Wilson Road

This enchanting two-bedroom apartment occupies the raised ground floor of a handsome end-of-terrace Victorian townhouse on Wilson Road in Camberwell. A sensitive reimagining by the current owners has ensured that the apartment’s elegant period features, including refurbished sash windows and their surrounding panelling, are brought to the fore. The quietude of the leafy road belies its proximity to the eclectic wonders of Camberwell Church Street, with its celebrated eateries, boutiques and evening haunts.

Setting the Scene

Camberwell was once was a larger parish encompassing the villages of Dulwich, Nunhead and Peckham. Referenced in the Doomsday Book of 1086 as ‘Camberwelle’, the area was, for centuries, rural and bucolic. Visitors from the overcrowded and smog-filled cities made the journey to the area for its clean air and for the ‘healing’ waters of the Camberwell springs.

The elegant Victorian architecture that has come to define the area – particularly along its main artery, Camberwell Church Street – can be attributed to this 19th century health tourism. As the wealthy bought up space for their retreats from the inner city, the neighbourhood’s municipal and ecclesiastical structures begin to multiply. The building that this apartment lies within was constructed around this time – a fact that its archetypal stock brick and stucco frontage testifies to.