Martello Lodge is a fine detached family home ideally located for almost all every day conveniences; a one minute walk from the house and you’re on the golden sands of St. Brelade’s Bay, a couple more minutes and you could be dining in some of Jersey’s finest restaurants and al fresco eateries.
The now six bedroom house was formerly called Martello Cottage, before being significantly developed by the Earl and Countess of Midleton and renamed Martello Lodge. Over the years the house has been added to and in the 1970’s it took its now familiar guise of a mock Georgian style family home. Owners before the Midletons included the Second Baron Kenilworth who lived here in the 1960s.
The property has immense and significant history dating back to circa 1781 when the cottage was built to house the Jersey Militia soldiers on duty at the Martello Tower opposite, albeit it was only a two-room cottage at the time. The story goes: two soldiers would work in shifts on the top of the tower on lookout whilst the ‘cottage’ housed the remainder of the platoon/troop so that they were readily to hand if an alarm was raised. This part of the house is currently the useful study and the large dining room which has a double aspect over the front patio and would probably have been the original entrance to the house too. In both of these rooms you’ll see the deep set windows and thick walls are still part of the original features and have been kept to keep the house in character.
The front doors welcoming you into the property have recently been replaced with specially commissioned glass allowing light to flood into the large wooden floored hallway which acts as the perfect gateway to the downstairs rooms. To the left there is a large living room with beautiful high ceilings which overlook the tower and the front patio area, which can also be accessed by a door in this room, fantastic for summer days when you want an extended entertainment space.
There is also what would have been the butler’s pantry, which now provides access through to the double garage and allows for plenty of additional useful storage and the current owners have installed a refrigerator which they use to store drinks for when they’re entertaining guests, saving the trip across to the kitchen. There is also a large cloakroom downstairs.
When the current owners moved in to the property they spent considerable time and money developing areas of the property that had formerly been neglected. This includes the large chef’s delight kitchen which is truly the heart of this home and was once only a small kitchen used by the staff of the house. Alongside the large Wolf range stove cooker, which has a gas hob and griddle, there is an indoor BBQ built into the central island and a separate steam oven and warming drawer.
There is a built-in Sub Zero fridge and freezer, a brand most commonly found in top end restaurant kitchens. The kitchen units are cherry wood with a Maple inlay within the drawers and the worktops are a clever mixture of beautiful black granite and stainless steel. There is room to have a large table in the kitchen and access onto the patio to the front of the house, perfect for outdoor BBQ’s in the summer.
Off the back of the kitchen is a utility room and a back door which leads to the outside of the house and there’s also a second useful cloakroom here. This secondary access would easily provide a great route to the house once you’ve returned from an afternoon on the beach, to keep those sandy feet in one place.
On the first floor there are six generous double bedrooms and three bathrooms with the master being en-suite, with a full sized bathroom. Two of the bedrooms at the front of the house have small balconies which are the perfect spot to sit with a coffee and watch the sea. Thanks to the house being undeniably south facing you will catch the sun until it sets, which will be total bliss when it shines.
Martello Lodge comes to the market for the first time in over 20 years and has so much to offer the incoming new owners, least of all its stunning location. For lovers of the west side of the island this is a must view property.
Martello Lodge
Le Mont Sohier, St Brelade
£2,650,000
Savills, 722227 www.savills.je
• 6 bed, 3 bath, 3 reception
• Large eat in kitchen
• Sea views out to St. Brelade’s Bay
• Gardens and patio
• Double garage and parking for up to 10
• Immaculately presented throughout
• Approx 3,971 sq ft
