n Estate Agent PR, it’s often the little details that make the final story so newsworthy and attention-grabbing.

That’s why we were delighted when our client, Finlay Brewer, was instructed to sell a centuries-old house in West London. But the centuries-old house in question wasn’t just any-old centuries-old house – The Brook in Stamford Brook, West London, was once lived in by English Impressionist artist, Lucien Pissarro, and was on the market for the first time in over a century. This Grade II-listed, blue plaque home was still lived in by his descendants, and represented a rare and especially exciting story to convey to the press.

With fewer than a thousand London homes granted a blue plaque by the English Heritage, these properties not only frequently sell for more than their less historically significant neighbours, but are also of great interest to the media when they come onto the market. The house, originally built in 1760, has a separate purpose-built artist’s studio (not surprisingly), an expansive garden, and historic links with Pissarro’s wood-engraving business, providing us with an embarrassment of riches when it came to potential angles.

We wanted to generate as much coverage as we could to assist our client in achieving an efficient sale, and our aim was to promote the listing by accentuating its unique, under-the-radar history and values. We spent a lot of time with the vendor, learning extensively about the history of the home and the family’s background to put together a fantastic story to share with the press.

Our Estate Agent PR team also delved deep into the heritage of the area, speaking to local historians to understand more about the landscape of Stamford Brook, including its ancient stream, which the home had been named after when it was first built. Putting together this fully-fledged, exceptionally-detailed picture really helped to capture the imagination of the press, and subsequently, those reading it.

We used our strong media contacts to generate coverage for this property in the Times, the Sunday Times, the MailOnline, City AM and the Guardian (to name but a few), achieving a circulation of 316,533,650 for the campaign. The home is currently under offer, and Finlay Brewer was Highly Commended at the London Magazine Awards for their exceptional efforts in marketing the Brook, all bolstered by the exceptional work (if we do say so ourselves) of the Spider Estate Agent PRteam.