Spooky house on Venner Road

[Margareta]

Hi
I am new to the site but have an interest in Sydenham as my grandparents lived in Venner Road from 1934 till the early 60's, they lived at no 60 i would love to go and look at the house one day, i read with great interest on this thread

Margaret

[Thomas]

I saw this ad in a local letting agents window - seems like it has been refurbished lately:
http://martinco.com/property/lettings/f ... by=0&beds=

[sean]

the house is now split into two, a one bedroom apartment in the top front section and the rest is one house.

although is it me or are the steps spoiling the whole building, they are too small for the entrance.

[Big Ben]

It looks to have been beautifully restored, but it is a pity that the frontage is not a bit 'greener' - to echo the thread on the loss of front gardens elsewhere!

[sean]

I've just past the house (midnight) and there was someone standing in the upstairs left window.

[kennyb2]

Was he holding a knife and talking to an old woman in a chair by any chance?

[sean]

She was standing there holding a brush and delivery men were taking boxes in through the door. A strange time to move in though.

[kennyb2]

were these boxes about 6 feet long by 18inches high?

did they look a bit sinister? lots of bats about?

definately time to avoid Venner road after dark then.

Mind you when I lived at the penge east end, it was wise to avoid most of Venner road at any time

[sean]

I've just met the caretaker of the house and on Friday night around midnight the windows downstairs were smashed by two children. Apparently this is the second time it's happened this week. Please keep an eye open. And yes, there is someone living it the house.

[ElyBUK1]

Hi, All.
#88 is no longer spooky. It's spectacular.
I've watched its evolution over the past two years and can confirm that it is back in its grand Regency form.
I hope the owners do not mind but I am posting two pictures from today.
With great compliments,
Eleanor (#55)

[Newboy]

Hello Eleanor,

Thank you for saying such kind things about the gradual transformation of No. 88.
We have been here for just over two years now and indeed the house is a 'labour of love' for us. We moved to Sydenham from another part of London solely to take on this project and are truly enjoying living in this area.

The house really has provided us with a voyage of discovery and further to the messages above we were lucky enough to meet two of the great- granddaughters of George and Frances Scoles who built the house in around 1890. Both now in their sixties (I know they won't mind me saying) and living in California they had never actually met each other - but have since their visits here and spending the day with us.

Amazingly one of them was able to share pictures of the Scoles family when they were here which we have proudly displayed and the house has changed very little since that time.

What was previously a Victorian kitchen in the cellar is no more (the work to hold up the house put paid to that!) However, the 'servants quarters' on the top floor remain very much as they would have been in their day. Some of the Victorian wallpaper still remains and we gave both Scoles family descendants a little fragment to take home as a momento.

The house is spectacular and we enjoy it every day. So much of what was originally here is still intact.

If you would like to come and take a look inside next time you are jogging past, it would be a pleasure to show you around the house - which we feel sometimes like we have only borrowed for a time. Just give us a knock!

[Pally]

Just walked along Venner Road - house looks great!

[coldand]

When I was a child and lived in Tredown road the house lay derelict and abandoned for many years and I too have always held a fascination for the house. It's only in recent years that the house has been somewhat restored . From neighbours I found out that that the house in recent years was often used for film shoots and I did find a site advertising it services as a location . Whilst researching something else about Sydenham I found a site
regarding a young woman who had been left the house by her fiancé who had been killed in First World War.