This pretty Georgian-style cottage comes with a history more unusual than most(Image: South Wales Property Photography / David Baker, Penarth)

Coastal cottage so secluded even people nearby might not know it's there

by · Wales Online

Take a time machine back to 1840 and wander through the pretty, tree-lined residential roads and meandering avenues of the popular coastal town of Penarth, in the Vale of Glamorgan, and when you arrived at Tower Hill you would have happened across a bustling site of building activity.

A terrace of five stone cottages were being constructed by the admiralty for coastguard staff – five in total with the larger end house being designated as the home for the chief coastguard.

The terrace survives today and is largely untouched, at least on the outside, and the whole row was given a Grade II listing by Cadw in 1990 for being "a well-preserved mid 19th-century terrace which has added importance for its special interest as an example of housing for coastguards". For more home, renovation and interiors stories sent to your inbox twice a week sign up to the property newsletter here.

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At the time of the listing award the interiors of the cottages were described as having "moulded cornices, late Georgian staircase, and some arched recesses and large cellars".

The existence of the terrace might even come as a surprise to long-time residents of the popular seaside town because it is tucked away predominantly out of sight along a private lane between Marine Parade and Plymouth Road – two of the most expensive residential streets in Penarth.

In addition the cottages can happily boast long front gardens, in proportion to their size, filled with mature trees and shrubs that further obscure the attractive stone facades.

The row of cottages is part of a wider complex of coastguard buildings, which also include a lookout tower – now a stunning home – plus a rocket carriage house and a gunpowder store used for distress flares.

But there's nothing distressing about visiting cottage number one because inside it has been beautifully presented, effortlessly combining character and original features with modern comforts, traditional and timeless furniture with accents of soft contemporary colours and patterns.

The house offers a kitchen-diner, living room, two double bedrooms, a family bathroom, and a loft room perfect as a home office, hobby room, playroom, or games room with a massive TV.

There's on-site parking, charming flagstone paths, mature planting, and a sunny terrace at the front and a rear garden that offers another enticing terrace and a handy outbuilding, once the outside privy, used predominantly as a workshop.

As well as boasting a location nestled within one of the most affluent areas of Penarth, which as a town regularly appears on lists of the best places to live in Wales, the cottage is walking distance to the esplanade and its food and drink establishments, the Art Deco pier, the pebble beach, and the park at Windsor Gardens.

Number one Tower Hill, Penarth, is on the market for offers in excess of £400,000 with David Baker, Penarth. Call 029 2070 2622 to find out more.

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The rear garden, which is actually how you enter this end-of-terrace cottage compare to the other four in the row, includes the former outside toilet that is still there, although the handy and cute stone additional building is now used predominantly as a workshop.(Image: South Wales Property Photography / David Baker, Penarth)
The aerial photo of the terrace of coastguard cottages shows the on-site parking, the size of the gardens, and the tiny lane that leads to this row of historic homes. Number one is now for sale for the first time in more than 20 years.(Image: South Wales Property Photography / David Baker, Penarth)
It's such a pretty welcome to the house from the parking area with old flagstone and mature planting setting the scene for the promise of character to come inside the cottage, which was constructed by the admiralty for coastguard personnel.(Image: South Wales Property Photography / David Baker, Penarth)