By Community Correspondent Richard Sharp.

When Sharon Parker bought a dilapidated Victorian Villa in Hampton Hill it was the start of a journey of discovery with so much local history and secrets hidden beneath her feet!

Back in 2001, TV Producer/Director Sharon Parker fell in love with a run-down three-storey house in Park Road and bought it. She was captivated by both the interesting history of the house as well as seeing the potential to restore it back to its original splendour. Whilst the original room plan, floors, covings and service bells remained, the property was in a very sad state. It‘s taken eight years of painstaking and meticulous work to bring the Villa back to its true Victorian glory.

“It’s been a fascinating journey of discovery” said Sharon, “the more I found out, the more intriguing it all became. The Villa had been in the same family from its construction around 1867 right through until 1953. The original address was 1 Edinburgh Villas, temporarily named ‘Allestree’, changing to I Park Road and finally to number 3 in 1938. But one of the most interesting things that came to light was that King Edward VII is believed to have visited the Villa with his actress mistress Lillie Langtree on several occasions. The King was apparently a friend of the then owners of the house, the Lambert sisters. It is believed that the King originally used to come to the house to visit a Harley Street specialist who lived here. Certainly one of the occupiers was a 'Registered Practitioner', probably a doctor. Gwen Clarke, who owned the house before me, discovered an old diary which detailed a host of social events and which the King and Lillie had signed. It was such a romantic story.”

Sharon started on a major renovation of the entire house soon after she moved in. When the floorboards were taken up to install new electrics and plumbing, a Victorian treasure trove and time capsule of hidden memories was revealed. Alongside lots of pieces of Victorian wallpaper was a locket, a bullet, toys of the era, luggage labels, a hymn book, Christmas, Easter and Birthday cards, postcards, and an early map of Richmond. Other mementos included Invitations to social meetings and concerts of the Christ Church Institute, medical notes and drawings, probably connected to the 'Registered Practitioner', along with luggage labels and envelopes connected to the other occupants at the three various addresses of the Villa. Under one floorboard in the pink bedroom Sharon found an early group photograph of various gentlemen around a boy dressed as a clown. This had been taken by a Herne Bay Photographer. In the same room she also found in the same room a South Eastern & Chatham Railway ticket from Herne Bay to Herne Hill! “It was unbelievable, there were just sack fulls of wonderful historic items with a lot of connections to St. James’s Parish Church just down the road and the family’s association with medicine “said Sharon. With the help of John Sheaf, local historian and a Trustee of the Twickenham Museum, the items were traced and documented. In John’s opinion the 'finds' are probably the most significant of any residential property in the Borough. John has compiled a book on the history of the house and its occupants and has discovered just who sent what, to whom, and when. “It’s only now that the treasures have really come back to life” says Sharon.

Sharon has dedicated eight years carefully planning, sourcing and buying original Victorian furniture and artifacts for the Villa from around the UK and Europe. At the same time every room has been lovingly and meticulously restored to its original glory. All the wallpaper found in the floorboards has been matched in colour and style, to the specific rooms she found them in. The Victorians loved using paint to create different effects such as graining and to depict images of cloud formations, cherubs, etc. Plaster was often used to look like marble. Sharon has carefully researched all this and managed to re-create all of the original Victorian features throughout the Villa. Her latest venture has involved hours and hours of careful painting of the ornate covings and central rose of the fine plaster work on the ceiling of the drawing room. The ornate detail has been carefully picked out in gold. “I had a very bad neck and aching shoulders for a few weeks perching atop my eleven foot ladder and constantly looking up. The corners were particularly difficult and I had to virtually hang from the ladder, holding on with one arm, to paint the detail in the cornices. Whilst I was trying to do this, I did chuckle to myself, thinking how great it would have been to have had a scaffold structure like Michael Angelo when he painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel - But then I know my paint efforts hardly compare with that great artist!” said Sharon.

One by one, every room in the house has been fully restored and then decorated in the original style. Sharon has also built an extension to the side of the house. The bricks and slates were all handpicked to match the main building as do the arch and roof pitch. All five bedrooms, bathrooms, reception rooms, kitchen, hall, stairs and landings over the three floors have all been lovingly renovated and fitted with period pieces. From four poster beds and Half-Testers to original baths, basins, showers, loos and cisterns; nothing has been over-looked. Every room now reflects the opulence of the Victorian era. But there are a few concessions to comfortable modern living such as flat screen tvs, dvds and cds in the bedrooms, all modestly disguised behind silk drapes of course!

“I really wanted to share the surroundings and the many treasures of the Villa’s occupants over the years and so decided to open it as The Victorian Villa Bed & Breakfast.

It’s been a hobby, a passion and an inspiration,” said Sharon, “I’m proud of what I‘ve achieved and I like my guests to soak up the atmosphere and enjoy a journey back through time.”