How to leave your home to a charity

From making the most of the health benefits of the sea to playing host to a doctor's practice, Laura Cartledge finds a Hove home which is good for you.

When you hear the words ‘the doctor will see you now’ chances are you wouldn’t expect to be taken through to room which looks like those found at 11 Grand Avenue, Hove.

However time spent as part of a GP’s practice is just one chapter among the rich history of this stunning listed property.

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“Very little has changed since then and there are still signs of his legacy in what was obviously one of his practice’s consulting rooms,” admits Chris Sawyer director of Sawyer & Co and the 2016 President of the Brighton and Hove Estate Agents Association (BHEAA).

“We are really thrilled to bring a house like this to the market,” he adds. “Complete period houses like this are very thin on the ground and present a very rare opportunity.”

Couple this with its past, which also includes being the first premises for The Hove Club in 1882, this breath-taking building is surely one of a kind.

And while Chris’s professional capacity sees him highlight the property’s potential - from self-contained apartments or bed and breakfast to a ‘much needed nursery’ or complete family mansion - he reveals a personal connection too thanks to it sharing the eviable position at the top of one of Hove’s most prestigious roads with his office.

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“The late vendor was our neighbour of course and we used to bump into each other in the street all the time,” he recalls. “She lived in the huge ground floor flat with its magnificent sea views and beautiful period features, and let the other seven flats out to tenants. She was an amazing lady who managed everything herself.”

The former owner, Mrs Hartsilver, lived to be 104 and bequeathed the property she’d called home for ‘donkey’s years’ to four charities in her will Chris reveals.

Described as being in ‘the Surrey vernacular style’, the red brick, Grade II property was designed by architect A F Faulkner and built by the renowned builder William Willett.

It was Willett who donated space inside it, in 1891, to the Hove Commissioners to set up a free public reading room and reference library, thereby becoming the first site of what we know today as Hove Library.

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With its grand proportions and distinguished facade still boasting features such as gabled bay windows, the original arched entrance and regally tall chimney stacks, by no stretch of the imagination can you be trasported back to those days.

If you aren’t distracted by the sea views, you might spot the intricate architraves on the tall ceilings, ornate Wedgewood-style mouldings in the wide hallways, original parquet flooring and even antique Simplex bathroom fittings.

“Now in need of some TLC, the grandeur, proportions and period features continue to make a fantastic first impression,” Chris agrees. “This beautiful period property has got a whole host of possibilities and a vast amount of versatility.”

Whatever the next owner’s plans, Chris states ‘it will be very interesting to see what happens next’.

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“One thing is for sure, it has already excited very considerable interest,” he concludes.

Sign of the times

In 1872, to satisfy the Victorians love of bathing in seawater, some of the properties on Grand Avenue were the first in the world to have three taps installed hot, cold and seawater.

Today, located at the northern end of Grand Avenue this magnificent mansion is still in the heart of the action in Hove and the bustling café culture of Church Road.

The beach, Hove Lawns and seafront are only moments away at the end of the road. When it comes to shops, bars and restaurants there’s no shortage of choice as the amenities of Western Road and Brighton City centre are also all close at hand.

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While Hove mainline station, approximately just over half a mile away, offers convenient links to further afield.

Leaving a gift to charity

Leaving a gift to a charity in your will is a fantastic way to support their work. There are three main types of legacy that donors can choose to leave but when it comes to property a residuary gift sees the proceeds from the sale, after debts and expenses such as funeral costs and tax have been deducted being donated to one or more specified charities.

In order to avoid any confusion, it is advised that you ask your solicitor to include the charity’s full name, address and registration number when drawing up your will.

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