The Penthouse Apartment at Belmont
Built over three floors, around a tree
Belmont was built in 1936 in the art deco detailing of the day and had one family as owners from 1936 to 2012. The penthouse was rebuilt around a retained fireplace and chimney and two walls of the original house, and around a 250 year old oak, and was completed in 2018. It sits in one of the most elevated positions in Coombe Dingle, with the rear predominantly glazed to the south east and views over Westbury on Trym, Stoke Bishop, the Downs, Pill and Failand as far as Portbury.
The interiors are teak and Ipe hardwood, hand carved joinery, white jade crystal, black granite and onyx, five years of work by a German trained master joiner and Italian stone masons. The whole property is painted in the 2022 colour of the year, a foliage green, as a background for the wood, the stone and art.
The drawing room
5.3 m by 3.46 m, vaulted, with an Ipe wood and glass ceiling, six electrically operated Velux roof windows and a pair of sixteenth century French chandeliers suspended over the void. A second floor walk-on glass bridge spans the vault and joins the two mezzanine rooms above, built as a celebration of Bristol and of Brunel. Under the centre of the bridge is a 12 kW multi fuel stove that heats the whole apartment. The piano, the electric reclining sofa, the wall mounted screen and the 1920s bookcase can be included in the sale.
The kitchen
4 m by 3 m, open plan and vaulted with four Velux roof windows, open to both the dining room and the drawing room. Inspired by colonial Cuba: dark Ipe wood from South America against lime green cabinetry, every piece bespoke and made by one craftsman over a year. Induction hob, dishwasher, oven, coffee machine, fridge freezer, drinks cabinet and bar. A large set of bi-folding doors leads to the balcony for dining outside.
The dining room and second lounge
3.2 m by 3.46 m with a triple set of bi-folding doors onto the balcony. Currently an open plan kitchen bar and massage lounge with two deep tissue massage chairs, surrounded by hand carved wood and a 2.4 m by 1.3 m onyx feature wall. Solid onyx sweeps around the room as skirting, dado and picture rail inlaid into the wood, all back lit. The works are complete for it to become a third bedroom with jack and jill access to the main bathroom; only a partition is needed.
The master bathroom
2.85 m by 2.74 m into a 4.4 m vaulted ceiling. White jade crystal and polished granite, 20 mm thick at 75 kg a tile, with a back lit crystal mid border and hand chipped ice jade skirting. A two metre, 1.5 tonne hand carved natural rock waterfall falls over an oval two person hydro massage bath with deep tissue and micro cleansing jets, internal heaters, music, chromotherapy lighting and auto clean. A 900 by 900 steam shower with a 3 kW generator, monsoon drencher, body jets, DAB and touch glass controls. The floor is a compass in white jade, onyx and blue leopard granite; the basin is carved from solid white jade; the ceiling is Ipe wood and glass, back lit.
Two ensuites: white jade and black granite
His and hers, off the master bedroom through separate walk-in wardrobes. One is lined in white jade crystal slabs, 75 kg each, laid in a recessed and protruding profile, with a 170 kg basin hand carved from solid white jade. The other is seamless polished black granite on walls and floor with a matching carved granite basin. Each has a two person steam shower with a 4 kW steamer, radio, wireless music, monsoon drencher with chromotherapy lighting, a teak ceiling and grid, and an old world map worked into the control panel. The inspiration is the white Taj Mahal and the black one Shah Jahan is said to have planned, and the yin and yang of sheng qi.
The master bedroom and dressing rooms
6.44 m by 2.96 m with part vaulted ceilings and two reproduction crittal style corner windows made as replicas of the 1936 originals, aluminium, 5 mm triple glazed, with hand carved emperador brown marble sills. Teak mosaic and Ipe flooring with zoned digital underfloor heating. The room is built to divide into two bedrooms of about 3 m by 3.1 m, each with its own dressing area and ensuite; only the partition is needed. The two walk-in wardrobes are cherry wood by a maker who fits five to seven star hotels, with a built in ironing board, digital safe, PIR lighting, Blum drawer slides, pull-out full length mirrors and eaves storage cabinets.
The mezzanine bedroom
3.58 m by 3 m, suspended over the dining room and kitchen and reached by the glass bridge. A vaulted, carved wooden room with a super king bed looking out over Bristol, into the canopy of the oak and up through the roof windows. The view changes through the day and the night.
The library
3.4 m by 3.1 m at the front of the building. A working clock 1.2 m across is set into the round window at the helm of the room and can be read from the road. Currently an office and library; it would make a fifth bedroom.
The balcony and the views
7 m by 1.1 m with stainless steel railings, glass flooring and glass balustrading under an overhanging chalet roof with Ipe inlay and inset lighting. Two aluminium bi-folding three leaf triple glazed doors open the kitchen and the dining room onto it for eating and sleeping outside. The view runs across north Bristol to Clifton and Failand; the sunrise is to the south east.
The ground floor room
5.68 m by 3.32 m with a 2.8 m ceiling, fitted as a bedroom with an ensuite. It can be an oversized garage with an electric insulated roller door, power and lighting, and a utility room; that conversion is included in the price.
Fifty metres from 650 acres
Blaise Castle Estate, the largest Grade II registered parkland in the south west, is 50 m from the door: two mansion houses, cafés, river and woodland walks, the golf course, the old water mill, the church and National Trust property. Bristol's restaurants, shops, theatre and cinema are one to four miles away and the M4 and M5 corridor is ten minutes.
What is included
Specifications
| Address | Flat 2, Belmont, 61 Arbutus Drive, Coombe Dingle, Bristol BS9 2PW |
|---|---|
| Guide price | £735,000 |
| Floors | Ground, first and second, the greater part of the building |
| Floor area | About 157 sq m (1,690 sq ft) per the vendor's particulars; the measured plan shows 136.96 sq m gross internal plus 8.51 sq m of balconies, 145.47 sq m in all; the EPC records 156 sq m |
| Bedrooms | Two as configured; three, four or five on the built-in options, each needing only a partition |
| Bathrooms | Master bathroom in white jade and granite with a rock waterfall hydro bath and steam shower; white jade ensuite and black granite ensuite, each with a two person steam shower |
| Windows and doors | All aluminium, 5 mm triple glazed; 11 Velux roof windows and 4 roof lights; two sets of three leaf bi-folding doors |
| Heating and energy | 4.5 kW solar PV; 12 kW multi fuel stove; air source heat and cooling pumps; 150 W/m² digital zoned electric underfloor heating |
| Flooring | Teak and Ipe hardwood throughout |
| EPC | C (70), SAP assessment for a new dwelling dated 8 March 2018, reference 0388-0014-7357-5168-7964 |
| History | Original house 1936; penthouse rebuilt around the retained chimney and two original walls and a 250 year old oak; completed 2018 |
| Options | Garage and utility conversion of the ground floor room, included; garden land with planning permission for a 10 m by 4 m annex, base and services complete, building available as a kit, by separate negotiation; 28 sq m underground room and 21 m tunnel, lift connection possible, by separate negotiation |
| Local authority | Bristol City Council |
| Distances | Blaise Castle Estate 50 m; bus stop 50 m; local shops 350 m; Coombe Dingle sports 1.1 miles; Waitrose and cinema 1.2 miles; Westbury on Trym 1.5 miles; Sea Mills station 1.4 miles; Clifton College 3.3 miles; Clifton Suspension Bridge 4 miles; Temple Meads 5.7 miles; M4, M5 and M49 junctions 7.2 miles; Bristol Airport 11 miles |
Floor plans
For illustrative purposes only, not to scale. Some dimensions in the room descriptions are rounded and taken as an average.
Questions
How many bedrooms is it?
Two as it stands, with a very large master bedroom, two walk-in dressing rooms, three bathrooms, a second lounge or dining room, the drawing room, the kitchen and the library. The electrics, the lighting and the underfloor heating zones were built for the master bedroom to divide into two, the dining room to become a third bedroom and the library a fifth. Each change needs only a partition wall.
Is the furniture included?
Everything can be included by agreement: the massage bed, the massage chairs, the piano, the sofa, the screen and the bookcase. What is included is listed in the fittings and contents form in the sale pack and in the contract.
What about the garage, the garden building and the underground room?
The ground floor room converts to an oversized garage and utility room and that work is included in the price. The garden land has full planning permission for a 10 m by 4 m building; its base, water and electricity are done and the building is available as a kit. Under it is a 7 m by 4 m room reached by a 21 m tunnel that can be joined to the apartment by a lift. The land and the underground room are sold by separate negotiation and can be scheduled later.
How does the reservation deposit work?
When your offer is accepted, you and the vendor sign the reservation agreement on the site and you pay a deposit to a regulated stakeholder. The vendor stops marketing. Your solicitors must be instructed the next working day, request the contract within 5 working days and exchange within 25. The deposit counts towards the price on completion and is returned to you only for the listed causes in the agreement.
Can I view at night?
Yes, and it is recommended. The onyx rails, the crystal borders, the bathroom ceilings and the bath are all lit, and the view over Bristol is at its best after dark.
What is in the sale pack?
Official copies of the register and title plan, the property information and fittings forms, the EPC, the planning decision for the garden building, the searches obtained by the vendor and the draft contract prepared by the vendor's solicitor, released to registered buyers and their solicitors on request.
Important notice. The vendor and Homebinding give notice that: (1) these particulars do not form part of any offer or contract and must not be relied upon as statements or representations of fact; (2) any areas, measurements or distances are approximate, and the text, photographs and plans are for guidance only and are not necessarily comprehensive; (3) it should not be assumed that the property has all necessary planning, building regulation or other consents, and no services, equipment or facilities have been tested. Purchasers must satisfy themselves by inspection or otherwise. Particulars V1, prepared September 2026 from the vendor's own descriptions and photographs.
