Cedarwood scaffolding

I have always liked Cedarwood (a house on Church Road) and I like scaffolding too so, for me, the combination is irresistible.

As always, I am interested to see what changes are made behind the scaffolding and in this case I hope that it is more of a refresh than a rebuild.

Behind Cedarwood

Cedarwood, on the corner of Church Road and The Shires, has now been surrounded by tall hoardings so I was pleased to catch this view of the back of the house before they all went up.

I like the little bay extending from the ground floor but I believe this is being replaced by an extension, though we probably will not be able to see it once the permanent fence is installed.

Cedarwood in Church Road

Cedarwood in Church Road has always been one of my favourite houses locally and I always pause to look at is as I walk past, as I do regularly.

The house was brought to my attention when it popped up on rightmove (which is a great way to find out about houses in the area) with a sale price of £4.5m. It is hard to judge the value of a unique property but that seems very reasonable when compared to some of the much smaller properties that are asking for over £1m. I shall not be buying it though.

Cedarwood changes

Cedarwood in Church Road has had a major refurbishment recently which has pleasingly left the house looking much the same though there are changes to the landscaping if you compare it closely to what it looked like ten years ago.

Side view of Cedarwood

The side view of Cedarwood, seen from The Shires, was hidden for many years by a leylandii hedge which was removed during the refurbishment of the property and I am pleased that with the new fence in place there is a good view of the sumptuous house.

Cedarwood

Cedarwood is one of the more interesting houses in Church Road. I had been meaning to take a photograph of it for some time but there had always been a car on the drive before and cars tend to ruin photos.

Cedarwood exposed

Cedarwood is one of the best houses in the area, certainly in the top six, but until now the only view of it has been through the large front gates. Now it is going though extensive changes and the best of these is the removal of a high leylandii hedge along The Shires which has exposed that side of the house for the first time.

The bay window was a handsome reward for the long wait.

Spying on The Shires

As Cedarwood on Church Road is refurbished and enlarged, the developers are keeping a close eye not just on the site but on the public realm alongside it. This camera is firmly pointing in to The Shires.

The Government guidance on the use of CCTV cameras states. "People should try to point their CCTV cameras away from their neighbours’ homes and gardens, shared spaces or public streets." Clearly the developers have not done this and if I lived in the neighbourhood I would be speaking to them about this unnecessary intrusion.

Steps

I had started to visit The Shires, off Church Road, more often to check on progress at Cedarwood and finding this pyramid of scaffolding was an unexpected bonus. All scaffolding is good and this is better than usual thanks to the steps up at the front.

Extension in The Shires

The Shires is an annoying no-through-road (most of Ham is very permeable on foot and the few exceptions are a pain for anyone wishing to explore and enjoy the area) and I only go in there a few times a year just to see if anything interesting is happening. This time I was drawn in by the very interesting changes at Cedarwood at the entrance to the road.

Once there I went further in to check out this impressive clutter, I love clutter! The cause is the single storey extension behind.

Also impressive is the brick matching. Less impressive is the match in style but I will reserve final judgement on that until the work is finished. At least the front porch as a flat roof too.