Combining a mix of society's last word and both wit and wisdom, The Steeple Times covers food, drink and fine dining as well as luxury, travel, the arts, individuals of influence and current affairs in the United Kingdom, America and elsewhere. We are best described as being akin to "a cross between The Huffington Post and Private Eye".
The magazine's following is affluent, engaged and international. With 41% of readers coming from the UK and 38% from America, The Steeple Times also has strong presence within Canadian, Italian, German and Australian territories.
January 6, 2019
by Matthew Steeples
Mayfair “farmhouse” where Mrs Simpson began her affair with the then Prince of Wales for sale for 147% more than it was marketed for in 2012 Last marketed at a price of £4.75 million ($6.04 million, €5.30 million or درهم22.19 million) in 2012 and offered for sale in 2005 at an undisclosed sum also, … Continue reading “Mrs Simpson Farmed in Mayfair”
September 10, 2018
by Matthew Steeples
Chelsea estate agent optimistically markets an £850 per week house with unpainted walls and an exposed gas meter by announcing: “It does have a new boiler” Other than the legendary Roy Brooks, the only honest man in his game, estate agents will be optimistic about just about anything. A bit of damp: “no problem”; … Continue reading “A Rental Ruin”
August 14, 2018
by Matthew Steeples
Diverse 2,000 acre Suffolk riverside estate for sale for £31.5 million; it has been owned by the same family since the 19th century and produces an income of some £500,000 per year A vast Suffolk estate – just 120 miles from London – has gone on sale for £31.5 million ($40.1 million, €35.3 million … Continue reading “A Perfect Estate”
October 22, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
C-shaped glass and stone house complete with a Grade II listed set of Druid stones for sale for £7 million; it sits next door to the £140 million home of the fugitive billionaire financier Andrey Borodin A C-shaped 20th century house in 43 acres of parkland has gone on sale for £7 million ($9.2 … Continue reading “In the Round”
June 8, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
London estate agents launch three properties priced over £25 million each on General Election day Pundits may be referencing worrying times ahead in Britain’s post-Brexit economy, but London’s top tier estate agents have come out all guns blazing on General Election day and launched a series of jaw droppingly priced properties. In Knightsbridge’s … Continue reading “Flop or Fly?”
May 30, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
“Grand” Grade II* listed Midlands manor for sale for just £350,000; it comes with a 49-seat cinema and several unexpected catches Where there’s muck, there’s money and a late 18th century Midlands manor house currently for sale for just £350,000 ($451,000, €402,000 or درهم1.65 million) provides an example of the tale of the progress … Continue reading “Mucking Up A Manor”
May 29, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
EXCLUSIVE – “Nationally important” Grade II* listed Berkshire mansion in 130 acres for sale for £26 million; its interior is yet to be renovated A Grade II* listed building capable of being reinstated as one of Britain’s finest country houses has just been placed on the market for £26 million. Benham Park – … Continue reading “Best in Britain”
May 22, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
Refurbished Surrey manor house with connections to Detmar Blow and Gertrude Jekyll for sale for £2.55 million Reduced in price by £200,000 since when it was previously on the market in June 2015, a Surrey manor house is again for sale – but this time for £2.55 million ($3.32 million, €2.96 million or درهم12.20 … Continue reading “Making a Manor”
April 28, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
New York’s “last intact Gilded Age mansion” for sale for £38.75 million; it comes with a room that cannot be wiretapped An Upper East Side “Beaux Arts palace on a small scale” described as “Manhattan’s last intact Gilded Age mansion” has gone on sale for £38.75 million ($50 million, €45.96 million or درهم183.65 million) … Continue reading “Gilded Glory”
April 23, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
New Jersey mansion, complete with 58 rooms, for sale for equivalent sum to what it cost to build in 1909; the £37 million house’s original owner was a man whose extravagance knew absolutely no bounds George Crocker (1856 – 1909) makes F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Jay Gatsby seem like an amateur. Born in Sacramento and … Continue reading “Living Large”
March 14, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
Georgian mansion, where Admiral Lord Nelson lived with his lover and her husband, for sale for £4.25 million; it was renovated by a former Nintendo executive One would expect a senior executive of a tech company to live in a slick, modern home in Silicon Valley, but since 2004, Matthew Hill, for many years … Continue reading “Nelson & Nintendo”
January 22, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
Berkshire country house named “Gays” for sale Not connected with the LGBT community in any way, but in fact named after a man named John Gays, “Gays” at Holyport, near Maidenhead in Berkshire dates to around 1456 and is currently for sale for £5.95 million ($7.36 million, €6.88 million or درهم27.05 million). … Continue reading “A Happy House”
December 9, 2016
by Matthew Steeples
East Sussex country house for sale; it comes complete with an enormous rectangular moat allegedly dug by an eccentric parson in the 1700s One generally associates moats with castles and manor houses – such as the one we featured last month – but an old rectory currently for sale for £5 million ($6.3 million … Continue reading “A Parson’s Moat”
December 3, 2016
by Matthew Steeples
Oxfordshire country house that has appeared in many films for sale for £10 million in spite of needing some renovation Launched to the market in June for £10 million ($12.7 million or €11.9 million or درهم46.7 million) in June 2016 as a while or £7.75 million ($9.9 million or €9.2 million or درهم36.2 million) … Continue reading “A £10m Doer-Upper”
January 25, 2016
July 9, 2015
by Matthew Steeples
One-off Maserati Boomerang heads to auction for just under £3 million
May 21, 2015
by Matthew Steeples
Running shoes in which Sir Roger Bannister became the first man to run a sub four-minute mile to be sold for £30,000 to £50,000 in the Christie’s ‘Out of the Ordinary’ sale
April 6, 2015
by Matthew Steeples
An aerial shot of homes in Rancho Mirage, California provides evidence about the effects of untrammelled growth and excessive water consumption
February 3, 2015
by Matthew Steeples
Bristol Cars market a stunning 402 ‘Hollywood Special’ just as they prepare to move into a new showroom and launch their first new model since 2003
January 15, 2015
by Matthew Steeples
Cairness House, “Scotland’s most important Greek Revival house”, heads into its fourth year on the market
August 24, 2014
by Matthew Steeples
Highlights from the second annual Christie’s South Kensington sale of unusual items and objects, ‘Out of the Ordinary’ On 3rd September Christie’s South Kensington will auction “an eclectic selection of art and ephemera celebrating the joy of the unconventional”. Here, The Steeple Times selects a few highlights
December 23, 2013
by Matthew Steeples
A country seat with a prodigious history Historic Brereton Hall in Brereton, Cheshire is a fine Elizabethan country house but one that has been sadly separated from much of its original estate.
October 4, 2013
by Matthew Steeples
Scotland’s most expensive estate comes to the market In Downton Abbey last week, the Grantham family talked about selling off parts of their estate to cover the costs of death duties. In Scotland, the death of Sir James Cayzer has led to his family selling off one of their estates.
August 16, 2013
by Matthew Steeples
21st century gauche replaces 20th century elegance A hidden enclave opposite the V&A museum in South Kensington was home to two of the twentieth century’s most fascinating individuals. London club owner and arbiter of good taste Mark Birley lived at Thurloe Lodge for nearly thirty years until his death in 2007 and for a … Continue reading “All hail vulgarity”
May 30, 2013
by Katusha Fletcher
Katusha Fletcher takes a brief look at the history of the iconic brand Chanel For a certain type of woman there is one label coveted above all others, Chanel. Founded by Gabrielle “Coco” Bonheur Chanel, daughter of an unwed laundress and street peddler, in early 20th century Paris, the House of Chanel epitomises effortless, … Continue reading “Chanel – A brief history”
May 19, 2013
by Matthew Steeples
One of the greatest traders ever to have lived. This thrice married American was famed for making and losing several multi-million dollar fortunes and once stated: “People who look for easy money invariably pay for the privilege of proving conclusively that it cannot be found on this earth”. Bankers today should pay heed. Nicknamed the … Continue reading “Jesse Livermore (1877 – 1940)”
April 4, 2013
by Matthew Steeples
Our reaction to the BBC Lab UK’s Great British class calculator Yesterday, Twitter and Facebook were abuzz with talk of a new class calculator created by the BBC Lab UK and a pair of academics that claimed it could grade the position of each and every one of us in society. Gone, they … Continue reading “There are only two classes now”
March 4, 2013
by Matthew Steeples
The sale of a $100 million Californian estate with a catch If you were to spend $100,000,000 on a house, you’d expect something impressive. I imagine you’d want acreage, vast amounts of space and something luxurious. Stunning views and a prime location would be a must but at the bottom of your list, no … Continue reading “Till death do us part”
October 27, 2012
by Matthew Steeples
The sale of the £20 million Bletchingdon Park, Oxfordshire Bletchingdon Park House in Oxfordshire is one of those classic Palladian villas that would make the perfect setting for a period drama. Unlike vast Jacobean mansions like Highclere Castle, better known as Julian Fellowes’ Downton Abbey, however, Bletchingdon is of a far more manageable size. … Continue reading “A manageable mansion”
October 14, 2012
by Matthew Steeples
A £26 million residence with connections to rock, royalty and rectors Built in the early 1500s, The Old Rectory is Wimbledon’s oldest house. Standing in grounds of 2.5 acres, this 16,200 square foot property was once described by a biographer of Sir Henry Cecil as being “not luxurious, but adequate” but now once again … Continue reading “Rocking with royalty”
September 21, 2012
by Matthew Steeples
This father of six and his gang were amongst the most notorious and sadistic criminals in South London in the 1960s. Using scrap metal and slot machine businesses as fronts, they ran fraud, protection rackets and received stolen goods. They were best known for nailing those who displeased them to floor and then made them … Continue reading “Charlie Richardson (1934 – 2012)”
May 18, 2012
by Matthew Steeples
This billionaire businessman started out in medicine but soon moved into commerce realising that enterprise would better provide for his family. He was imprisoned on falsified charges of contract murder for 11 months in 1996. Subsequently cleared, Rybolovlev then went on to make his fortune in potassium and banking. This divorced father of two has … Continue reading “Dmitry Rybolovlev”
