Ultimate bachelor pad for sale for £6 million in South Kensington; it has garaging for five cars
Originally a mews that was home to Rothmans’ Shire horses, a £6 million ($8.5 million, €6.8 million or درهم31.1 million) property in Elvaston Mews, South Kensington has been transformed into a perfect bachelor pad.
Sold in July 2006 for £1.95 million ($2.75 million, €2.21 million or درهم10.11 million), 7 Elvaston Mews extends to 2,552 square foot and is primarily made up of a 53-foot long state-of-the-art garage on the ground level with an internal office and cloakroom.
Situated in the heart of an area known as the ‘Queen’s Gate Grid’, this petrolhead’s paradise also comes with an “immaculately presented” two double bedroom apartment above. It features a large reception room, a dining kitchen, two shower rooms and two terraces.
One-off 1971 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI cabriolet to be auctioned; originally commissioned by a British playboy turned jailbird with connections to Princess Margaret but only actually completed in 1993
Offered with an estimate of £308,000 to £462,000 ($400,000 to $600,000, €340,000 to €511,000 or درهم1.5 million to درهم2.2 million), this truly unique, one-of-one design was amazingly the final Rolls-Royce Phantom VI completed in spite of the model remaining in production until 1991. This mammoth beast of a car, surprisingly, however, has just 72 miles on its clock and is thus described as “as brand new.”
The car’s first owner, Robert ‘Bobby’ Buchanan-Michaelson, was a bit of a playboy but sadly he never got to actually drive or be driven in it. A “member of Princess Margaret’s inner circle of friends,” this Cambridge graduate was a member of the “Mayfair mammas’ lists of the season’s most eligible bachelors” until “exchanging his Edwardian hacking jacket for prison grey” in 1954 after being jailed for 12 months for an import/export fraud according to a report in Sydney’s World’s News in August that year.
Some years after being freed, ex-con Buchanan-Michaelson took part in the 10,000 mile 1968 London to Sydney Marathon in a Mercedes-Benz 280SE. In a book about the adventure he was described as both a “successful and wealthy businessman, employing a cook, a butler, a maid and a chauffeur” and as an “accomplished sportsman.” Also listed as a lavish spender, Buchannan-Michaelson was later bankrupted in November 1977 – though at the time he lived in grandeur at both at Churchbury Manor at Fairford, Gloucestershire and 26 The Vale, in Chelsea, London, SW3.
In 1970, in the period between the international car race and his bankruptcy, Buchanan-Michaelson commissioned Rolls-Royce to build him a Phantom VI. After delivery to Jack Barclay Ltd. In June 1971, the vehicle’s chassis was sent to Frua of Torino, Italy to have bodywork fitted but for some reason work stopped and it was not until 1977 – and by now with a new American owner, James Leake, and new drawings of its eventual form – that the project continued.
With Pietro Frua (1913 – 1983) retiring soon thereafter and Mr Leake’s death in 1983, the chassis passed to new ownership and it was only eventually completed as a finished motor vehicle in 1993.
That year, the four-door ‘state cabriolet’ was displayed at the Geneva Motor Show and its boxy look must have surely either have wowed or horrified visitors. It is described as having “an elaborate multi-position convertible top allows the car to be configured as a sedanca de ville, landaulet or fully open convertible.” The interior is trimmed in burled walnut with sterling silver inlays and amongst other luxuries are front and rear heating, air-conditioning, fresh-air ventilation systems, a television, a video player, a radio and a cocktail cabinet. Underneath the seats is a portable Davidoff cigar humidor and even a matching silk-lined ladies’ vanity case. What more could anyone ever need?
RM Sotheby’s will sell the Frua Phantom VI at their Monterey sale in California on 19th August and term it: “The last word in modern opulence.”
Brought up mostly in Cambridge, Massachusetts, André Balazs is a graduate of Cornell and Columbia Universities whose success in the hospitality sector has been phenomenal. (more…)
Oxford educated Ivan Pun is plainly someone the party crasher David Pun would love to be. He features on Town & Country’s‘Most Eligible Bachelors’ list, is described as liking “the international party circuit” and works in his father’s property development business, Serge Pun Associates (SPA), as head of corporate development. Yangon based and a lover of history and architecture, Pun is a “young man in a hurry to get things done”. When asked what he does to relax, he replied: “Relax? I don’t really relax”.
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 time, the British ballerina Dame Margot Fonteyn resided next door at Amberwood House. (more…)
Space is at a premium in Central London, so here we share five of the best one bedroom apartments currently on the market. Prices range from £725,000 to an astounding £6,950,000.
B.03.3, One Hyde Park, Knightsbridge, SW1X – £6,950,000
The highest priced apartment in this Candy & Candy landmark building sold for £136,000,000 so naturally even what agents Strutt & Parker described as a “the ultimate London pied-a-terre” was bound to be expensive. 989 square foot in size, there is a 26ft by 12ft reception room with a champagne bar, an 18ft by 10ft bedroom and even a car parking space. The service charge for the apartment is a not so insignificant £16,750 per annum but for that you get access to a 60 man Mandarin Oriental concierge team, a private spa and swimming pool, a squash court, an entertaining suite with spaces for canapé receptions for 100 guests and a private screening room with seating for 18 guests.
Cranley Gardens, South Kensington, SW7 – £725,000
Converting a single high ceilinged room into a one bedroom flat wouldn’t normally work but the transformation of this 453 square foot ground floor apartment has produced spectacular results. As well as a bright 15ft by 13ft sitting room, there is a mezzanine kitchen with a dining area, a small internal double bedroom and what agents Marsh & Parsons call a “stylish” shower room.
Upper Grosvenor Street, Mayfair, W1 – £6,000,000
If you’re a bachelor who enjoys entertaining on a grand scale, the star attraction of this 2,047 square foot first floor apartment, which is for sale through Knight Frank, will be the 100 square foot paneled reception room with four floor to ceiling windows. For the dandy, there is a dressing room kitted out with burr walnut fittings and if you’re a studious sort, there’s a compact study/library.
Queen’s Gate Mews, South Kensington, SW7 – £775,000
With a private entrance and 732 square foot of accommodation, this lower ground floor flat is surprisingly light. For sale through Marsh & Parsons and in need of a decorative makeover, it includes a 17ft by 13ft reception room, a dining room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and a small private courtyard garden.
Within a purpose built portered Victorian mansion block, Aylesford are selling a 1,050 square foot ground floor apartment that has the look and feel of a smart boutique hotel. As well as a 20ft by 13ft reception room with double doors into a 27ft by 13ft bedroom, this stylish abode also features a large dining kitchen and is just moments from the Kings Road.
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The 106-minute long 1971 film Le Mans starring Steve McQueen is rightly considered one of the classic motoring films.
Now, fans can play out their own version of it in their own homes by purchasing a replica fibreglass Porsche 917 that has been converted into a 1:32 scale, wooden slot car racetrack complete with 12 limited edition slot cars.
The $125,000 model track is housed in the body of a replica Porsche 917
The exterior features race worn tyres and is decorated in the famous blue and orange Gulf Oil livery as as the #20 racing decals
At 13½ foot long, 7½ foot wide and 3 foot tall, this is an indulgence that will require a fair amount of space but one that could make a great centerpiece in any the games room of any bachelor pad.
The raceway itself features realistic landscaping, period signage and working streetlights. The Esso Oil Drop Man appears near the Ford chicane and a Marchal sign appears over the famous three-level grandstand over the pit row, whilst the unmistakable Dunlop tire bridge and a Martini barn are all present.
John Sturges and Steve McQueen during filming of Le Mans
Making Le Mans bankrupted Steve McQueen and cost British Formula One driver David Piper part of one of his legs. Whoever purchases this car will be far from danger but they’ll have to be firmly in the black. The price? £82,000.
Matthew Steeples delves into the history of Albany, Piccadilly and discovers an affordable way of living there
Albany, off Piccadilly in Mayfair, was most probably London’s first apartment block and it’s certainly the city’s most exclusive. It may be next to the Royal Academy and opposite Fortnum & Mason but surprisingly few have even heard of it.
Considering its location, Albany, which some make the mistake of referring to as “The Albany,” is an amazingly quiet oasis of peace and tranquility but, equally, it is a place of intrigue and drama. Residents, or “proprietors,” as they prefer to be known, of the 69 “sets” are particular about the “the” part of the name as they’d rather their residence not be confused with a public house and they are even more protective of their privacy. A porters’ lodge guards the entrance to the building and it is staffed mostly by ex-servicemen, who, until the early 2000s, had to wear top hats and tailcoats. Those allowed to pass enter a rarefied world frequented by what the Irish novelist Marmion Savage (1803 – 1872) identified as “incurable oddities” and “superannuated fops” in The Bachelor of Albany.
The front courtyard and façade of Albany, Piccadilly, Mayfair, London, W1J 0AL
The rope-walk connecting the various sets of Albany has been traversed by some of the greatest names in history
Built by Sir William Chambers (1723 – 1796), who also designed Somerset House and the pagoda at Kew, between 1770 and 1774 for 1st Viscount Melbourne (1745 – 1828), Albany was originally known as Melbourne House and conceived as a three-storey mansion, seven bays wide with a pair of service wings flanking a front courtyard. From 1791 to 1802, the property was occupied by George III’s son, Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany (1763 – 1827), but after he left, the renowned architect Henry Holland (1745 – 1806) sub-divided the existing house and added two parallel sets of buildings running the length of the garden to create 69 “bachelor apartments” which he named “sets.”
The “roll call” of residents since could easily fill our very own pages thrice over. They number royalty, politicians, artists, playwrights, academics and philosophers and here is a brief selection:
– Anthony Armstong-Jones, later 1st Earl of Snowdon
– Sir Thomas Beecham
– Sir Isaiah Berlin
– Lord Byron
– George Canning
– Sir Kenneth Clark
– Baroness Pauline de Rothschild
– William Ewart Gladstone
– Sir Edward Heath
– David Hicks
– Aldous Huxley
– Sir Simon Jenkins
– Rupert Lycett Green
– Malcolm Muggeridge
– Sir Harold Nicholson
– J. B. Priestley
– Sir Terence Rattigan
– Roger Scruton
– Baroness Sharples
– W. Somerset Maugham
– Terence Stamp
– Sir Denis and Lady Thatcher
– Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree
Each had to pass the vetting of a committee of trustees of this Grade I listed building. That committee forbids children under 14, pets, musical instruments and commercial activities and each approved resident has undoubtedly added to the history of this den dominated by a central walkway named the “rope-walk.” Incidentally, an example of a curious quirk at Albany is that no resident is allowed to speak to another on this walkway. If they do, a fine is incurred. Albany, indeed, is rather like a college in its systems of rules, regulations, order and hierarchy.
For several centuries, women were not even allowed to cross the threshold and one legendary tale tells of Lady Caroline Lamb (1785 – 1828), disguised as a page boy, stealing into Lord Byron’s (1788 – 1824) set in 1815 to leave a note: “Remember me, Byron.” He replied with a simple verse:
Remember thee, aye, doubt it not:
Thy husband too shall think of thee.
By neither shalt thou be forgot —
Thou false to him, thou fiend to me.
The strict and formal structure that controls Albany and ensured its maintenance has succeeded in the main because 34 of the 69 sets are owned by Peterhouse College, Cambridge. They and the other owners are highly particular in whom they lease to and on one occasion on hearing of an “unsuitable tenant,” the secretary of the trustees is reported to have shouted:
“He’s a foreigner. Don’t like him. Don’t trust him.”
Needless to say, that application didn’t progress and nor did one from a physiotherapist who planned to operate from the building. Bone bashing in Albany just wouldn’t do.
The Rt. Hon. Alan Clark MP (1928 – 1999) in the grounds of his main home, Saltwood Castle, near Hythe in Kent in 1993
A horsewhip, however, nearly crossed the threshold of set B5 in 1994, as it was here that the late Alan Clark MP (1928 – 1999) lived. The affable philanderer seduced the wife and both daughters of a certain South African named Judge Harkess and the wronged man stated he would “have horse-whipped Clark if he had known how comprehensively he had violated his honour.” B5, itself, was described as having the feel of “the straitened quarter of an Edwardian bachelor on his uppers” and the dotty, English attitude of the residents is best summed up by the reaction of Clark’s neighbour when he accidentally flooded their basement. When asked what he could do to make amends, their answer was quite simple: “Go and lie down in Piccadilly and wait for a double-decker bus.”
The dandy and journalist John Morgan (1959 – 2000) typified social change at Albany in the 20th century just as much as he himself redefined etiquette and manners at Debrett’s and The Times. Of “humble origins,” Morgan was brought up in a “modest” bungalow in St Madoes, Perth, Scotland but is credited with persuading William Hague to remove his baseball cap whilst Conservative leader and offering advice ranging from “how to eat a banana” to “how best to tell friends that the partner you would like to bring to their wedding will be of the same sex as you.”
Dandy and etiquette expert John Morgan (1959 – 2000)
For the bachelor and GQ style director, living in Albany was symbolic of his own personal social elevation but he did not disown his past. This modern day Beau Brummell was a man of social contradictions who cashed his cheques at Claridge’s but was a member of the National Union of Journalists. He was a Tory but still regularly attended chapel meetings as he had done in his youth. Here was a man of paradoxes who seemed unable to come to terms with the fact that he was a homosexual.
Morgan, an asthma sufferer, fell to his death from a fourth floor window on 9th July 2000. He was found in just a white shirt in a basement below a window whose sill was strangely undisturbed. The coroner left an open verdict with a suspicion of suicide and it was widely reported that police found 60 made-to-measure Savile row suits, 300 monogrammed shirts and 90 pairs of shoes in the etiquette expert’s small set. Mystery shrouds the story of his tragic demise to this day but Johnny Morgan will forever be remembered as an arbiter of both good taste and behaviour.
Whilst Morgan represented continuation of the trend of bachelors living in Albany, change also came in the 20th century when the building’s committee removed the restriction that allowed only bachelors to be resident. With that females were allowed in and amongst them Fleur Fenton Cowles (1908 – 2009) was one of the most fascinating.
Fleur Fenton Cowles (1908 – 2009) in her set at Albany with some of her paintings and one by Salvador Dali
This writer and artist occupied five sets knocked into one with her fourth husband, timber merchant Tom Montague Meyer, and according to the Daily Mail’s Geoffrey Levy, hosted “elite soirees of the powerful and famous.” Levy recounts them at length but here is a flavour:
“On a Wednesday evening, a typical dinner party… would include Foreign Secretary Selwyn Lloyd, Labour leader Hugh Gaitskell, entertainer Danny Kaye and film star Douglas Fairbanks Jr. The Queen Mother regularly came to tea and was once joined by Pavarotti who sang Happy Birthday for the royal guest. ‘I don’t want her to die,’ said Fleur. ‘I couldn’t bear to think she doesn’t live just down the street.’ ”
Fenton Cowles, founder of the ill-fated Flair magazine and a “woman who knew everyone,” loved Albany and an exact replica of her “windowless, milk-yellow” study there has even been recreated at the University of Texas.
Another known for hosting extravagant bashes in Albany was my late friend, the Russian icon dealer John Gaze (1947 – 2011). Gaze had, as a boy, asked his father about the building when he passed it as a child and immediately declared he would live there one day. He took F2, the former set of Edward Heath that overlooked Savile Row to the rear, in the mid 1990s as he craved the safety that the building offered after having been kidnapped at gunpoint by an Oxford graduate conman named Sacheverell de Houghton in April 1991 from his then home in Fournier Street, E1. He made the most of his tenancy.
Russian icon dealer John Gaze (1947 – 2011) reflected in the brass plaque outside his Albany set, F2. It was formerly occupied by Sir Edward Heath.
Gaze’s parties included a fundraiser for people with AIDS hosted by a drag queen. This sparked fury with certain other residents and coverage in the Daily Telegraph and another incident there involved him encountering Alan Clark on the ropewalk carrying a portrait of Lenin. “Where the fuck are you taking that?” Clark supposedly bellowed but was “reassured” when he was told it was “destined for a less salubrious address in Whitechapel.” John Gaze remained at Albany for several years but, like a number of others I know, was forced out by ever rising rents and moved first to Chelsea and then Ennismore Gardens, Knightsbridge. He always remembered his time at Albany fondly and as a bon vivant, he truly belonged there.
The main reception room in a £1,400 a week set currently available in Albany
An attic room in the set that could be used as a second reception room or second bedroom
The kitchen is lacking in character but offers ample space for informal dining
Contrary to what you’d expect, living in Albany is not quite as expensive as one might think. A 2-bedroomed 1,970 square foot set is currently available through Knight Frank for £1,400 a week: a figure that seems quite reasonable given the location, history and size of this property. Available on a minimum 8-year rental term, it includes a formal reception room, a dining kitchen, 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
This £300 per week set, D2, consists of just one room
The communal bathroom D2 shares with other sets is basic but clean
For those looking for something cheaper, Savills offer D2 Albany at £300 per week. This set consists of a 221 square foot third floor attic room with access to a communal bathroom and the agents suggest that it: “would make an ideal reading or writing room or an occasional bedroom for a pied-a-terre.” It’s effectively a posh form of tenement but what a way to impress your peers and subordinates.
Damon and Sandra de László in their “duplex” in Albany
Those renting either of these sets would find the likes of the industrialist Damon de László, a descendant of the Hungarian painter Philip Alexius de László (1869 – 1937), as their neighbour. The couple occupy Lord Byron’s former set, A2, and have, on occasions, opened it for a charity dinner with Matthew Parris at £1,000 a ticket as well and for members of The Portrait Institute to view their collection of de László’s works.
Professor Philip C. Bobbitt in his grand freehold set
Another present day resident is a man Henry Kissinger calls “the outstanding philosopher of our times,” Professor Philip C. Bobbitt. This Texan lawyer is a nephew of Lyndon B. Johnson and the author of Terror and Consent, which Tony Blair describes as “required reading for political leaders.” Bobbitt owns an impressive flying freehold set that is described as having a masculine style of décor and a “kitchen he has designed to look like a bar.” In an interview for TheIndependent he states that he finds Albany: “a propitious place to work.”
Though governments and bankers come and go, behind this quintessentially English façade, order and disorder have always been maintained. The wildcards of this hidden haven have a knack for living by the doctrine “to live at Albany is to live in history” and indeed they make the most of that. Those who are lucky enough to be let in, do, indeed, truly find themselves in the “Paradise of Piccadilly.”
The latest James Bond film Skyfall is the talk of the town and it’s received many a rave review. The fictional James Bond allegedly lived in Royal Avenue, off the Kings Road in SW3, but if he were looking for a house today, we think 9 Hillgate Street would be the perfect pad.
The entrance and garage at 9 Hillgate Street, London, W8 7SP. Sadly the Aston Martin isn’t included in the £7,950,000 asking price.
Daniel Craig in a promotional shot for “Skyfall”
The unasuming exterior of 9 Hillgate Street gives little away about what lies behind it
Utterly unassuming from the street, what lies behind the exterior of this four-storey building is deceptively a new build house constructed in 2010. Designed by Seth Stein Architects, the property is only 18ft wide but an amazing 85ft in length.
An internal lightwell and four terraces are amongst the features of the house
A reception room in the house
A bright walkway allows light to flood into the building
The master bedroom suite includes a bedroom, study, dressing area and bathroom
Seth Stein Architects have developed a vast residence out of the tiniest of spaces
Bond would greatly appreciate the lower ground media room and gym with plunge pool and with a staff suite, there’s room to house someone to mix his martinis. A vast 29ft by 16ft living room is open plan to the kitchen and perfect for entertaining but it is most certainly the master bedroom suite that would make the perfect spot for his extra curricular activities. Four terraces arranged around a courtyard provide ample outdoor space and with all manner of techonological gadgets, 9 Hillgate Street most certainly would make an ideal bachelor pad.
What truly would suit Bond perfectly, though, in this 4,286 square foot £7,950,000 house is the garage. Cleverly disguised and decorated as a normal room, there’s even an Aston sat waiting parked there. Daniel Craig should put in a bid.
