Category: OPULENCE & SPLENDOUR

Luxury and the arts From houses to cars and from Hockney to van Dyck, a profile of the best and the worst

Checkmate

Former Lancashire farmhouse for sale for £1.69 million complete with giant chessboard

Until recently used as a holiday cottage rental, Low House at Eskrigge in Lancashire is described by selling agents Matthews Benjamin as “a joy to behold”.

Low House, Eskrigge, Gressingham, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA2 8LX

Fancy a game of chess?

Or a dip in the hot tub?

Dating to the late 17^th century and originally a farmhouse and barn, this 4,490 square foot Grade II listed property stands in 1.5 acres of gardens, 2.5 acres of woodland and 4 acres of paddocks. It has 4 reception rooms, 2 kitchens, 6 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms and comes with a number of follies, a hot tub and a giant chessboard.

Reduced in price from £1.79 million ($2.24 million, €2.11 million or درهم7.78 million) to £1.69 million ($2.12 million, €1.99 million or درهم8.24 million), Low House is just seven miles from Lancaster.

April 17, 2017
High & Low

“Penthouse to rival any other penthouse in the world” in converted brewery next to Tower Bridge for sale for £12.5 million

Described as “a penthouse to rival any other penthouse in the world” despite its somewhat pedestrian decoration, a £12.5 million ($15.7 million, €14.7 million or درهم57.6 million) five floor apartment next to Tower Bridge is currently for sale.

Situated within the former Anchor Brewhouse, a building that formerly housed the Courage Brewery, ‘The High Command’ penthouse includes 4,286 square foot of internal space and 1,203 square foot of terraces. It has a private internal lift and as well as featuring 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, comes with a gazebo, a domed rotunda with a gallery, 6 terraces and 4 private parking spaces.

On the market periodically since February 2015 with Knight Frank and Cluttons, ‘The High Command’ enjoys views across the City of London to the north and Canary Wharf to the east.

‘The High Command’ is described as being “designed to picture frame’ the various aspects of Tower Bridge”

The building at night with ‘The High Command’ highlighted

‘The Riverside’ is situated on the ground and basement levels of the building and is offered for £6 million

Buyers with a slightly more limited budget have the option of purchasing a ground and basement flat in the building. ‘The Riverside’, a 3-bedroom apartment, is offered for £6 million ($7.5 million, €7.1 million or درهم27.6 million) by Knight Frank.

April 17, 2017
0800 Rolls

Custard yellow Rolls-Royce complete with ‘0800’ numberplate takes to the streets of Knightsbridge

Each year a bevvy of Arab and Russian owned supercars arrives in London and each year they get more outlandish. An especially fine example has just descended in the form of a bright yellow Rolls-Royce Phantom coupé complete with the registration plate ‘0800’.

Spotted in Knightsbridge’s Cadogan Place on Sunday, this custard coloured creation most certainly plays homage to the vehicles designed by Nicolas Bijan Pakzad in Malibu, California. It will no doubt delight the snap-happy youngster’s on Sloane Street in the coming days but we also very much doubt the owner will be the kind to spend much of their time calling freephone numbers.

April 17, 2017
Gone is the Garage

Purpose-built Upper East Side, NYC Beaux Arts garage reduced in price by 41%; it will still cost around £40 million to buy and turn into a vast single family residence

Purpose built in 1906 to house the cars of wealthy (but not quite so wealthy enough to have their own carriage houses) Upper Eastsiders, 177 – 179 East 73^rd Street in New York is a five-storey Beaux Arts structure that is described as “unusually sophisticated”.

Reduced from a completely unrealistic £39.8 million ($50 million, €47 million or درهم183.6 million) when first marketed in 2015 to £23.5 million ($29.5 million, €27.7 million or درهم108.4 million) today, estimates put the cost of converting the building to a single townhouse at upto £15.9 million ($20 million, €18.8 million or درهم73.5 million).

Featuring a granite and limestone façade, 177 – 179 East 73^rd Street has ceiling heights that range from 12’7” to 17’, is 40’ wide and provides 17,232 square foot of internal space. Though plans have been drawn up to turn it into a vast 8-beroom residence complete with a 8-car garage, basketball court and home cinema, rival agent Jed Garfield of Leslie J. Garfield, told The Real Deal: “I think it’s still overpriced. The only surprising thing is that they’re now willing to sell it at [closer to] market price” late last week.

The building – which remains in use as a UES garage – is listed by Carrie Chiang of Corcoran and is described as “just waiting to undergo a metamorphosis in the hands of a discerning buyer”.

Image shows 177 – 179 East 73^rd Street in 1906, 2017 and a rendering as a single family residence (left to right).

April 17, 2017
A Federal Find

Federal-style New York townhouse for sale for £3.982 million; the West Village was previously the Home of the Sons and Daughters of Israel

A 2,212 square foot townhouse dating to 1833 on sale in New York comes with quite a history. Built in the Federal-style by a cartman named John C. Blauvelt, the property subsequently became the Home of the Sons and Daughters of Israel – a “home for aged male and female Hebrews” – in 1913 and was then converted to two residences in 1951.

232 West 10th Street, West Village, Manhattan, New York, NY 10014, United States of America

Reduced in price from £4.772 million ($5.975 million, €5.630 million or درهم21.946 million) to £3.982 million ($4.986 million, €4.698 million or درهم18.313 million), 232 West 10^th Street in West Village, Manhattan currently remains as two units and comprises of 3 reception rooms, 2 kitchens, 2 offices, 2 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. It could, however, easily be reconfigured back into a family home and comes with both a terrace and garden.

The house is offered by the Farah team at Compass Realty and is described as “a renovator’s dream”.

April 16, 2017
Witchfinders and Watermills

Picturesque watermill used in ‘The Witchfinder General’ and ‘Dad’s Army’ for sale

Witches and water don’t have an affinity – with dunking being a common form of punishment for suspects in the 16^th and 17^th centuries – and at The Watermill on the River Black Bourn at Ixworth in Suffolk, just such activity occurred in the 1968 film The Witchfinder General.

The Watermill, which is now for sale for £1 million ($1.3 million, €1.2 million or درهم4.6 milllion) through Savills, was also a location in the popular BBC series Dad’s Army and of this property, which until recently was used as a holiday rental, the corporation’s Martha Kearney once remarked: “I can’t think of a more enchanted summer evening than sitting outside the Mill, gazing across the water lilies on the pond to the beautiful island beyond”.

The Watermill prior to renovation

A working mill from 1800 until 1946, the 5,848 square foot, three floor building comes with detailed restrictions about how it could be altered given it is Grade II* listed but currently provides 3 reception rooms, 5 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.

Previously rented from £1,450 to £3,000 per week depending on season, The Watermill is situated on a three acre plot that includes a picturesque lily-covered mill pond with island and mill race. An outbuilding has lapsed planning permission for conversion into ancillary accommodation whilst the former mill itself retains much of its original machinery.

April 15, 2017
Balancing Bedrooms

Converted Hampshire coach house for sale; it extends to 6,222 square foot but has just two bedrooms

A 6,222 square foot Hampshire coach house that was converted to a residential dwelling in 1987 is for sale for £2.5 million ($3.1 million, €2.9 million or درهم11.4 million).

Hildon House at Broughton is Grade II listed and though vast in terms of its total size provides just two bedroom suites. The house, instead, is primarily comprised of six entertaining spaces and two kitchens and is presented in a modern style internally.

Standing in 18.99 acres of parkland that formerly belonged to Rose Hill, the long since demolished house the coach house served, the three-floor building is set around a courtyard. It comes with a one bedroom annexe, clock tower, outdoor swimming pool and carport.

Knight Frank are the sole selling agents.

April 13, 2017
An MP’s Manor

Norfolk manor house owned by anti-Brexit Conservative politician Lord Prior of Brampton for sale for £3 million

David Prior – now The Rt. Hon. The Lord Prior of Brampton – undoubtedly was a decent and able Member of Parliament. Educated at Charterhouse and Cambridge, he became first an investment banker with Lehman Brothers and Lazard and then subsequently represented the Norfolk North constituency between 1997 and 2001.

A Conservative but one with a belief that “the role of the market is hugely limited in health and social care” and that Brexit will be “a terrible mistake”, 62-year old Mr Prior – whose father was the “Tory wet” Jim, later The Rt. Hon. The Lord Prior PC (1927 – 2016) – acquired Swannington Manor, ten miles north of Norwich in 1990 with his wife and has recently put it up for sale for £3 million ($3.8 million, €3.5 million or درهم13.8 million).

Standing in 96.5 acres, Swannington Manor is a Grade II listed red brick built house that dates to around 1700. It retains many period features, extends to 7,519 square foot and includes 5 reception rooms, 8 bedrooms and a self-contained annexe. A 3 bedroom lodge – let on a protected tenancy – stands beside the property’s entrance gates and aside from various outbuildings, barns and stores, there are formal and informal gardens, a kitchen garden, a heated outdoor swimming pool and a hard tennis court.

Primarily to the south and west of the house are grazing meadows, water meadows, a trout stream, a series of ponds and areas of woodland. These have been maintained with conservation and duck flighting in mind and form what the selling agents Savills describe as “a small sporting estate”.

Surprisingly, given his comments about Britain leaving the EU, Lord Prior of Brampton was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on 21^st December 2016.

April 13, 2017
Five of the Best – Auctions America Auburn Spring

Five of the best lots on offer at the Auctions America Auburn Spring, Indiana sale of classic and modern cars and military lots

From 11^th to 13^th May at the Auburn Auction Park in Auburn Spring in Indiana, USA, Auctions America will sell a vast range of cars and military lots. Here, we choose our five favourite lots on offer:

1920 Ford Model T Coupé – £6,500 to £8,100 ($8,000 to $10,000, €7,600 to €9,400 or درهم29,400 to درهم36,700)

With over 16.5 million built between 1908 and 1927, the Ford Model T stands at the eighth most sold cars of all time. Undoubtedly the first affordable car produced, an example from 1920 provides an affordable way to start a classic car collection. The example offered also reflects the sentiments of Henry Ford (1863 – 1947), whom once said: “Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black”.

1930 Cunningham V8 33286 Hearse – £64,600 to £80,700 ($80,000 to $100,000, €75,600 to €94,500 or درهم293,800 to درهم367,300)

A perfect mode of conveyance for the Addams Family or Ozzy Osbourne, this hearse was built by the James Cunningham & Sons Company of Rochester, New York. It has a cathedral like coffin compartment featuring carved wood and has been owned by three generations of the Peterson family, owners of the Howe-Peterson Funeral Home business of Dearborn, Michigan. The firm was established in 1873 but is about to close down.

1941 Packard One-Eighty Convertible Victoria by Darrin – £302,800 to £343,200 ($375,000 to $425,000, €354,300 to €401,500 or درهم1.4 million to درهم1.6 million)

Finished in cream over saddle leather with a dark chocolate canvas top and period-appropriate wide whitewall tyres, this striking convertible is described as being in “excellent driving condition”. It was delivered new to Houston, Texas and was the creation of Howard ‘Dutch’ Darrin (1897 – 1982), a polo playing airline owner turned automotive designer.

1967 Chevrolet Corvette 427/390 Coupé – £80,700 to £100,900 ($100,000 to $125,000, €75,600 to €118,100 or درهم293,800 to درهم459,100)

“One of the most special Corvettes ever made”, this Marlboro Red coupé is presented in original and unrestored condition. It has only had two owners from new and has covered just 27,000 miles in its fifty year life.

1992 AM General M998 Humvee – £12,100 to £16,200 ($15,000 to $20,000, €14,200 to €18,900 or درهم55,100 to درهم73,500)

Featuring a 6.5-litre engine and definitely something Arnold Schwarzenegger would love, this cargo-troop carrier has a gross vehicle weight rating of 3.9-tonnes. It certainly could go anywhere and requires “no further demilitarization”.

April 10, 2017
81 Miles From New

1996 Mercedes-Benz SL500 that has been driven just 81 miles and stored in a Knightsbridge garage since new to be auctioned for 1,000% more than a normal example of its age

A Mercedes-Benz with a difference is to be auctioned on its twenty-first birthday on 12^th April. The car to be offered is an SL500 that effectively has covered an average of just 3.9 miles per year during its lifetime and it is presented in “virtually new condition”.

Offered by Coys of Kensington, the Imperial Red with Mushroom leather two-seat roadster was bought from Normand of Mayfair and was only recently recommissioned after spending the vast majority of its life locked in a Knightsbridge garage.

Of the time warp car, Chris Routledge, CEO of Coys of Kensington, remarked:

“This is a car with a fantastic story. Purchased as a birthday present and driven only 81 miles before the [female] owner lost the keys and never drove it again. It even comes with a letter written by the owner’s butler verifying its mileage and its provenance”.

“Had she not lost the keys and used it regularly, we estimate it would now be worth between £5,000 to £7,000 ($6,200 to $8,700, €5,900 to €8,200 or درهم22,800 to درهم31,900), but the fact that it has kept such a low mileage and has not been driven in more than twenty years makes it worth between £45,000 and £55,000 ($56,000 to $68,000, €53,000 to €64,000 or درهم205,000 to درهم251,000)”.

“What happened with the keys remains a mystery but the car comes with new keys for the new owner”.

April 10, 2017