Growing up on Tregunter Road

Tregunter Road is one of the most sought-after streets in London, but this was not always the case. Forty years ago the area was much less fashionable – closer to Earl’s Court than Chelsea. Alan and Jane had recently sold their house on Halsey Street because they needed more space. Two days before Alan and Jane got married they purchased No.14 Tregunter Road at auction for £650,000, and Bertie was born two months after the newly married couple moved in.

Tregunter Road runs from the southern end of the Boltons towards Redcliffe Gardens. Its large, semi-detached villas were constructed in the mid-nineteenth century for professionals with big families and plenty of servants.

When the Russells bought No.14 in 1985, the house was inhabitable but needed work. They moved in straightaway and renovated over time. However, they were also kept busy with a growing family: Bertie was born eight months later, with Jake, Hermione and Leo following soon after. By the time they left, March and Noah had also come along.

Tregunter Road was the perfect place to raise a family. The streets are wide, with little traffic, and there were never any safety issues. ‘I went to a nursery school at the end of the road,’ Bertie explains. ‘Mum and Dad would walk me to school each morning, and one of my best pals lived on the street.’

Many of the neighbours had been residents for years, but there were plenty of young families in the surrounding streets. Each Halloween the Russells hosted a party, inviting the local parents and children for face-painting, as well as fireworks in the back garden.

At Christmas there was another party, this time with a decorated tree and Santa handing out presents. The family would often spend the winter holidays here, and when it snowed one Christmas the street looked magical.

Weekends were filled with sports and time outdoors. ‘The garden was completely ruined with all the children playing football. We turned it into a mud pit. Hide and seek. Games of tag. We also had access to the communal gardens in the Boltons with lots of hiding places too.’

If weekends were busy, then holidays could be chaotic. Soon after Leo was born, the family was running late for a flight. So they jumped into a taxi to Heathrow, only realising halfway down the M4 that they had left baby Leo behind.

As well as six children, there were two dogs – a Labrador called Katie and a Staffordshire bull terrier called Jessie – along with chinchillas and guinea pigs. The boys kept swapping bedrooms as the family grew bigger. ‘Jake and I shared a bus bunk bed,’ Bertie recalls. ‘Now I’ve bought the same for my two boys.’

There was also plenty of naughtiness. On one occasion, Debbie the nanny was tied up. On another occasion, Hermione broke her arm after joining a game to run up the back stairs and jump onto the sofa. Then there were crayon ghosts that started appearing on the walls, though nobody would admit to drawing them. Eventually, Jake was caught in the act, but all the children had to help with wiping them off the walls.

Evenings were also busy, with five little ones having baths at the same time. After the children were put to bed, they would stay awake until their parents came home. Then they would write notes on paper airplanes and fly them down the stairs.

The houses on Tregunter Road are low-built and wide, with some of the largest plots in Chelsea. Little wonder that they are among the most sought-after family homes in the neighbourhood. The Russells left No.14 after a decade, selling the property for £2.5 million. When that same property was sold last year, it fetched over £16 million.

That recent purchase was made by a developer who knew the family. In the attic he discovered a time capsule the children created before leaving, filled with drawings and newspaper clippings. After returning the capsule to the Russells, everyone agreed to put it back in the attic for the next owner to discover.

‘It was just an idyllic place to grow up,’ Bertie concludes. ‘I still remember the Halloween parties, Christmas parties. And walking to school holding my dad’s hand.’