An Arts & Crafts house on the edge of London with an interior to suit its literary past

An 18th-century French limestone water trough, York Stone flags and Palissade garden furniture by HAY make the terrace an inviting spot. Hydrangea, roses and wisteria frame the listed exterior, which features precast Victorian tiles by William H. Lascelles (1832–85).

Dean Hearne

The publisher Rebeka Russell has always been intrigued by the way houses and locations can ‘seep’ into a writer’s imagination. It is one of the reasons why she set up her independent imprint Manderley Press which specialises in hardback new editions of literary classics featuring distinctive settings: towns, landmarks or historic buildings.

Fittingly, Manderley Press, which she began in 2021, also operates from an historic location, Rebeka’s south London home. The yellow-brick, wisteria-laced villa she shares with her husband Mark and two daughters, was built in 1868 for the novelist William Hale White with interiors advice from William Morris, the designer and founder of the influential Kelmscott Press. Rebeka likes to picture Morris (whose mill was also nearby) ‘popping in for tea’ to discuss furnishings and fabrics.

The upstairs studio room was added to the original house around 1899; the panelling is original. The 1950s G-plan armchairs (inherited from Rebeka’s grandparents) are upholstered in mustard Wool Galloway from Tinsmith, a Quenby Chandelier and Sapperton wall lights from The English House. The bookshelves were designed by Ben Pentreath Studio.

Dean Hearne

Although Hale White is hardly read these days, Rebeka, a former editor at Thames & Hudson and the National Gallery, was drawn by the building’s literary and architectural associations. ‘I grew up in Whitby – the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula – surrounded by historic houses and architecture. Visiting an old house, touching its walls, that’s my conduit to the past,’ she says.

After moving here in 2013, she began to research the history of her home in letters and diaries. ‘I found out that Hale White wrote a letter to The Times complaining about the damp in his former home – and the shoddiness of contemporary building methods.’ It prompted a response from the writer and critic John Ruskin. He suggested that Hale White commission leading architect Philip Webb to build him a ‘comfortable modern’ house in the Arts and Crafts style.

A footstool and sideboard sourced online sit on plain rush mats over an oak floor.

Dean Hearne

A small dining table by Gordon Russell serves as a convenient desk, accessorised with a Bodleian Readers’ Chair and artwork of Sir John Soane’s House by artist Ed Kluz.

Dean Hearne

Rebeka discovered Webb’s architectural drawings for the house at the Victoria and Albert Museum. They depict the internal chimneys which he designed to conserve heat inside the building. This was new. Webb, who also designed William Morris’s Red House, in Bexleyheath, was ahead of his time. ‘It was the eco-house of its day.’ Hale White also became a member of SPAB – the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, established by Webb and Morris, which still operates today. ‘When I discovered that I felt I had a responsibility to change as little as possible.’