When John and Rose Morley began house-hunting in late December 1885, the couple had intended to secure accommodation close to Westminster. As Member of Parliament for Newcastle upon Tyne, Morley – who had ventured into politics with the by-election of 1883, having distinguished himself as a journalist and editor – found the daily commute from Wimbledon, where the couple had been residing, increasingly onerous. After viewing a number of houses that were centrally located but incommodious and lacking in amenities, however, Morley lamented to his sister, Grace, that the experience was ‘very doleful’. The Morleys settled instead on a suburban property. Morley wrote to Grace in April 1886 to share the news:

With its excellent transportation links, South Kensington offered spacious, newly constructed houses with modern amenities and rents lower than in central London. In writing about his new residence, Morley does not boast about the location. Rather, he refers to the property's newness and spaciousness and the freedom to express individual preferences in decoration.