Inside the £995,000 London home where Star Wars icon grew up
When you move into a house, you might find yourself imagining the people who lived there before you – who they were, what they loved, and how they spent their years inside the four walls of your new home.
But there’s one £995,000 home that’s come onto the market in South London that leaves no doubt as to the identity of its previous inhabitant.
Any longstanding fan of the legendary Star Wars franchise will know Peter Cushing, who played Grand Moff Tarkin, for which he was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Now, 30 years after his death, his legacy is commemorated with a memorial at 32 St James’ Road in Purley, Croydon. Having grown up in this very house, the property was awarded its Blue Plaque status in 2018.
Peter, who famously appeared in more than 100 films including The Revenge of Frankenstein, The Hound of the Baskervilles and Dracula, lived at the address between 1925 and 1936, when he attended Purley County Secondary School.
Constructed in the art deco interior typical of the 1920s, which was when Peter and his family moved in, the current owners have decorated the house in a style in keeping with that era.
The windows appear to be original, with white, slatted frames that curve at the edges. Dark wooden furniture and colourful artwork adorn the inside, in another nod to the roaring 20s.
With four bedrooms, three reception rooms and a sprawling garden, this property has features that are a real rarity in London.
As Hamptons Estate Agents note, the ‘standout feature’ of the home is the main double reception room with its classic bay windows and period fireplace.
Naturally, because of its value, the property qualifies for council tax band G – the second highest, which comes with a fee of £3,944.85 per year. This is more than £2,000 higher than the national average rate, which is now £1,668, according to figures from Gov UK.
To this day, the area is proud of Peter Cushing’s Croydon heritage, as in 2023, Culture Croydon hosted an Open House at the property.
The house was saved from both decay and demolition twice in its history. As per the Culture Croydon website, the current owners have gone to great lengths to ‘sympathetically restore’ the property ‘in great detail and expense.’
The house has retained the same layout since it was built — it’s never been modified or extended. Even the flat lawn, shown to be neatly arranged in long, green stripes, pays tribute to the Cushing family’s use of it as a tennis court.
In 2018, owners Paul and Jenny Camlett recalled their experiences moving in, when many locals would ask them if they knew Peter Cushing lived here – as these were the days before the property was awarded Blue Plaque status.
‘A policeman came to the door once and we thought something was wrong,’ Paul told Your Local Guardian at the time.
However, he comedically turned out simply to be a Star Wars fan, and wanted ‘to talk to us about the house.’
When it came to redecorating and restoring the house, Paul noted that they loved knowing that Peter had been present inside.
Their focus was ‘very much on renovating, but it did occur to us that Peter Cushing touched that door knob and walked on those steps,’ which is what made it important to ‘preserve as many elements and features of the house as possible.’
Peter even wrote about his childhood home in detail in his biography, referencing the servant’s bell – which the current owners took great care to maintain in its original splendour.
Which celebrities are from Croydon?
It isn’t just Peter Cushing who once called Croydon home. There are plenty of celebrities from the South London borough, from models to comedians.
Like Peter, illusionist Derren Brown was born and brought up in Purley.
Having attended the school where his father was a swimming instructor, he described the area in an interview with The New Yorker as ‘the epitome of middle-class suburbia.’
Likewise, comedian and actor Noel Fielding, best known for The Mighty Boosh, grew up in Pollards Hill near Croydon and attended Croydon School of Art.
Noel isn’t the only person from the world of comedy who’s familiar with the area, as Nish Kumar grew up in Croydon.
He remains connected to the area, as earlier this year, he spoke out against the closure of Shirley Library, which he said would be a ‘devastating blow,’ writing to the local council to urge it to reconsider.
Model Kate Moss, who has worked with the likes of Dior, Burberry and Calvin Klein, is also from the area. In the early 1990s, she was photographed modelling at her old school, Riddlesdown Collegiate, for British Vogue.
Musician Kirsty MacColl, who famously collaborated with The Pogues on Fairytale of New York, was born in Croydon. Her father was famously folk singer Ewan MacColl, while her mother, Jean Newlove, was a dancer.
She attended Park Hill Primary School, Monks Hill High School and John Newnham High School, where she starred in numerous plays.
