Crumbling stone-built seaside cottage in Welsh foodie destination and royal town of Caernarfon goes on sale for just £1
The Royal Town of Caernarfon sits on the eastern shore of the Menai Strait in North Wales and as a result of its proximity to Snowdonia and history dating back to Roman times is a “major tourist centre,” according to Wikipedia. It has a marina, award winning arts centre, a maritime museum and numerous popular pubs, bars and restaurants.
Though clearly in need of total renovation, the space offered is just a three minute walk from the seafront and directly adjoins the town’s revamped shopping district where the annual food festival attracts around 30,000 visitors each May.
Of the property offered, the Mirror last week observed: “It now needs a total makeover to become a dream seaside cottage in the heart of the holiday town” and could instead be converted to a studio space even.
In their very brief marketing literature, Doorsteps, however, add: “Terms and conditions apply,” but when contacted for comment were somewhat curiously not able to elaborate further.
Bidding for the cottage to the rear of 72 Pool Street, Caernarfon is scheduled to commence online on 6th May 2021 at 12 noon and will conclude at 1pm on the same day. Interestingly, a bidding deposit of £500 is required to participate – some £499 or 49,900% more than the property’s guide price.
The interior of the cottage is nothing but an empty shack currently, but there is plenty of character that could be incorporated into its potential reuse as a home.The space could be used as a holiday cottage, permanent residence or a studio even – subject to any necessary planning consents being granted.The currently derelict cottage is behind an also currently derelict bakery that had been in business for over 50 years and accessed via a somewhat unappealing alleyway.The annual Caernarfon Food Festival is not happening in 2021 due to COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, but it is normally a popular event and attended by around 30,000 people.The festival occurs throughout the town and on the sea wall even.Previously in February 2017, ‘The Steeple Times’ featured the sale of a far grander residence in Caernarfon, The Old Court House, at a price reduced from £650,000 to just £525,000. The building’s then owner, an English property developer named Aaron Hill, told ‘Wales Online’ he was selling after “vandals had smashed his windows 46 times, daubed graffiti across doors, attacked his car and urinated through his letterbox.” He told the paper “he had reported about 26 incidents to North Wales Police and remarked: ‘They said: ‘You need to f**k off where you belong. We don’t want you here. We’ll burn the place down.’” The building was subsequently converted into a bar, bistro, restaurant and event venue in 2018.In June 2014, ‘The Steeple Times’ featured another property once sold for £1, the Grade I listed Palladian gem Barlaston Hall in Staffordshire. It was saved from near collapse in 1981 by former ‘Country Life’ editor Marcus Binney and sold on for £300,000in 1992 and offered for sale again in 2014 for £2.3 million after renovations were completed. After its asking price was reduced to £2 million, it subsequently sold for £2 million through agents Fisher German in April 2019.In the very same article in June 2014 in ‘The Steeple Times,’ we also included another £1 property, Old Whitehall House in Chirnside, Berwickshire, Scotland. Derelict since 2007, this B-listed Georgian mansion required at least £1.2 million spent on its refurbishment, but came complete with an ornate music room decorated in Italian plasterwork and 7 bedrooms.
Vast Scots Baronial mansion Carbisdale Castle – nicknamed ‘The Castle of Spite’ – goes on sale for sum 97% lower than it cost to build in the 1900s and 25% less than the sum spent on its 2010 renovation
A mega-mansion termed “the last grand castle built in Scotland” that cost £62 million to build between 1905 and 1917 has gone on sale for just £1.5 million in spite of developers having spent a small fortune on its renovation to date.
Extending to 41,433 square foot, category B-listed Carbisdale Castle in Sutherland is gargantuan in size compared to an average 818 square foot British home. Its construction began after the resolution of the then Dowager Duchess of Sutherland, Mary Caroline’s dispute with her late husband’s children from his first marriage, but ultimately the palatial pad was not completed until five years after her own demise.
Cash Consuming Carbisdale Castle – Mary Caroline, Dowager Duchess of Sutherland (1848 – 1912) and George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, His Grace The 3rd Duke of Sutherland (1828 – 1892). According to one source, the “deviant duchess” enjoyed an astonishing income of £100,000 per year until her death and married her third husband, a politician and businessman, Sir Albert Rollit (1842 – 1922) in 1896.Cash Consuming Carbisdale Castle – The castle was used as a youth hostel for 66 years from 1945 until 2011.Cash Consuming Carbisdale Castle – Its vast size made it ideal for institutional usage.
Featured on these pages in August 2014 and April 2016 after it was placed for sale after being used for 70 years as a youth hostel, the allegedly haunted building was sold to a London based investment firm now known as Faro Capital after being reduced in price from £1.2 million to £900,000. At this stage, £2 million had already been spent on renovations due to extensive water damage in 2010.
In the years since, Faro Capital have cleared Carbisdale Castle of its institutional contents and put in place plans to return the structure to use as what they term a “world class single family residence.” Now, of its current condition, a surveyor recently remarked: “The building offers a superb blank canvas,” according to current selling agents Strutt & Parker.
Speaking to The Scotsman late last week, Robert McCulloch for Strutt & Parker remarked of the sale of Carbisdale Castle:
“Already there has been interest. The property is in a state of partial renovation so it lends itself to being either a private residence or a commercial venture.”
“There has been interest in it as a hotel and also those who are interested in its charitable use. With its proximity to the North Coast 500 driving route and the rise in domestic tourism, I am sure people will see a lot of opportunity in this property.”
Carbisdale Castle, however, is still not without problems. Aside from its vast size and the associated costs of maintaining such a white elephant, it comes with a mere 20 acres of land and that is split into various spread-apart parcels. Thus, for a likely oligarch or business titan buyer – who will have to be someone with very, very deep pockets – privacy and security will remain an obvious issue.
The Names & Numbers – Carbisdale Castle, Culrain, Ardgay, Sutherland, IV24 3DP, Scotland, United Kingdom
May 2021 – Placed for sale with Strutt & Parker for £1.5 million ($2.1 million, €1.7 million or درهم7.6 million) or the equivalent of just £36.20 per square foot.
2017 onwards – Of progress since purchase by Faro Capital, Strutt & Parker remarked in 2021: “The current position is that, since 2017, significant works have been carried out to the castle pursuant with the approved consent but the works required to complete the project have been put on hold.”
“This provides the flexibility to purchasers to either complete the development of the castle as a private home, or seek to vary the Listed Building Consent to include the development of the building for commercial use or the subdivision of the building as residential apartments.”
“The intention of the project was to combine all of the decorative features and grandeur of the Dowager Duchess of Sutherland’s original creation with services, systems, fixtures, fittings and layout of the highest contemporary quality together with reorganisation of the existing accommodation to suit 21st Century living and the development of a spa and swimming pool as complementary features.”
Works to Carbisdale Castle have included the stripping down of the building, the removal of redundant items, the excavation of a proposed swimming pool and the replacement of heating systems and lighting circuits.
September 2016 – Sold to Sloane Street, London based Faro Capital Limited (formerly known as the FCFM Group), who planned to turn the building into a “world class residence.”
April 2016 – Reduced in price to just £900,000 ($1.2 million, €1 million or درهم4.6 million) or the equivalent of just £21.70 per square foot.
August 2014 – Offered for sale by Savills for £1.2 million ($1.7 million, €1.4 million or درهم6.1 million).
2010 onwards – After extensive water damage caused by frost, £2 million ($2.8 million, €2.3 million or درهم10.1 million) is spent on renovations.
1945 – 2011 – Used as a youth hostel.
1944 – Gifted to the Scottish Youth Hostel Association (SYHA) by Colonel Salvesen’s son, Captain Harold Salvesen.
22nd June 1941 – Used as the location to host the Carbisdale Conference at which it was “agreed that that the Russian forces, should they enter Norwegian territory, would not stay there after the war.”
1933 – Sold to Norwegian shipping and whaling tycoon Colonel Theodore Salvesen and used during the Second World War as a “safe refuge” for King Haakon VII of Norway and Crown Prince Olav, later King Olav V, during the Nazi occupation of Norway.
The Dowager Duchess (better known as ‘Duchess Blair’) had been jailed for 6 weeks after being found guilty of stealing documents during her divorce and when that was eventually finalised, it was agreed that a castle would be built for her just outside the Sutherland lands.
She intentionally chose – supposedly to spite them – a prominent hillside site visible from the very railway line the Sutherlands used to travel south and insisted that the clock tower of the house only had three clock faces. On the side facing Sutherland, the face is blank as “the Duchess did not wish to give the time of day to her former relatives.” As a result, Carbisdale Castle gained the nickname ‘The Castle of Spite.’
Grade A listed freehold Scottish castle with cottages, barony title, gold and copper reserves and 240 acres of land goes to auction for just £130,000 just as plans for a space centre are announced in the vicinity
Our November 2018 article on an Irish castle on a private island that was for sale for just £80,000 ($111,000, €93,000 or درهم409,000) continues to attract numerous hits each week to this day and now we’ve found something equally ‘cheap’ in Scotland that we imagine will prove equally popular.
Situated on Unst, the northernmost of the inhabited isles of Great Britain, 15th century Muness Castle is to be sold at auction on 23rd April with a guide price of just £130,000 ($181,000, €151,000 or درهم665,000). It comes with 240 acres and thus comes in at an astonishingly low price equivalent of just £542 per acre ($755, €629 or درهم2,800 per acre).
Given farmland in Oxfordshire is currently valued at around £10,300 per acre ($14,400, €12,000 or درهم52,700 per acre), this apparent bargain does, however, come with a number of catches. The “number of crofter’s cottages” that come as part of the property are “mainly in derelict condition,” according to auctioneers Future Property Auctions of Glasgow, and the most definitely presently anything but inhabitable 73-foot by 26-foot, Grade A listed castle itself is currently “run as museum by Historic Scotland” on a “free of charge basis.”
Currently owned by one Gavin Farquhar of the Ecclesgreig Estate in Kincardineshire, the property offered was listed as having a “consideration” value of £65,000 ($91,000, €75,000 or درهم333,000) in August 2006 and aside from a number of “burdens” to various parties, includes part-diviso rights to “gold and copper reserves discovered in a recently commissioned geological survey.”
For a buyer wanting a barony title, seclusion and to own land on a “superb section of coastline” rich in flora, fauna and sea life where dolphins, otters, puffins, seals and whales are spotted regularly, here is a bargain piece of paradise. Unst covers an area of 46 square miles, has a population of 632 and is accessible primarily by ferry since its airport was mothballed in 1996.
The island of Unst is bizarrely internationally famous for a bus shelter known as ‘Bobby’s Bus Shelter.’ The stop and shelter was saved by a then 7-year-old boy named Bobby Macaulay in 1996 after he wrote to the local council asking them not to remove it because it was where he kept his bike whilst at school. The council relented and furnished it with a sofa and television and periodically give it themed additions which have included tributes to Nelson Mandela, sheep, puffins and women’s suffrage in the United Kingdom.Another attraction on the island was the Valhalla Brewery, the northernmost brewery in the United Kingdom. Named after the Norse god Odin, Valhalla produced dark ales from malt, hops and bere barley, but after the owners fell ill, it ultimately closed permanently. In March this year, plans to reuse the brewery site for the construction of the Shetland Space Centre were announced and should they go ahead around 140 new jobs would be created on Unst as a result.An aerial view of the castle shows how thick its walls are and thus provides evidence as to why it has lasted over 423 years in spite of the harsh climate of its situation.The structure retains many original architectural details.Though the building is currently simply a tourist attraction, perhaps – subject to any planning processes – it could be returned to residential usage. The cost and dealing with bureaucrats might, however, be prohibitive and request by ‘The Steeple Times’ to selling auctioneers Future Property Auctioneers about such had not been answered at time of publication.The setting of the castle with views to the North Sea beyond and a cottage adjoining.The original floor plan of the building (before French pirate enemies of the then owner burnt the place down in 1627). As a result, now, the castle now has only two of its original three stories remaining. The building was used from 1713 by the Dutch East India Company as a storage space for goods the Company managed to salvage from the wreck of one of their vessels, but was then recorded as roofless and abandoned in 1775.This map shows the true isolation of the location.The coastline of Unst is truly epically spectacular.
This 2018 video shows Muness Castle with scaffolding around it – indication that good care has been taken of what remains of the structure.
Wrecking ball sent in to destroy Prince Andrew’s paedo bestie Jeffrey Epstein’s £13.2 million Palm Beach mucky mansion
Today, especially for ‘Rod’ from Australia, the reader who has left more comments than anyone else in the 9 years since The Steeple Times launched in 2012, we can report that a wrecking ball was sent in yesterday to forever rid the world of Jeffrey Epstein’s mucky mansion in Palm Beach.
Whilst Epstein’s palatial New York residence – sold for circa £36 million in March – will no doubt be restored in a graceful fashion (after a visit perhaps for a blessing by a priest or a rabbi), his Florida home at 358 El Brillo Way is being “wiped off the map of Palm Beach” according to the purchaser Todd Michael Glaser’s representative, real estate broker Lawrence A. Moens.
Of his plans for the property, Glaser told The Real Deal last November that he’d be constructing a “14,000 square foot Art Moderne mansion” on the site and added: “Palm Beach is going to be very happy [when] it’s gone.”
With permits issued for destruction last week, demolition crews from BG Group of Delray Beach “used heavy equipment to began pulling down the walls of the mansion. They tore into it again and again, starting on the east side – where vines still clung to the walls, blooming with flowers that were soon crushed – and eating through the house toward the waterfront,” the Palm Beach Daily News reported.
“By noon, debris littered the ground, as broken windows pierced walls that remained standing. And still intact was much of the second-floor balcony that overlooked the water, connected to the pool patio below by a graceful spiral staircase.”
Speaking after hearing of the wrecking ball’s swing yesterday, Michael Reiter, the former Palm Beach police chief who first led investigations into Epstein’s activities at the house, commented:
“The former owner of this house did unmeasurable damage to the lives of countless children and was able to corrupt the legal system to the point that the courts have called it a national disgrace. While it is critical that we learn from this tragedy, it is nearly as important that we follow with doing everything possible to erase any connection of him from our community.”
Situated on a plot of about an acre, 358 El Brillo Way had been enthusiastically marketed by Kerry Warwick of The Corcoran Group as a “beautiful John Volk lakefront residence located in the prestigious Estate Section… [with] westerly views of Tarpon Island and Everglades Island.” Unsurprisingly, the sales associate made no mention of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s monstrous activities whilst living there.
Epstein Gets Wrecking Ball – 358 El Brillo Way seen from the waterfront. Aside from the wraparound balconies, the property also included an outdoor swimming pool and docking facilities.
The Names & Numbers – 358 El Brillo Way, Palm Beach, Florida, FL 33480, United States of America
19th April 2021 – Demolition begins to make way for new build.
15th March 2021 – Sold to Miami property developer Todd Michael Glaser for £13.2 million ($18.5 million, €15.3 million or درهم67.9 million).
July 2020 – Listed for sale for £15.726 million ($21.995 million, €18.227 million or درهم80.777 million) by Kerry Warwick of The Corcoran Group. The property was described as standing on a lot of 36,050 square feet and featured a 14,223 square foot “white box” structure with 6 bedrooms, 8 bathrooms and a 3-car garage.
August 2019 – 12 News reported that the gates to the house had been vandalised by someone who tagged them “@Leroy” in large red letters.
2011 – Ownership transferred by Epstein from his name to an entity named Laurel Inc., a company registered in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
1990 – Sold to Jeffrey Epstein for £1.8 million ($2.5 million, €2.1 million or درهم9.2 million) and “significantly remodeled.”
1952 – Built to the designs of Austrian born John L. Volk (1901 – 1984) “in West Indies-style architecture.”
The wrecking ball was merciless yesterday as it tore down Jeffrey Epstein’s former home. Ridding the world of this house of horrors will not upset anyone other than perhaps his ex-lover associate Ghislaine Maxwell.358 El Brillo Way will most definitely not be remembered as an architectural treasure.An aerial shot of the property illustrates just why this scene of multiple abuse of underage girls truly deserved the wrecking ball.This swimming pool was a place where Ghislaine Maxwell allegedly took many filthy photographs.A view from above looking out across the water.The property is located in a ritzy waterfront district of Palm Beach, Florida.After the evil paedophile Jeffrey Epstein died and before the wrecking ball arrived, the gates of the property became prone to visits from vigilantes and graffiti artists. On one occasion, quite appropriately, a tag that read: “Gone but not forgiven” was added.
Boxy “Town Hall classical style” dictator crib ‘The Fountains’ on infamous The Bishops Avenue, N2 for sale for £3 million less than it listed for in 2012; this time it is destined for flattening
When we featured a 12,602 square foot house on The Bishops Avenue – a street often nicknamed ‘Billionaire’s Row” and a place where the Greek fashion tycoon Aristos Constantinou was shot dead on New Year’s Day 1985 with six bullets – in May 2015, it was for sale for £15 million.
Standing on a 0.65-acre plot, ‘The Fountains’ – originally named ‘Deans Cote’ and more simply known as just ‘39 The Bishops Avenue’ – has simply been left to rot in the time since and has now been placed on the market, but this time listed as just “land for sale.”
Gone, here, are the day of deviant dignitaries and dodgy despots entertaining in this house – built in 1926 and mocked more recently as “very boxy” and of a “Town Hall classical style” – and now, though much of the same furniture remains six years later, Knight Frank offer it for £12 million.
In spite of the £3 million reduction at a time when prices for houses with land has elsewhere risen, the seller has also spent time and money to gain planning permission to flatten the house and replace it with a larger 23,695 square foot “grand new build residence.”
Of the proposals, Knight Frank remark:
“The designs elevate the quality of the internal accommodation, offering increased lateral volume and a luxurious sense of space throughout.”
“The proposed residence comprises six-bedroom suites and a new lower ground floor with staff quarters and a range of additional amenity and leisure facilities including swimming pool, gym, cinema, catering kitchen and secure car parking.”
“The proposed landscaping for the private rear gardens includes a sensitive restoration of the historic water feature and pavilion.”
In 2014, whilst the Guardian revealed that of the 66 houses on the street, 16 were derelict and rotting, local estate agent Trevor Abrahmsohn bragged of it in 2006: “Among the wealthiest circles in the world, The Bishops Avenue is better known than Buckingham Palace. It’s a significant demonstration of status. If you live there, you don’t need to explain to people that you’re rich.”
When the house was marketed in 2012, Knight Frank made specific reference to the house having “majilis” or “private places where guests, usually male, are received and entertained.” Goodness knows, however, who was received in this airport sized room, but it certainly looks like a place that would have suited Saddam Hussein a treat.
The Numbers – The Fountains, 39 The Bishops Avenue, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London, N2 0BA, United Kingdom
April 2021 – Offered for sale for £12 million ($16.6 million, €13.9 million or درهم61 million) with planning permission to demolish and replace through Knight Frank’s Hampstead office.
May 2015 – Offered for sale for £15 million ($20.8 million, €17.3 million or درهم76.2 million) through Knight Frank and Glentree on behalf of executors of persons unnamed.
Today, instead of lauding its gaudy past, Knight Frank share this mockup of an even larger mansion that could replace the existing 1926-built structure.Another mockup shows the proposed replacement from the rear.The current entrance hall is somewhere the 1980s soap opera ‘Dynasty’s’ Alexis Colby (played by Joan Collins) would certainly feel in ecstasy.The entrance is dominated by balconies and plenty of gold paint.Acres of marble were used throughout the existing structure.There’s plenty of filthy shagpile too.The dining room today retains the very same table that was there in 2015. It’s certainly got enough seats for even the likes of Mohammed bin Salman even to host an interrogation with David Cameron and Lex Greenskill.A corridor leading to the main “majali.”The “majali” has been cleared of furnishings, but retains a few tacky chandeliers and columns.The decrepit kitchen is an area that would not exactly appeal to Nigella Lawson or Delia Smith even.The master bedroom has fallen into decline and features a carpet dotted with brown stains and a filthy looking pair of beds.Another bedroom resembles something out of an OAP home.The master bathroom has retained its frankly hideous murals.The “majalis” from above with an overgrown ‘patio’ separating them.The garden is somewhat neglected, but not nearly in as bad a condition as those of some of the neighbouring mansions.Supposedly, these fountains are of historic value. At the moment, they’re just a tip.The existing floor plans.The proposed plans for the ground and basement levels include a new swimming pool, gym and cinema room.Plans for the first floor and a new second floor.Barratt Homes on steroids – The Fountains, 39 The Bishops Avenue, London, N2 as it was in 2015.
Theodora Ong lusts after a £1.55 million 2013 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport that currently sports the registration plate ‘BIG 3’ – but could become ‘BUG 8’
The Steeples Times’ classic cars columnist Theodora Ong is back on the road after the pandemic lockdowns and is all set for essential-journey test drives – or, in this case, is still dreaming of them.
So, you didn’t get out much during 2020 and you’ve saved a fair bit. Staycation country jaunts sound like the safest plan for no-hassle cruising, so, today, I share with you something a little more modern than my normal automobile offerings.
Ready for you to drive away is this rare Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport. One of only 58 produced, it’s a UK-registered supermobile, but you are unlikely to have spotted it running around as it’s clocked up just 2,220 miles (3,574 kms).
Right now, this gleaming pearly white Grand Sport is in a secret location in the custody of classic & supercars specialists Graeme Hunt Ltd. They say it’s definitely for driving now rather than to be swaddled up in storage. Well, who wouldn’t want to get some sunshine bouncing off its curvy armour-like shell, designed to profile its muscle structure and ferocious 7993cc – with pano roof down right now?
When the Bugatti Veyron was launched, it redefined sports motoring on the road, in the way that only every decade or so, a new contender explodes on the scene. This is a hypercar of extreme concept fully realised. Its 0 to 60 in just over 2 seconds is too simplistic a way to describe its abilities. It’s a car you can feel; the dealer describes the noise you hear when firing it up as “utterly charming, the oils and fluids pulsing around the engine warming up the 16 cylinders make you just sizzle with excitement,” though I am still waiting to share the flutter of elation from an ever-hopeful outing.
With the heritage of Italian-born industrial designer Ettore Bugatti and memorable Grand Prix victories, the 21st century Bugatti is a brand of our Euro-age, as a French subsidiary of Volkswagen AG. After some six years in concept, the Veyron was launched in 2005, and models of increasing refinement rolled off for nearly a decade after. Four turbochargers produced 1001 horsepower offering a top speed of 253 mph (407 km/h) and the price was announced at £880,000 ($1.2 million, €1 million or درهم4.5 million). It sealed its iconic status when the BBC’s Top Gear compared it to Concorde.
And who are amongst the greatest who have sought the greatest? Tom Cruise set the pace of the Mission Impossible III premiere by arriving in a Bugatti Veyron. Beyoncé gifted one to Jay-Z, and the Veyron’s speed and slick looks lured sportsmen Cristiano Ronaldo and Floyd Mayweather Jr and lifestyle designer Ralph Lauren, plus a sizeable clutch of big-time rappers and R&B dukes.
Jazzy customisations and two-tone body paint on Veyrons have been plenty, so it’s soothing to see our pearly king sporting a restrained black interior. It’s currently number plated as ‘BIG 3.’ Does that give a clue as to its current owner?
Just hope we don’t have any more lockdown travel restrictions. You’re almost guaranteed to be tracked if you’re driving this. And don’t even think about emulating the infamous 2014 insurance scam when an owner drove his Veyron into a lake, claiming ‘to avoid a low flying pelican’, then tried to claim £1.6 million ($2.2 million, €1.8 million or درهم8.1 million). His antics were crisply caught on film by an admiring nearby driver and are well worth a watch.
The market at this ultimate top end has stayed unswervingly buoyant in these troubled times, so this Grand Sport looks an investment you can indulge your passion in for decades to come.
Graeme Hunt have the 2013 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport listed at a price of £1.55 million ($2.14 million, €1.79 million or درهم7.88 million). They share that the cherished number plate ‘BIG 3’ “does not form part of the sale,” but add: “We do have ‘BUG 8’ on retention should anyone wish to discuss it.”
2015 Rolls-Royce Wraith converted to a ‘Spectre’ shooting brake by automotive genius Niels van Roij for sale for 157% more than it originally cost
A modern day ‘shooting brake’ is effectively just a “sexier” ‘estate car’ if you’d believe Car Wow, but an adapted one-off Rolls-Royce Wraith version that is to be auctioned later this month with an upper estimate of nearly £500,000 is definitely more than appealing.
Named in honour of the 2015 James Bond film Spectre, the big-booted two-seater to be offered by Bonhams is the creation of the Niels van Roij Design studio – whose £256,000 coachbuilt 2018 Range Rover ‘Adventum Coupé’ we featured in March 2020.
Based on a Rolls-Royce Wraith produced in mid-2015 and first registered in the UK in January 2016, the original car – which had around 11,100 miles on the clock – was last serviced in 2018 and then subjected to an 18-month £260,000 conversion that makes it “one of the costliest cars ever made.”
Driven just 125 miles in the time since, the vehicle is described as being “in excellent condition throughout” and because of the coronavirus pandemic has not been exhibited publicly until now.
Of it, its creator, who worked with Belgian firm Carat Duchatelet to build it, remarked: “The elongated lines signal masterful craftsmanship and exquisite style. A manifestation of Grand Touring in its purest form.”
In a series of videos shared on YouTube in October 2020, Niels van Roij remarked:
“The car has been named after the image of a shadow, a ghost, a spirit if you’d like and has been styled by Niels van Roij Design… As you can see, the car has been styled with a certain sense of drama that harks back to the heydays of shooting brakes in the 1930s.”
“We’ve also overseen the construction process, as we do with all our coachbuilt cars… The outcome is an original design and also historically relevant… The new bodywork allows for very different proportions [that are]… very sculptural.”
“The Silver Spectre shooting brake is strictly limited to only seven examples [since changed to just one] worldwide and it is available with the largest starlight headliner boasting a world’s first celestial infinity nightscape.”
“The Silver Spectre has also been equipped with an increased power output giving a total of 700 horsepower.”
‘The Spectre Shooting Brake’ will be auctioned by Bonhams at their ‘Les Grandes Marques à Monaco’ sale in Monte Carlo on 23rd April.
The Numbers – The Spectre Shooting Brake
23rd April 2021 – Offered at auction by Bonhams in Monaco with an estimate of £320,000 to £480,000 ($440,000 to $660,000, €370,000 to €550,000 or درهم1.6 million to درهم2.4 million).
2018 – 2020 – Cost of conversion estimated to be £260,000 ($360,000, €300,000 or درهم1.3 million) giving a total cost for the creation of circa £448,000 ($618,000, €515,750 or درهم2.3 million).
Base price in 2013 for the original mid-2015 car – £187,000 ($258,000, €215,750 or درهم949,000).
Aside from having ‘suicide doors,’ the shooting brake has a lavishly appointed interior that features highly polished woods and colour matched leather.The boot is large enough to accommodate shotguns, golf clubs or simply a picnic even.A unique picnic hamper trunk comes with the vehicle.The car also features plates from Niels van Roij Design’s studio.Here is a one of one shooting brake that nobody else will ever own. It has been subjected to an increase in power and torque output of the 6.6 liter twin-turbo V12 engine. The standard 632 hp and 800 Nm (or max 870 Nm of torque for Black Badge) has been increased to 700 hp and 900 Nm.
In this video, shared on YouTube, Niels van Roij explains what inspired him to create the car. Going further, on his own website, he added: “We envisioned a daring, three-box rather than two-box shooting brake aesthetic and with that a convention-challenging design. The car features very English proportions inside and out, and uncompromised levels of luxury.”
Aston Martin driving company director named Mr Kipling appeals to Prince Charles for “clemency” for UPVC conservatory added without planning permission to his Grade II listed home that John Profumo fled to in 1963; he doesn’t want to return to “lap tray suppers”
Martin Kipling has been a director of six companies, so clearly you’d think he’d understand the law of the land. He apparently drives an Aston Martin and lives in a Grade II listed, 805 square foot mews house with a flag of St George in the garden. You’d think he be content with his lot, but plainly he most definitely is anything but.
Mr Kipling’s home has a 17’11” by 13’7” living room with ample space for a dining table and a kitchen with a breakfast bar, yet this man – who presumably would claim also not to have space to “bake exceedingly good cakes” – moans that him and his wife, Lesley, had to “eat off lap trays 24/7” for years. He also adds that he solved this ‘first world problem’ of immense inconvenience, by adding a hideous UPVC carbuncle that he now calls a “dining room” to his stone-built residence.
Sold last in 2002 for £175,000 freehold and now valued at £359,000 according to The Move Market, Mr and Mrs Kipling’s residence forms part of a complex of 17 homes created from a mansion that the Profumo family owned from the 1920s until the 1970s. In June 2016, the couple attempted to sell 4 Avon Carrow at Avon Dassett, Warwickshire and in marketing pictures a dining table and chairs – now very clearly relocated to their ‘conservatory’ in 2018 – was easily housed with their ‘living room’ area.
On a whim, after deciding to ignore adhering to planning regulations in 2018, this duo put up a “splayed design” structure complete with “stained glass windows,” the couple became strangely surprised that their retrospective applications and appeals for it have been rejected and they were told to pull it down.
In turn, these moaning Minnies bombarded their local councillor John Fielding, their local MP Jeremy Wright, the Housing Minister Robert Jenrick, the Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Prince Charles even.
When that failed, Mr Kipling turned to local and social media and last week complained angrily to the Banbury Guardian:
“We feel that our lives are being dictated to by people that haven’t even seen our house or the conservatory – would they eat their meals off a tray 24/7 – I don’t think so.”
“We are both lifelong members of the National Trust so there’s no way we would damage our property. The inspector is saying that we are hurting the wall… But we’re not causing any harm.”
“We have emailed Boris though he is otherwise engaged at this time, Jeremy Wright MP who did reply, Robert Jenrick MP housing minister who has not replied and the Prince of Wales who immediately sent a letter of support but stated he was not allowed to intervene.”
“We are going to keep going on with this until some form of common sense prevails.”
“We’re not very good with Facebook and Twitter, and we would like to start a petition to allow us to have it remain for the next eight years.”
“If there’s anybody out there who can help us please get in touch either to advise on going forward or getting it out onto the social media platforms [via [email protected]].”
Not content with one news article, ‘Hyacinth Bucket-like’ Lesley Kipling turned to the Coventry Telegraph and attempted to play on the public’s heart strings by sharing she’d “had a response from Prince Charles, who acknowledged her letter, but stated he couldn’t help.” She added:
“In 2018 we watched an episode of George Clarke’s Ugly House to Lovely House where a conservatory was demolished and sold on eBay.”
“We thought, wow we could afford to buy one, and give us a dining room which would enable us to have our family round to dinner for the first time in years. To eat at a table not on trays on our laps.”
“It’s my sewing room, my jigsaw room and more importantly during lockdown I have a virtual lunch with my sister weekly, virtual coffee mornings with my friends, neighbours and virtual choir every Thursday night as it’s the only place in the house with a decent internet signal.”
“Added to this I have been able to get my dearest late mum’s crystal glasses and dinner service from out of boxes in the loft and use them in our dining space and have space to store them.”
“By virtue of the conservatory’s position, style and materials, the design appears as a disruptive feature which does not integrate with the historic palette of material, roofscape and linear character of the north west elevation.”
“The design detracts from the historic composition and provides a discordant element within the original cohesive architectural design. The special architectural and historic interest is not preserved with harm being caused which is not outweighed by a public benefit.”
“The application is therefore contrary to S66 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990.”
Featured subsequently on the Facebook group ‘Angry People in Local Newspapers’ – whose previous ‘victims’ have included a “brolly wally” named Mike Devlin – the story attracted much discussion after a comment titled: “One from the ‘Good luck with that’ department.”
Wallies of the Week – Martin and Lesley Kipling – Whilst in advertising history Mr Kipling will be remembered for “making exceedingly good cakes,” his modern day namesake Martin Kipling will not go down in history for building anything other than an exceptionally inappropriate conservatory.Wallies of the Week – Martin and Lesley Kipling – Martin and Lesley Kipling in their conservatory. Note that infamous stained glass and dining table and chairs that plainly were moved from their living room.Wallies of the Week – Martin and Lesley Kipling – Prior to constructing their conservatory without planning permission in 2018, Mr and Mrs Kipling attempted to sell their home through estate agents Seccombes in June 2016. Marketing imagery shows their dining table and chairs (now relocated to their UPVC carbuncle) taking up not much space at all in their capacious living room.Wallies of the Week – Martin and Lesley Kipling – According to the marketing literature from 2016’s imagery also, Mr and Mrs Kipling also had the option of munching whilst sitting on two stools in their kitchen. Another image showed they could also dine outside at a table with four chairs on a “paved patio.”Wallies of the Week – Martin and Lesley Kipling – Contradicting about their financial circumstances and being unable to use social media, Lesley Kipling has a Twitter account where she shows an Aston Martin – presumably belonging to her and her husband – outside their mews house.
Responses to Mr & Mrs Kipling’s situation on Facebook were anything but supportive:
Extending to 3,632 square foot in total and on a plot of just under an acre, 221 Poplar Street is marketed by agents Carousel Realty as “gorgeous” and built in 1910. It was last sold in 2008 for just £42,900 ($60,000) and this time comes with “all furniture and antique furniture.”
Very much having the appearance of a ‘bargain basement budget’ version of “frankly my dear” Rhett Butler’s mansion in the 1939 movie adaptation of Margaret Mitchell’s 1936 novel, 221 Poplar Street’s wrap-around-porch has most definitely got ‘Marmite-like’ qualities. Of it, on Facebook, one commentator remarked: “It looks like a house in a cage” whilst another concluded: “I just love it.”
Situated in the Lake County area, where the militant ‘Night Riders of Reelfoot Lake’ tobacco farmers took on the monopolistic American Tobacco Company in the early 1900s and where between 1877 and 1950 thirteen black people were tragically lynched, the population makeup of the locality according to the 2000 census was 67% white and 31% black or African American.
Gone with the Wind (on a Bargain Basement Budget) – ‘Gone with the Wind’ was written by Margaret Mitchell in 1936. The fictional plantation house it centred upon, ‘Tara’, was of the antebellum style and in the novel was not nearly as palatial as the one depicted in the 1939 movie of the same name.
The Public’s Take…
“Is this the house from Dallas?”
“Looks like a mortuary.”
“Looks like a houseboat.”
“Looks like the Flying Nun!”
“Looks like a house in a cage.”
“Looks like Amazon just delivered it.”
“Reminds me of a ‘Tara’ recreation, circa 1960s-1970s.”
“Is there an actual house in there somewhere or is it just a porch?”
“What’s with the flat roof? You could land a helicopter on that thing.”
“That veranda is a bit much.”
“Does it come with the dog statue?”
“Can they still advertise antebellum [in the new ‘woke’ age]?”
“Poor photography. This is what happens when a realtor uses their phone for photos.”
The Numbers – 221 Poplar Street, Ridgely, Lake County, Tennessee, TN 38080, United States of America
March 2021 – For sale for £128,700 ($179,900, €150,100 or درهم660,700) or the equivalent of £36 per square foot ($50, €42 or درهم184 per square foot). Offered by realtor Karen Paschall of Carousel Realty of Dyer County at a sum 200% more than the December 2008 sale price.
December 2008 – Sold for £42,900 ($60,000, €50,000 or درهم220,400) or the equivalent of £12 per square foot ($17, €14 or درهم62 per square foot).
Gone with the Wind (on a Bargain Basement Budget) – The entrance hall to the property is somewhat plain. It could be a dentist’s waiting room area, in fact, though the faux bulldog adds a comedy touch.Gone with the Wind (on a Bargain Basement Budget) – This “formal living room” has the look of more like something from the 1980s BBC comedy series ‘Last of the Summer Wine’ than the elegance of ‘Gone with the Wind.’ The crappy coffee table, doily pelmeting and fake flower arrangements mixed with an oversized telly box are anything but classy.Gone with the Wind (on a Bargain Basement Budget) – The dining room is somewhat plainer in its styling.Gone with the Wind (on a Bargain Basement Budget) – A mural on the wall is surprisingly classy. It’s not quite de Gournay, but it’s certainly far from objectionable. The chandelier, on the other hand, most certainly belongs in a skip.Gone with the Wind (on a Bargain Basement Budget) – Another entertaining area complete with yet more fake shrubbery.Gone with the Wind (on a Bargain Basement Budget) – The kitchen is basic but functional.Gone with the Wind (on a Bargain Basement Budget) – One of four bedrooms. This one’s curtains, cushions and accompaniments have been carefully coordinated.Gone with the Wind (on a Bargain Basement Budget) – Another is a little more ‘Holiday Inn on an expense account-esque.’Gone with the Wind (on a Bargain Basement Budget) – A more flattering view of the building from the side. If only they’d watered the lawn.Gone with the Wind (on a Bargain Basement Budget) – From the side, the setting looks somewhat neglected.Gone with the Wind (on a Bargain Basement Budget) – There is a three car garage.Gone with the Wind (on a Bargain Basement Budget) – In addition, the 0.96 acre plot features an outbuilding also.Gone with the Wind (on a Bargain Basement Budget) – Two adjoining plots of land come as part of the property and the selling agents declare: “All furniture and antique furniture stays with the property.”
As her brother takes to the airwaves to PR her on Radio 4, Ghislaine Maxwell’s sale of her “showgirl-hooker-esque” London townhouse for an astonishing sum 44% lower than it was marketed at is branded a “shenanigan”
This morning, Ian Maxwell was interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. Talking extensively and featured in several segments, the brother of Ghislaine Maxwell went into PR overdrive and attempted to spin that his sister deserved bail. He even went as far to insist of a woman whom managed to disappear for nearly a year: “She is no longer a flight risk… This is not somebody who’s seeking to flee.”
Going further, the businessman banged on about the “grotesque” conditions within the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn and bleated about his sinister sister’s hair falling out and her being served “brown water.”
Mr Maxwell claimed that he “assumes” the Duke of York – who allegedly sexually abused Virginia Roberts (now married and named Virginia Giuffre) in a bathroom at his sister’s Kinnerton Street mews house on 10th March 2001 – still considers Jeffrey Epstein’s henchwoman “as a friend” and moaned: “The water that is provided through the prison is brown and the food that she’s given is very highly microwaved and basically inedible.”
Whilst admitting he “wished she’d never met the man [Jeffrey Epstein], obviously,” Mr Maxwell attempted to slam the fact the alleged victims of his sister have not been named, but meanwhile elsewhere The Steeple Times can today reveal that the financial shenanigans surrounding the sale of ‘Grubby Ghislaine’s’ London home are starting to look increasingly curious.
Last night, a leading property expert often quoted by the BBC who did not wish to be named, told us:
“Estate agents Aylesford were instructed to sell 44 Kinnerton Street in September 2020. They sought £2.6 million for the house and when it failed to sell, they later reduced the price to £2.1 million.”
“It’s the kind of house that could have featured in Smiley’s People, in fact it’s the kind of house where the showgirl-hooker Mandy Rice-Davies could have cavorted with John Profumo.”
Going further, Yeoman’s Row, Knightsbridge based agent Matthew Kaye of Kaye & Carey added: “Knowing the street as I do, 44 is one of the smaller houses which I assume it to be a little over 1,000 square foot in size. Depending on the condition, I estimate the freehold value to be circa £1.8 million to £2 million.”
Given that the Maxwells tried and failed to raise finance on the property – quite possibly due to its association with an incarcerated jailbird alleged sexual offender – in December 2020 and given last week that the mucky madam’s lawyers announced a sale on the property was pending at a sum of just £1.45 million, another agent remarked:
“This sum seems incredibly low and it sounds to me like the notorious Maxwell family are upto financial shenanigans yet again. This asset is most likely being moved to an entity they themselves have connections with rather than ‘sold’ to someone unconnected.”
“You can’t teach an old dog new tricks,” he concluded.
The Names & Numbers – 44 Kinnerton Street (AKA ‘Mucky Madam Ghislaine Maxwell’s Bathtub Bonk Pad’), Belgravia, London, SW1X 8ES, United Kingdom
March 2021 – Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyer offered cash from the “pending sale of her £1.45 million ($2 million, €1.68 million or درهم37 million)” home as part of a package when they sought bail for the mucky madam for a third time. This sum is 44% lower than the September 2020 asking price and 400% higher than the January 1997 purchase price.
March 2021 – Knightsbridge estate agent Matthew Kaye of Kaye & Carey tells The Steeple Times: “Knowing the street as I do, 44 is one of the smaller houses which I assume it to be a little over 1,000 square foot in size. Depending on the condition, I estimate the freehold value to be circa £1.8 million to £2 million ($2.5 million to $2.8 million, €2.1 million to €2.3 million or درهم9.2 million to درهم10.2 million).”
December 2020 – Members of the Maxwell family attempted to raise finance on the property but are not successful.
September 2020 – Estate agents Aylesford list 44 Kinnerton Street for sale for £2.6 million ($3.6 million, €3 million or درهم3 million) on a freehold basis, a sum 797% than the January 1997 purchase price. They subsequently later reduce the asking price to £2.1 million ($2.9 million, €2.5 million or درهم10.7 million) according to a leading property expert.
August 2019 – According to Insider, a woman with “long hair [who] appeared to be in her 60s” was seen entering the property. She “denied that the socialite owns or lived in the house, claiming instead that the elusive socialite lived elsewhere down the street.”
10th March 2001 – Prince Andrew allegedly had sexual relations with 17-year-old Virginia Roberts in a bathroom in the property. He continues to deny this occurred whilst claiming that a photograph of himself with Miss Roberts and Ghislaine Maxwell on the first floor of building is a fake also.
22nd January 1997 – Ghislaine Maxwell paid £290,000 ($401,000, €337,000 or درهم5 million) for the three-storey leasehold mews house. It is situated at the heart of the Duke of Westminster’s Grosvenor Estate.
Murky Maxwell’s Property & PR Projects 2021 – Ghislaine Maxwell’s decision to go on record on Radio 4’s ‘Today’ programme this morning on behalf of his mucky madam sister, Ghislaine, appeared remarkable. It was most likely orchestrated with the help of their PR peddler, Brian Basham.Murky Maxwell’s Property & PR Projects 2021 – Of the now infamous photograph of Prince Andrew – which he continues claims to be fake, but which has never been proven to be such – on the landing of the property with Virginia Roberts on 10th March 2001 with Ghislaine Maxwell to the rear, Ian Maxwell remarked: “I recognise the setting.”
