Viva Victoria!

With a passion for Victoriana, a love of collecting and a designer's know-how, the owner of this once-drab house has recaptured its youth

- KATHRYN REILLY

The Elizabethan portrait is of Bess of Hardwick's daughter-in-law, by repute. The bust on the fireplace is the death mask of Henry Irving, who was the great-great-grandfather of Andrew's godson.

Not many people have such commitment to creating a look as Andrew Downs. Like the home opposite Deal Castle, which he shares with his husband Jeff, he is a real one-off. Never taking himself too seriously, Andrew is in the constant process of conjuring up something theatrical, amusing and quite spellbinding. His passion is for the late Victorian and Aesthetic Movement period, and although he doesn't collect or deal professionally, his knowledge is encyclopedic.

The charger on top of the display cabinet is HW Foster for Minton. The signed portrait of Princess Margaret is by Snowdon. Reverse glass paintings hang to the right.

'I began collecting as a child. I have no idea why, he admits. I've always wanted to do that kind of wonderful, early, pared-back Georgian look with one tip-top table and a wing-backed chair. I start off like that but, before you know it, there's a doily and five pictures of Queen Victoria, 27 decanters and some antimacassars,' he laughs.

Andrew and Jeff are just the third owners of the five-storey townhouse, which was built in 1879 on the site of the old naval yard. Several pieces of furniture remain from its first days, and important mementos have been passed down from owner to owner, including a christening cup and a plaque made for the first owner, Joseph Zaehnsdorf, a master bookbinder. With its lofty ceilings and elegant proportions, the house was a surprise to Andrew. In contrast to the building standards of his previous Georgian home, everything is sturdier and better-built here.