Albert House - one of Headingley's grandest homes is for sale

This Victorian home is in the sought-after Leeds suburb of Headingley and is now for sale at £1.25m. Albert House comes with five-bedrooms, an apartment and fabulous original features.Owner William Langton bought it eight years ago after a long search for a house with historic character. At that point it had been empty for 10 years.“The agent couldn’t even show me in through the front door because the floor had fallen through but when I walked round the house I just knew I had to have it. Everything needing doing, including the windows, floors, wiring and central heating.

“I would have up to 20 guys working on the house at any one time but I knew it would be worth it in the end,” he says.

Albert House

It took him three years to completely renovate the house and restore its garden and orchard. “That’s when I hosted my first party, I had 150 people round and the house felt alive. We drank champagne and danced to a jazz band and I knew I could call the place home,” he says.

He spared no expense, though filling the five-bedroom home took longer and was more costly than he imagined.“The curtains were one of the biggest shocks. I spent thousands on them but they have been worth every penny. Drawing them in winter and lighting the log burner is one of my favourite things,” says William, who is a keen yachtsman, hence the nautical theme in the hallway.

He thought Albert House would be his forever home and he had just treated himself to a new Sunseeker yacht when his copy of The Yorkshire Post prompted a huge life change.“There was an advert for Langton Hall, near Malton, and I felt my calling again. I knew I had to save this property, although at three times the size of Albert House I knew it would challenge me technically and financially.”He is meeting that challenge and is now selling Albert House to buy a pied-a-terre in Leeds while completing the work on Langton Hall.Albert House has a hall, dining kitchen with snug, a dining room with games and sitting area, a study, TV room, bathroom and self-contained flat. On the first floor is a shower room, bathroom and four double bedrooms. On the second floor is a double bedroom leading to a dressing room/single bedroom and en-suite bathroom.Outside, is a parking area, garden, summer house with full kitchen facilities and an orchard.*For details of the sale Castlehill Properties, www.castlehill.co.uk