Stately Regent’s Park Home Where Charles Dickens Once Spent the London Social Season Wants £22.5M

Anne Giordano,

Anyone who watches British period dramas like Bridgerton, Sanditon, or Downton Abbey knows about the London season. Historically a time of grand balls, promenading, and courting amongst high society, ‘The Season’ encompassed the pleasant months of spring and summer and many notable families would flock to London to partake. Charles Dickens and his brood were no exception. The Victorian-age novelist and social critic spent the summer of 1861 at this London manor now listed for £22.5 million.

As a social critic of the era who penned works like Oliver Twist, it may be tough to imagine Dickens renting such a swanky spot. However, he was a celebrity literary giant even in his time and had 10 children, so a summer of social engagements in the big city seems right on par for the family.

Known as Hanover Terrace, the Grade I home was built between 1823-24 and would be an impressive place to receive guests in the 19th century or today. It is part of the sought-after ‘Nash Terraces,’ a series of stuccoed Regent’s Park properties designed by John Nash, the famous architect who transformed Buckingham House into Buckingham Palace.

Stately London Home Where Charles Dickens Once Spent The Summer Social Season Wants 22 5m Hanover Terrace St Johns Wood Knight Frank 22500000 3

Photograph courtesy of Knight Frank

Spread across five floors and including a mews house, the 6,103-square-foot restored Georgian offers an abundant seven bedrooms, open-plan dining and sitting rooms, and a breathtaking garden room soaked in sun thanks to a unique glass roof. For formal hosting, a reception room occupies most of the first floor. It opens onto a balcony, where one could gaze out at the park’s happenings. Imagine the gossip Lady Whistledown would gather here.

Back inside, a study can be found at the opposite end of this floor. With one of Dickens’s most celebrated novels, Great Expectations, published in August 1861, it could very well have been a place he pondered and penned.

The exact details of Dickens’ activities during his stay are unknown, but with the home’s location next to the Regent’s Park boating lake, the author may have enjoyed time on the water or strolls about the lawns. To spend season after season here, contact Knight Frank about the listing.