic Gardens, which is up for sale at £5.75 million.
If that sounds like a lot, well, it is; the days of University professors living in fine houses in the city are long gone, sadly, unless the professor in question has managed to pen a bestseller or get his or her name onto a lucrative patent.
The tech revolution in this part of the world means that the very best houses in Cambridge attract serious premiums from those who've hit it big; and once you step through the front door, it's not hard to see that this really is about as fine a house as you'll find in the city.
It's a spacious, airy, seven-bedroom house with high ceilings, huge bay windows and bi-folding doors opening from the kitchen/dining room onto a vast garden ringed by mature trees.
The garden is both long and wide, and includes a huge terrace area, wonderful lawns, soft fruit cages, specimen trees and — as previously mentioned — a rubberised basketball court.
It's not only outside that has space for fun: inside, the games room is big enough to swallow up a full-sized tennis table, table football, and what appears to be some sort of driving simulator, with pedals and a steering wheel.
The whole thing seems wonderfully liveable; no wonder the agent calls this property 'one of the most attractive I have had the pleasure to sell.'
For sale via Savills at £5.75m — see more details and pictures.
Credit: Strutt and Parker
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