Arts and crafts in the West End

An arts and crafts house from the late 1920s has some impressive original features and no shortage of space. Sitting on a quiet lane off Perth Road in Dundee, it is in the heart of the city’s West End but hidden in its own secluded spot

It was designed by architects Thoms & Wilkie, who made the most of the site’s south facing outlook

Dundee’s West End is one of the city’s most delightful areas.

Parks and green spaces are in abundance, carefully planned and preserved since the Victorian era.

Enormous mansions built by Dundee’s jute barons and other captains of industry stand in acres of manicured garden grounds, many of them gazing southwards across the River Tay.

A short distance before Harris Academy a small driveway dips down the hillside. Clarendon Drive leads to a handful of large houses, all in generous grounds.

One of these is The Ridges, a beautiful arts and crafts house, which was the childhood home of accountant Derek Lawson. “My father passed away around 15 years ago and my mum lived here on her own until she died last June in her 99th year,” he explains.

Derek, 62, grew up at The Ridges with his brother and two sisters, and says he enjoyed an idyllic childhood.

“It was a beautiful house to grow up in,” he continues.

“Perth Road and Magdalen Green were on the doorstep. We had a great garden to play in and, being so big, the house was fantastic for games of hide and seek.”

The Ridges was built in the 1920s by Derek’s grandfather Tom Lawson, who owned Tay Rope Works, which stretched down one of the West End’s many lanes to nearby Magdalen Green.

It was designed by architects Thoms & Wilkie, who made the most of the site’s south facing outlook.

There is a formal front door but, as is the case with many houses, everyone comes in by the back door.

This brings you in past a utility room and WC into the kitchen, which has a breakfast room and pantry off.

A hall stretches down the length of the house. There’s a dining room with bay window and glazed side door. Next to it is a small living room that would make a cosy snug in the winter.

Past that is the living room, a superb space with feature beams, a bay window and windows in two other aspects. There’s also a bathroom and wine cellar downstairs.

The sitting room, living room and dining room all have doors on to a sunny terrace with views through trees to the Tay. On the upper floor are three large double bedrooms and two single bedrooms. The master has a large dressing room off that could be converted into an en suite or make a nursery room.

The upper levels have fine views across the Tay to Fife.

“When I was little you could see the river much better from downstairs but these trees have grown up since then,” Derek explains.

There’s a large garden outside, with a double garage and an access gate onto Perth Road.

A patch of wooded land on the other side of the shared driveway also belongs to the Ridges.

The B-listed house has been in the Lawson family since it was built and this is the first time it has been on the market.

“It’s a bit of a wrench to sell it, but it’s far too big for my needs or those of my brother and sisters,” Derek adds.

“It will make a great home for whoever buys it.”