An Art Deco classic and a fine refuge

Stanmore agent Anthony Breslauer is looking for a buyer with the “vision and passion” to refurbish a five-bedroom Art Deco house in Valencia Road, Stanmore. The property has been in the possession of three generations of the Italian refugee family who bought it in the 1930s.

The story begins with Attilio Azzali who moved to London’s Kings Cross in 1926 to escape the famine in the Apennine region that year. From small beginnings, Mr Azzali opened the first of his three London restaurants close to Victoria Station in 1929. Eager to provide his wife Elvira and baby Bruna larger accommodation and a more peaceful environment in the suburbs of Greater London, he took a train ride to the newly opened underground station at Stanmore in 1932 and immediately fell in love with the place.

In a large open field opposite Stanmore station at the junction of Valencia Road, Glanleam Road and Kerry Avenue, an architect was designing and building a small number of two and three-storey detached art deco family homes. Later, Harrow Council would protect these houses with a conservation area designation.

Mr Azzali liked the villagey feel of the area, the style of the property, and the easy access to Central London by road and rail. He bought number 4 Valencia Road.