Silver Street, Stony Stratford, Buckinghamshire

Playfully postmodern, this Grade II-listed four-bedroom house in Stony Stratford was designed by the former chief architect to the Milton Keynes Development Corporation, Derek Walker, in the 1970s. It retains its original plan, with exposed internal structural piers and two distinct outdoor spaces: a ground-floor courtyard and a first-floor balcony. Set on the leafy fringes of the city, Silver Street is a 12-minute drive from Milton Keynes station, which runs services to London Euston in around 40 minutes.

The Building

Silver Street was a part of the postwar development of Milton Keynes, an ambitious new town created following the New Towns Act of 1965. It was laid out on a grid plan that incorporated the previously established towns of Bletchley, Wolverton and Stony Stratford. The development took inspiration from a variety of sources, including established local typologies and the work of Mies Van der Rohe.

This house was a part of a series of townhouses designed under Wayland Tunley and Derek Walker, the latter serving as chief architect to the Milton Keynes Development Corporation between 1970 and 1976. Historic England described the development, which has a Grade II listing, as “a skillfully designed and integrated terrace of townhouses which survive as an early phase of the significant post-war contributions of the Milton Keynes Development Corporation,” making “expressive use of brick [as] a modern interpretation of the local vernacular tradition”.

The Tour

Pillar-box red panelling runs along the lower section of this house’s frontage, a nod to the easy going, playful inclinations of its original design. The front door is cleverly concealed here, camouflaged amid the panelling’s fluted texture.

Entry is to a hallway, with the living spaces at the rear. The dining room is directly ahead and has sliding doors to a private patio; when left open, a seamlessness is fostered between inside and out. Adjacent is the kitchen, which has sage-green and white units above and below a quartz countertop. Appliances are integrated and include a Bosch oven, convection microwave and induction hob.

At the front of the ground floor is a bedroom that would equally make for a cosy snug. The original staircase winds up to the upper floors from the entrance hallway.

Upstairs, at the rear of the first floor, is a wonderful living room that opens to an elevated balcony. The space is generous, and has one of the original design’s exposed internal piers. There is a brilliant circularity to the entire floor; a library adjoins the living room, left open through an oversized opening, with a study adjacent. The latter two spaces are joined by a wide wall-to-wall bank of shuttered windows.

The same staircase ascends to the third level, where three bedrooms are sited, all with a bank of angled skylights. Two, including the principal, also have built-in wardrobes. All three are served by a wonderfully bright bathroom with a large angled bath with a shower overhead and another bank of angled skylights.

Outdoor Space

The house has two distinct outdoor spaces: a ground-floor courtyard and a first-floor balcony. The former has tall brick-bound walls and plenty of room for outdoor dining and a barbecue. Its elevated position gives the first-floor balcony far-reaching views; it also has space for a table and chairs or for deckchairs.

Accompanying the house is a garage located alongside some additional residents' parking.

The Area

Silver Street is in the part of Stony Stratford, a constituent town of Milton Keynes. A host of independent coffee shops can be found here, including local favourites Out of Office and Bean in Stony. There is also a farmers' market on the last Friday of every month with exceptional local produce, as well as Eat Street, a monthly street food event.

Milton Keynes is a 12-minute drive from the house. Known for its post-war modernist architecture, as well as Bletchley Park and the Blonski Heard-designed Milton Keynes Theatre, the city has an additional array of amenities and places to eat.

A network of trails and paths is woven between the local shops, cultural, sporting, heritage and transport hubs making the area ideal for walkers and cyclists alike.

There is an abundance of wildlife conservation sites close to the house. The beautiful Ouse Valley Park, which comprises the Floodplain Forest Nature Reserve, is a complex wetland teeming with little egrets, owls and goosander birds, while the Stony Stratford Nature Reserve is known for its waterfowl and waders.

Well-regarded school options close by include Fairfields Primary School and Russell Street, both under a mile away. For secondary education, The Radcliffe School is a six-minute drive away.

There are excellent transports links from Stony Stratford, with trains to central London Euston running from Milton Keynes station in approximately 40 minutes. The A5 and M1 are nearby, and London Luton Airport is around a 30-minute drive. Birmingham Airport is approximately an hour by car, while Heathrow is an hour and a half away.

Council Tax Band F