1 Bedroom Flat, Harold Road, London, SE19

A beautifully presented and generously proportioned Victorian conversion flat on the ground floor of a stunning period building. Offering exceptional internal space (734ft2), direct garden access, off-street parking, and a share of freehold.

This is a prime one-bedroom flat that ticks so many boxes! It has character and charm in abundance, a square footage in excess of many local two-bedroom flats, and of course, there’s the direct garden access and the share of freehold, which allows so many buyers the comfort of knowing their building’s fate is in their hands.

When you think of archetypal Victorian ground-floor flats, ceilings like the ones here come to mind. These impressive ceilings create excellent volume throughout, creating a sense of grandeur and space, and make for a fantastic investment when buying flats like this.

The heart of the home is the spectacular reception room – it’s a sizeable space, perfect for both entertaining and family life. The room effortlessly accommodates distinct dining and lounge areas, and the semi-open plan kitchen layout works beautifully for those who enjoy cooking while socialising. It also gives access, via large French doors, to the communal garden, so in warmer weather you can have good ventilation and create that sense of flow between the living and outside space.

The well-appointed kitchen offers generous worktop space and great storage. Its horseshoe configuration really does make the most of the space, but if you crave a larger kitchen, you could easily install one in the living space and repurpose the current kitchen area. Having the kitchen in the rear of the living space would make sense as it would be near those stunning huge windows, which lead out to the communal garden. The washing machine is tucked out of the way in a cupboard in the hall, think of it as a utility room of sorts!

At the front of the flat is a generous bedroom, which maintains the same wonderful ceiling height found throughout the flat, creating a mightily impressive room. There is a mix of characterful features and modern conveniences here, such as the attractive three-tier cornicing and the modern wooden sash windows, which allow excellent natural light in due to their sheer size and also their southeast-facing aspect! Notably, there are also beautiful stripped wooden floors, which have that period aesthetic but are so easy to maintain and keep clean.

The contemporary bathroom is both stylish and practical, featuring a large walk-in corner shower with a rain shower overhead, built-in jets on the wall, and a separate wand head, which is extremely useful. The sanitaryware is modern, but in that Victorian style that complements the flat's overall aesthetic and the tiled walls and floor work very well together, too.

A particular highlight of the flat is the direct access to the communal garden – it’s a sizeable space that captures beautiful late afternoon and evening sun, due to its western aspect; ideal for outdoor dining and BBQs. Whilst it is a communal garden, no other flat has direct access to it (they have to come around from the front of the building) it is rarely used by other residents, and the flat also has a patio directly off it, which feels private.  

Off-street parking is available on the shared driveway, with more spaces than residents who have cars, and there is also unrestricted road parking nearby for additional vehicles.

Harold Road is one of those Crystal Palace streets that gets everything right. You’re close enough to walk to the triangle for dinner or drinks, but far enough back to feel properly residential. Gipsy Hill station’s a 0.9 mi walk for direct trains to London Bridge and Victoria, so commuting actually works without taking over your life. Crystal Palace Station offers similar links with the addition of the Overground (Windrush line) and is only a mile away.

There’s real community here – at the top of Bedwardine Road (which comes off Harold Rd) there is a farmers market on Saturdays, and on the Triangle you’ll find proper independent cafes and restaurants that range from somewhere for a quick lunch to somewhere you’d take your parents when they visit. Crystal Palace Park is very close, with 200 acres including those famous dinosaur sculptures, proper sports facilities, and enough green space to forget you’re in London for a while. The recent announcement of the redevelopment of Crystal Palace Sports Centre is a massive win for locals; modernising a once-Olympic-used facility will add more value and desirability to the area (as if it needs it!).

Shopping-wise, you’ve got everything covered between Church Road and Westow Hill – there are almost no chains, and most shops are independent, keeping that village-in-London feel that draws people here. The area keeps evolving, but never loses its character.

This flat offers something that’s becoming increasingly rare – proper space, genuine character, and outdoor access at ground level, all in a location that strikes a balance between convenience and community. For anyone looking to get on the ladder with room to grow and add value over time, it’s exactly the kind of opportunity that makes you move fast in Crystal Palace’s current market.