Family-friendly luxury: new townhouses with Kent views in Crystal Palace, where Impressionist in London Camille Pissarro stayed and painted
Sydenham Hill rises steeply from leafy and prosperous Dulwich before coming to halt on the high ground of Crystal Palace.
The famous glasshouse that was erected here after the Great Exhibition of 1851, spectacularly destroyed by fire in 1936, prompted eminent Victorians to settle in the area or to build smog-free weekend homes.
Ernest Shackleton was brought up in a local vicarage and French Impressionist Camille Pissarro painted the church.
Mansions and villas were built on lofty plots with commanding views of the city.
Even today there are few better vantage points of the capital and the lovely Kentish weald.
Wells Park Place, a smart new development by Crest Nicholson of 46 homes set around central gardens, slots nicely into the neighbourhood and makes the most of its elevated location.
Four-bedroom townhouses with tasteful contemporary interior design and a family-friendly floorplan offer good-value space close to highly-regarded schools and villagey hubs.
Some homes extend to 2,000 sq ft and have a free-flowing ground floor area opening on to a garden, plus there are upper floor terraces that peep above the treetops with views stretching to Kent.
Prices from £1.45 million. Two-bedroom apartments start at £535,000. Call Crest Nicholson on 020 3437 0472.
