Tag: bedroom

And Then There Were None – Agatha Christie’s Bolthole Burgh Island For Sale

Burgh Island in South Devon, where Agatha Christie wrote several novels and The Beatles stayed also, goes on sale for the staggering sum of £15 million

Described as “the best hotel west of The Ritz” by its current owner Giles Fuchs, a favourite South Devon bolthole of Agatha Christie has just come up for sale for £15 million. It was here that the ‘Queen of Crime’ had her own writer’s retreat and where also that she was inspired to pen both And Then There Were None and Evil Under The Sun.

Burgh Island is situated just 820-feet from the mainland and is approachable by foot at low tide and accessible by a sea tractor at high tide; it also has a helipad for those wishing to make a grand entrance. Though 3 hours from London Paddington by train, those that have visited in the past – amongst them the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Sir Winston Churchill and J. M. W. Turner even – supposedly returned again and again captivated, like Christie, by its seclusion and beauty.

The 21-acre island – which has gone through several name changes itself and was once known as St Michael’s Island – was the inspiration for Christie’s fictional ‘Soldier Island’ in a novel titled Ten Little Niggers when it was first published in 1939. The 272-page book was subsequently retitled Ten Little Indians and then And Then There Were None because of concerns about offending – even prior to the arrival of ‘wokery’ and ‘cancel culture’ – the American market.

The strategy worked as to this day, the novel became both the best-selling crime and the best-selling mystery novel of all-time. Critics enthuse of what is a brilliantly warped yet rationally believable psychological thriller that follows the story of eight people invited to an isolated private island to meet their ultimate demise alongside their two caretaker hosts at a house party from hell. Unsurprisingly, since Christie produced a version for the stage in 1943, there have been more adaptations for that medium as well as for film, radio and television adaptations than of any of her other works.

A clear work of genius in both plot and the financial returns it generated for its author, And Then There Were None was actually structured around an 1869 minstrel song titled Ten Little Niggers by the British songwriter Frank Green. The rhyme – as published for these politically correct times where even future editions of Roald Dahl’s book will no longer feature the adjective ‘fat’ – reads:

Ten little Soldier Boys went out to dine; One choked his little self and then there were nine.

Nine little Soldier Boys sat up very late; One overslept himself and then there were eight.

Eight little Soldier Boys travelling in Devon; One said he’d stay there and then there were seven.

Seven little Soldier Boys chopping up sticks; One chopped himself in halves and then there were six.

Six little Soldier Boys playing with a hive; A bumblebee stung one and then there were five.

Five little Soldier Boys going in for law; One got in Chancery and then there were four.

Four little Soldier Boys going out to sea; A red herring swallowed one and then there were three.

Three little Soldier Boys walking in the zoo; A big bear hugged one and then there were two.

Two little Soldier Boys sitting in the sun; One got frizzled up and then there was one.

One little Soldier Boy left all alone; He went out and hanged himself and then there were none.

Whilst today’s visitors to the “comprehensively refurbished,” Grade II listed, 25-bedroom Burgh Island Hotel certainly are unlikely to face the unhappy endings of Christie’s ten unfortunates, they are able to enjoy “fine dining” at its two restaurants, and cocktails in its Palm Court bar. One can quite easily imagine Hercule Poirot sleuthing in or at the island’s 14^th century pub, The Pilchard Inn. In addition, there is what is called the ‘Mermaid Pool’ – a naturally enclosed body of seawater where guests can swim or if, in the unlikely event they’d take a break from Dubai, perhaps ‘Wagatha Christie’ Coleen Rooney could witness Rebekah Vardy ‘Davy Jones-ing’ her mobile telephone for a second time even.

Of this “iconic landmark” – which a company ultimately controlled by Mr Fuchs paid around £5 million for in 2018 – selling agents Knight Frank enthused in their marketing material:

“The private island setting is virtually unique in the UK and the hotel, which has been fully restored, is one of the finest examples of working Art Deco architecture in Europe.”

“Burgh Island is a natural micro-environment, with wildlife to observe and cliff walks around the circumference. The sandy tidal beach on the eastern (mainland-facing) side is washed by the tide twice daily and so is always clean.”

Whilst the realty firm lauds total sales of in excess of £6 million for the year ending 2022, Agatha Christie actually best surmises why Mr Fuchs is seek to sell: “The best of an island is once you get there – you can’t go any farther… You’ve come to the end of things.” This week PlymouthLive revealed his company, Office Space in Town Limited (OSiT), “has debts of £130 million and is paying nearly £7 million in interests on its loans each year… [It] has borrowed huge sums and is relying on London property prices to remain stable in order to avoid breaching covenant terms which would mean loans having to be immediately repaid and potentially leading to the business going bust.”

Editor’s Note – Unlike as is the case in many publications, this article was NOT sponsored or supported by a third-party. Follow Matthew Steeples on Twitter at @M_Steeples.

Pictured Top – The island, hotel and The Pilchard Inn (top left); David Suchet as Poirot filmed ‘Evil Under The Sun’ there in 2001 (bottom left) and the island’s most famous visitor, Dame Agatha Christie DBE (right).

The island is being marketed by Knight Frank at a staggering price of £15 million after being sold last in 2018 for £5 million and prior for £2 million in 2001. The hotel includes 25 en-suite guest bedrooms and suites as well as the Ballroom Restaurant (64 covers), the Nettlefold Restaurant (72 covers), the Palm Court bar and lounge (42 covers) and The Pilchard Inn (35 internal and 114 external covers). There is also a billiards room, sauna and treatment room, a staff house with 9 bedrooms, a car park on the mainland with 18 spaces and a helipad. The property is offered on a freehold basis.

Dame Agatha Christie DBE (1890 – 1976) remains to this day the world’s best-selling crime author. She penned 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, as well as the world’s longest-running play, ‘The Mousetrap.’ Over a billion copies of her works in the English language and a billion in translation have been sold; most notable are ‘Murder on the Orient Express,’ ‘Death on the Nile,’ ‘The Murder at the Vicarage’ and ‘The A. B. C. Murders.’

‘And Then There Were None’ began life as ‘Ten Little Niggers’ and via being ‘Ten Little Indians’ gained its present title to suit the American market. Christie claimed it was the most difficult of her books to write, but it is also one of her most popular – over 100 million copies have been sold and the work stands as the sixth best-selling title (any language, including reference works) of all-time.

‘Evil Under The Sun’ (1931) – which features an investigation into the murder of a flirtatious but not liked woman who is murdered whilst on holiday in Devon –remains one of Christie’s most popular works. It has been adapted multiple times and became a feature film in 1982 with Peter Ustinov as Poirot. In 2001, David Suchet played the detective in a version with alterations including the addition of the characters of Hastings, Japp and Miss Lemon – none of whom appear in the original novel. A PC game version of the story has even been made and in 1999, John Moffat played Poirot for a BBC Radio 4 adaptation. Here, the cast are seen getting into Burgh Island’s famous sea-tractor during filming.

Roguish antiques dealer Lovejoy (Ian McShane) and his eccentric sidekick Tinker (Dudley Sutton) brought a new era of drama to Burgh Island when they filmed an episode there titled ‘Somewhere – Over the Rainbow?’ It was first shown in October 1994 and featured them going there to save Tinker’s financially strapped sister and her wheelchair-bound husband (presented as owners of the hotel) from losing it to a greedy property developer. The key to the story is finding a treasure trove hidden there by a notorious smuggler centuries earlier.

Self-made multi-millionaire Giles Fuchs is the current owner of Burgh Island. He began his career as an estate agent, claims to have invested more than £1 million renovating the hotel to turn into something that looks “pretty spectacular.” He doubled the number of staff on site, brought in Mark Mosimann, son of King Charles III’s favourite chef, Anton Mosimann, and also bought accommodation on the mainland for some of the hotel’s workers to live in. In July 2020, he described the hotel as “like a house party” and the island as “beautiful” in comments to ‘Great British Life’ magazine.

The ‘Famous Face’ Guest List – Burgh Island, Bigbury-on-Sea, South Devon, TQ7 4BG, United Kingdom (Formerly Known As St Michael’s Island, Borough Island And Bur Island)

Dancer and singer Josephine Baker.

Musicians The Beatles – The band stayed there before playing a concert in nearby Plymouth.

World speed record holder Malcolm Campbell.

Agatha Christie – The prolific author is described as having made the island “her second home” and wrote And Then There Were None (1939) and Evil Under The Sun (1941) there. A beach hut was built for her to use as a “writer’s retreat.”

Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill – The politician supposedly met with President Dwight Eisenhower there prior to D-Day.

Flamboyant actor, playwright and singer Noël Coward – He supposedly booked in for three days, but stayed for three weeks and clearly very much enjoyed A Room With A View.

Shipping heiress, socialite and muse Nancy Cunard.

Odeon cinema chain founder Oscar Deutsche – The businessman travelled to the island with his wife and companion, World War One fighter ace Sol Joseph, in the latter’s Ford V8 Pilot just before the outbreak of the Second World War.

Actor and singer-songwriter George Formby – He is said to have been viewed as “the cheeky northern chappie who proudly picknicked on Bigbury Beach” during his visit who “guests didn’t know what to make of.”

Aviator Amy Johnson.

Actress Gertrude Lawrence.

Designer of the Spitfire R. J. Mitchell.

Last Viceroy of India Lord Mountbatten of Burma.

Artist J. M. W. Turner – The painter was “cast ashore during rough weather and ‘with a pencil, clambered nearly to the summit of the island’ to sketch its wilderness.”

Renegade royals The Duke and Duchess of Windsor – Said to have travelled to the islands on “frequent occasions” with their aide-de-camp Major Edward ‘Fruity’ Metcalfe.

In 1926, Christie disappeared from her home in Berkshire for 11 days. Mayhem and a manhunt worthy of her murder mystery books followed. Surprisingly, she didn’t choose to head to Burgh Island, but maybe that would have made her too easy to find given her love of the place. The reason for her decision to ‘vanish’ remains hotly contested today and this indeed will likely forever remain in the realms of the debate over who Jack the Ripper was – a case forever unsolved.

The Dates, Developments & Numbers – Burgh Island’s History

May 2023 – Placed for sale for £15 million ($18.8 million, €17.2 million or درهم69 million) through agents Matthew Smith and Henry Jackson of Knight Frank.

Commenting of the sale, Giles Fuchs told Plymouth Live: “Ownership of the Burgh Island Hotel has provided me with a wonderful journey and given me the true privilege of restoring and enhancing one of the most treasured tourist assets in the UK over the past few years. What we have achieved is an immense source of pride for all of us who have been involved and, in our work, we have always tried to ensure that the hotel’s 1920s spirit remains just as vibrant in the 2020s.”

Speaking to The Caterer, Matthew Smith of Knight Frank added: “It is rare for a hotel of such character and heritage to come to the open market.

“In recent years the buildings have received considerable investment and operates as a thriving business which generated in excess of £6 million ($7.5 million, €6.9 million or درهم27.6 million) turnover in its most recent financial year.”

“This is a unique opportunity to acquire a truly iconic hotel that benefits from a number of value-add opportunities to further develop the trading performance, and will no doubt appeal to a global investor audience.”

February 2023 – Plymouth Live reported on rumours about the hotel being for sale for £9 million ($11.3 million, €10.3 million or درهم41.4 million) after an advertisement appeared on Knight Frank’s website for a “mystery property” matching the description of it. Responding at the time, Henry Jackson of Knight Frank stated: “Burgh Island is not on the market. I don’t know where these rumours come from. At the time, the PR firm representing the hotel, Sapience Communications, added: “We have nothing additional to add.”

December 2022 – Planning permission granted for 12 additional guest bedrooms and suites and 13 staff bedrooms by South Hams District Council. Approval was also granted for extension of two of the restaurants and a spa facility.

This redevelopment, BBC News recently reported, will cost £7 million to £10 million ($8.8 million to $12.5 million, €8 million to €11.5 million or درهم32.2 million to درهم45.9 million) and of it, Mr Fuchs observed:

“I’m not the man for that job because once you start that, you need to do the whole thing. It’s also a substantial amount of cash and I don’t want to find [it], thanks very much.”

“We’ve got a big business in London and I could divert funds but the hotel was always about a love story; it was saving something that had been around for years that our family fell in love with.

“To divert more funds doesn’t make any sense to us. We want to buy more buildings in London.”

“She’s a demanding mistress and I ended up getting more and more involved at the expense of my life and other businesses, [but] I’m really pleased we’ve turned it around.”

Autumn 2021 – Burgh Island Limited accounts valued the business at £9.5 million ($11.9 million, €10.9 million or درهم43.7 million). At the time, profits of £296,000 ($370,000, €339,000 or درهم1.4 million) were listed down from £336,000 ($420,000, €385,000 or درهم1.5 million) in 2020.

The company was reported as employing 63 people with a wage bill of £1.6 million ($2 million, €1.8 million or درهم7.4 million). It paid dividends of £2 million ($2.5 million, €2.3 million or درهم9.2 million).

Mid 2018 – Sold by then owners Deborah Clark and Tony Orchard to Office Space in Town Ltd (OSiT), a company ultimately controlled by a London based businessman named Giles Fuchs and his sister Nichola, for a sum of £5 million ($6.3 million, €X million or درهم23 million).

January 2018 – Valued by estate agents Savills at £8.64 million ($10.81 million, €9.90 million or درهم39.69 million).

2012 – Singer-songwriter Ben Howard named his EP after the island.

2003 – The then owners closed the public footpaths on the island; this move was reversed in 2006 other than the routes closest to the hotel.

2002 – Used as a location for the television adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Evil Under The Sun.

2001 – Sold for £2 million ($2.5 million, €2.3 million or درهم9.2 million).

2001 – Used as the location of a television adaptation of Evil Under The Sun starring David Suchet as Hercule Poirot.

2001 and 2008 – Used as the location for ITV’s GMTV show Inch-loss Island.

1994 – Used as the location for an episode of the BBC series Lovejoy titled ‘Somewhere – Over the Rainbow?’

1987 – Used as a location in the BBC adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple: Nemesis.

1986 – Sold to a couple named Tony and Beatrice Porter, who “faithfully restored it to its former Art Deco glory.”

1965 – Used as a location for the film Catch Me If You Can.

1950s – Renovated, but instead of being used as a hotel became self-catering accommodation.

1939 – 1945 – Used by the RAF as a recovery centre for wounded RAF personnel. During this period, the top two floors of the main building suffered damaged after a direct hit by a bomb.

1927 – Sold to the filmmaker Archibald Nettlefold. He constructed a more substantial 25-room hotel in the Art Deco style in 1929 and after it became popular in the 1930s, added improvements and extensions in 1932 including ‘The Captain’s Cabin’ – it had been taken from HMS Ganges, a warship built in 1821.

1890s – Purchased by the music hall star George H. Chirgwin. He built a prefabricated wooden house to use for weekend parties.

14^th century – The Pilchard Inn, the ‘local’ hostelry, is constructed circa 1336. It is believed to have begun life as guest lodgings for a monastery that possibly stood on the site of the current hotel.

Iron Age to Sub-Roman period – First settlers, tin traders, believed to have arrived.

More Images Of Burgh Island…

The approach to Burgh Island at low tide.

Many people approach on foot; there are also a number of footpaths for visitors to enjoy once they get to the island.

For guests of the hotel, there is a sea tractor they can travel on. Those that have experienced this wonderful contraption have commented on how much they have enjoyed the journey back and forth to and from the mainland.

The gates to the hotel are suitably reflective of the Art Deco style of the property.

The building is striking and one can certainly see what attracted the likes of Agatha Christie to it and the island.

The Palm Court features a restored circular skylight. It is stunning and this is certainly a place where one can imagine such people as the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and Nancy Cunard sipping martinis there of an evening whilst looking out to sea.

One of two restaurants in the main hotel. The Nettlefold offers menus that are said to reflect the “uniquely wild island location.”

The second, The Grand Ballroom, is a fine dining restaurant that is lauded as serving “award-winning food” in a setting that is styled around the “grandeur of a bygone era.”

The guest rooms, such as ‘The Christie Room,’ have primarily been named after the famous faces who’ve stayed at the hotel in times past.

The current owner has fully refurbished the property and furnished it with in-fitting Art Deco items.

One of 25 bedrooms and suites at The Burgh Island Hotel; the majority enjoy superb views out to sea and to the South Devon countryside also.

Another bedroom, this one with a private balcony.

The Artist’s Studio is situated above The Pilchard Inn. It is a dog friendly room and just a few yards walk from the main Burgh Island Hotel building.

Agatha’s Beach House has been described as “one of the sexiest hotel rooms in the UK” and is undoubtedly the ultimate place to stay on Burgh Island. It was built specifically for Agatha Christie in the 1930s and was where she penned both of her Burgh Island novels. It has a sitting room, outdoor hot tub, sun decks right onto the sea and includes a king sized bed, a double sofa bed and two single beds.

The building from another angle.

The sitting room of Agatha’s Beach House has the benefit of the most wonderful of aspects.

It also has a woodburning stove.

The Pilchard Inn was supposedly built in the 14th century as a lodging house for visitors to the monastery that is believed to have been on the island at that time. It is one of the oldest pubs in Devon.

The bar.

A traditional space perfect for drinks by the fire.

Many of the rooms and suites at the Burgh Island Hotel, such as the Noël Coward suite, allow guests to experience the drama of the sea beyond.

The ‘Mermaid Pool’ is a natural seawater pool in a “rugged” setting.

Another view of this extremely unusual place to swim.

Burgh Island is partly powered by solar panels.

South Hams Council approved plans for additional rooms and additional staff accommodation at the Burgh Island Hotel in December 2022.

The 21-acre island is just across the water from Bigbury-on-Sea.

From a distance, one can genuinely see what attracted the great and the good to Burgh Island.

May 12, 2023
Flipping Randy Andy’s Bathtub Bonk Pad
WORLD EXCLUSIVE – Ghislaine Maxwell’s Belgravia bonk pad – where Prince Andrew allegedly shockingly had it off with Virginia Roberts in the bath in 2001 – is relisted for £2.6 million just months after it sold for £1.75 million in April 2021; we share the first ever seen photos of that famous tub and ask: “Does its presence add value?”

Everybody in the world has now seen the infamous snapshot of Prince Andrew with his chubby fingers wrapped around the waist of his alleged victim Virginia Roberts at the Belgravia home of Ghislaine Maxwell in 2001. Nobody has ever discredited that photograph and nobody has proven that the bathtub in the bathroom that adjoined the first floor landing where they were snapped was anything other than a full-sized 5-foot-6-inches long.

Everyone in the world has also seen the floorplan of the first floor of Miss Maxwell’s former London home, but now, today, The Steeple Times can exclusively share an image of that very bathtub in which the lady now known as Virginia Giuffre claims the Duke of York supposedly had sexual relations with her on 10^th March 2001. That still unrenovated home, 44 Kinnerton Street, is now on the market for the sum of £2.6 million – a sum £850,000 higher than it sold for less than a year ago.

Whilst everybody in the world now knows that the now convicted mucky madam daughter of the pension pot plunderer Robert Maxwell faked a photo of herself at an In-N-Out burger joint in August 2019, photographs of the now somewhat tired bathroom in London, SW1 prove it to be a space where two people could easily have cavorted. In sharing them, they show Prince Andrew’s porky pies for exactly what they are. Two people could very easily have fitted into that rotten tub.

Offered by an exotically named firm of real estate hawkers who go by the name of Wellbelove Quested, the 1,573 square foot, three-storey former home of the mucky madam Miss Maxwell is marketed as “charming” and having “plenty of potential.” It is described as “requiring updating,” but unsurprisingly no mention is made as to its tawdry past. A photograph of the very bath where ‘Randy Andy’ allegedly bonked on that fateful night bizarrely features in the marketing material, but somewhat more carefully imagery of the landing area has been left out.

Asked by The Steeple Times for comment, a leading local estate agent – whom wished to remain off the record – remarked:

“Any previous sale at either £1.45 million or £1.75 million seems suspiciously low. At £1,653 per square foot today, it sounds about right in terms of an asking price, although some buyers might be deterred by The Nags Head being so close.”

“As for the activity that may have gone on inside there, I am of the view it adds a bit of interest to the marketing, but neither adds to nor detracts from the value.”

“Equally, now I see these pictures, it looks to me that Prince Andrew, Ghislaine Maxwell and Virginia Roberts were all standing in the doorway of the front bedroom of the first floor that day. It begs the question: ‘Why?’”

Contacted earlier in the day by a reader of The Steeple Times who alerted us to the sale subsequently, Andrew Quested of Wellbelove Quested somewhat lackadaisically opined in response via email:

“My clients made a good purchase. I think you will find a lot of properties have a past resident that is not always good… I do understand your thoughts [about the links to Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein and the Duke of York], but these things pass.”

Occasional contributor to The Steeple Times Jack Hine, however, took a different view. When approached Friday, the Hove, Sussex and Belgravia, London based dealer in vintage memorabilia stated:

“That bath, whatever it’s murky heritage, has royal pedigree and it’s got a grimy, unrestored appearance. ‘Where there’s muck, there’s bloody brass,’ I say.”

“There’s always going to be ghouls out there with a desire for such, so I advise whoever buys 44 Kinnerton Street to most certainly not to put what could become one of the most costly bathtubs in history ever in the skip.”

“Prince Andrew’s antics in this tub may well cost him well north of £10 million and I’d suggest that the new owner of this house will get tens of thousands for that tawdry tub. I’d definitely put in a bid.”

This photograph of the first floor bathroom at 44 Kinnerton Street, Belgravia proves one thing – those that said that the tub is too small for two are nothing but loopy liars.

When asked about what occured on the night of 10th March 2001 in the first floor bathroom at her Kinnerton Street mews house, Ghislaine Maxwell responded: “[Virginia Roberts] then characterized [sic] things took place in my bathroom in the bathtub itself. The tub is too small for any kind of activity whatsoever.” The picture of that very same tub used in marketing material by Wellbelove Quested proves exactly to the contrary.

The floor plan shared by the likes ‘The Daily Mail’ and ‘The Sun suggested the first floor bathroom at the house to be 7-foot, 4 inches by 7-foot, 2-inches. Floor plans shared by Wellboved Quested suggest that the room is actually 8-foot, 4-inches by 8-foot, 2-inches. There was most definitely plenty of room for two…

Why did they stand on the first floor landing when the only entertaining areas were downstairs? Were they progressing upwards? Was Ghislaine Maxwell leading her friend Prince Andrew and a concubine to a bedroom? Who took the photograph? Many questions remain unanswered, but it’s now clear that the bathtub could easily have fitted two.

A floorplan of 44 Kinnerton Street, Belgravia. In it, mucky madam Ghislaine Maxwell’s home is clearly shown to be a place where ‘public’ entertaining took place on the ground floor, whilst ‘extracurricular’ activities took place on the upper two floors.

These photographs of 44 Kinnerton Street, taken in July 2021, provide proof that the bannisters seen in the March 2001 photographs remain inside said property. The setting in which Prince Andrew and Virginia Roberts were captured was indeed most definitely genuine. In the same month, the new owners of the property displayed a poster at 44 Kinnerton Street for a festival that was to be held in East Anglia from 31st July 2021 to 1st August 2021. The event, the EA Festival, was hosted at Hedingham Castle – home to Jason and Demetra Lindsay – in Essex and had a line-up that included model and advocate Arizona Muse, film director Mike Figgis, ‘Countdown’s’ Susie Dent, sex commentator Rowan Pelling and comedian Josh Berry. The same open doorway also showed something else… The very same bannister that was shown in the photograph Prince Andrew, Virginia Robert and Ghislaine Maxwell appeared in.

In November 2020, ‘The Steeple Times’ featured bathtub mats featuring Prince Andrew’s face and the caption “nonce” that were available for sale through Redbubble.com. Priced then at £23.61 ($32.30, €28.29 or درهم118.61), these 61cm by 43cm polyester microfiber items clearly proved very popular as they are no longer on the site. Clearly, there is a market for bathtub memorabilia that references the Queen’s supposed favourite son.

The Names & Numbers – ‘Mucky Madam Ghislaine Maxwell’s Bathtub Bonk Pad’ – 44 Kinnerton Street, Belgravia, London, SW1X 8ES, United Kingdom
- 14^th January 2022 – Property website TheMoveMarket.com values the house at £2.11 million ($2.88 million, €2.53 million or درهم59 million), a sum 19% lower than the current asking price for the unrenovated property.
- January 2022 – Estate agents Wellbelove Quested offer the mews house for £2.6 million ($3.6 million, €3.1 million or درهم1 million), an extraordinary increase of 49% on the sale price just 270 days earlier. The house is offered on a lease of 127 years that commenced on 24^th June 2014 and previously on their website Wellbelove Quested had marketed the house for a higher price of £2.75 million ($3.738 million, €3.283 million or درهم13.731 million).
- July 2021 – The Steeple Times reports on repainting work to the outside of the house being underway. An open door reveals the infamous staircase bannister to still be in-situ.
- 19^th April 2021 – Records confirm the house to have been sold for £1.75 million ($2.39 million, €2.09 million or درهم79 million).
- March 2021 – Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyer offered cash from the “pending sale of her £1.45 million ($2 million, €1.74 million or درهم28 million)” home as part of a package when they sought bail for the mucky madam for a third time, the Daily Mail reported. This sum was 44% lower than the September 2020 asking price and 400% higher than the January 1997 purchase price.
- March 2021 – A Knightsbridge estate agent told 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 $2.7 million, €2.2 million to €2.4 million or 9درهم million to درهم10 million).”
- December 2020 – Members of the Maxwell family attempted to raise finance on the property but are not successful, The Steeple Times learns from a financier with connections to the Maxwell family and their representatives. They were rejected, were rejected on the basis of the “toxicity” of their familial name.
- September 2020 – Estate agents Aylesford list 44 Kinnerton Street for sale for £2.6 million ($3.6 million, €3.1 million or درهم1 million) on (it was claimed) 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 درهم10.5 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.”
- 10^th 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.
- 22^nd January 1997 – Ghislaine Maxwell paid £290,000 ($396,000, €347,000 or درهم5 million) for the three-storey leasehold mews house. It is situated at the heart of the Duke of Westminster’s Grosvenor Estate.
- 1989 to 1995 – Ghislaine Maxwell is known to have resided at 69 Stanhope Mews East, South Kensington, London, SW7 5QT. Her father bought it for her two years before his mysterious death and she reportedly “groomed and befriended Minor Victim 3 in London, England, between approximately 1994 and 1995… Maxwell introduced Minor Victim 3 to Epstein and during those interactions, Maxwell encouraged Minor Victim 3 to massage Epstein, knowing that Epstein would engage in sex acts with Minor Victim 3. During those massages, Epstein sexually abused Minor Victim 3” at that very property. It was sold for £267,000 ($365,000, €320,000 or درهم3 million) on 15^th March 1995 and then again for £1.75 million ($2.39 million, €2.10 million or درهم8.77 million) on 30^th August 2019.
And finally… Some other images of the ‘Mucky Madam’s’ crib

The ground floor sitting room has a somewhat sadistic quality about it. Rather like a doctor or dentist’s waiting room in its styling, here is a room where the mucky madam no doubt just prepped her victims for their prey upstairs. How many chairs does one need for such a purpose?

This place is anything but homely. It is, in fact, scary.

A kitchen that wasn’t for a coffee and a chat; a kitchen where saintly types like Delia Smith and Mary Berry most definitely don’t belong. Ghislaine Maxwell is personified as a woman as clinical to her core.

The mucky mistresses’ master bedroom. God only f$%king knows went on in this creepy crib.

Another supposedly innocent looking room that was likely a torture chamber.

The bedroom Andrew, Ghislaine and Virginia posed next to. It is currently set up as an extra sitting room rather conveniently, but doesn’t look like a place anyone has bothered or would even to sit.

The house even has a roof terrace. It looks f$%ing rotten, just like its former owner, mucky madam Ghislaine Maxwell, daughter of murdering pension pot plunderer Robert Maxwell.

And finally, back to that bloody bathroom… It even has double shower. It’s hardly small, is it? It’s perfectly feasible that Prince Andrew and Virginia Roberts could have very easily fitted in there also.
January 15, 2022
A Set fit for a Peacock

Unmodernised ‘set’ in “rule-ridden” Albany, Piccadilly that was the London home of eccentric antiques dealer and ‘King of Chelsea’ Christopher Gibbs for sale; tour the home of the man who got Princess Margaret high on hash

Expelled from Eton “for being generally totally impossible,” antiques dealer Christopher Gibbs (1938 – 2018) was not a man one would have imagined would have liked the idea of living in a place with archaic rules. This “peacock pied piper to society in the Swinging Sixties” whose “drug consumption awed even Keith Richards,” however, surprisingly chose as his London base Albany in Mayfair and now his former residence is for sale.

“A hermitage; quiet as a lagoon, secluded from the roar of Piccadilly” according to the author Sheila, Countess of Birkenhead in her 1958 tome Peace in Piccadilly, Albany – which is only ever referred to as ‘The Albany’ by the extremely ill-advised – quintessential dandy Gibbs lived in the building for “more than half [his] life.” Whilst also owning properties including Davington Priory in Kent – which he later sold to Bob Geldoff – and a “mystic hangover” home in Tangier, it was here that this ‘King’ of “distressed bohemian” style found a place that offered him: “Perfection for a singleton, an oasis of serenity in the frenetic heart of West London.”

This curious “cloistered world” has numbered Sir Isaiah Berlin, Alan Clark, Lord Byron, William Gladstone, J. B. Priestley, W. Somerset Maugham and Terence Stamp amongst those who have passed its vetting committee of trustees and Gibbs – a man who legendarily got Princess Margaret so high on marijuana that she had to go to hospital – even embraced its “no pets, no children, no whistling, no noise and absolutely no publicity” policy.

Antiques dealer Christopher Henry Gibbs, (29th July 1938 to 28th July 2018), son of The Hon. Sir Geoffrey Gibbs KCMG and Lady (Helen) Gibbs CBE, was called the ‘King of Chelsea’ due to his ability as the ultimate connector. He put the Rolling Stones together with Prince Rupert Loewenstein (whom became their business manager) and he persuaded his friend John Paul Getty, Jr. to donate £50 million to the British National Gallery in 1985.

Christopher Gibbs by Robert Mapplethorpe and with Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull.

Christopher Gibbs pictured in his bathroom at L6 Albany, Albany Courtyard, Piccadilly, Mayfair, London, W1J 0AZ; the bathroom as it is today is in need of “some updating” according to agents GreenHunt.

‘Set L6’ circa 2013, as furnished then by Christopher Gibbs.

Photographed there by the curmudgeonly Victor Watts on a daybed that allegedly belonged to Lord Tennyson, described the home he created in an article for The New York Times’ ‘Style Magazine’ in April 2013:

“I had the place to myself and proceeded to make it my own in the accustomed style: sober mahogany, Oriental rugs, family pictures. I’ve continually reordered these rooms, distilling, paring, pruning, as chaste as my voluptuous nature allows.”

“So enraptured with my Albany life did I become that, reason deserting me (not for the first or last time) I gave up a spacious Bond Street gallery where I had my antiques shop and took one at the back of Albany, a small if elegant space with an entrance into the building, another onto the street and best of all a door into the underground passage – a quiet, invisible stroll home.”

“I love returning from Morocco, where I now spend much of my time, seeing the friendly porters at the door, hearing the clip-clop of feet on the Rope Walk, seeing the old-timers sitting in the little ivy-lined garden, sunning themselves by the little bronze statue of Antinous and the fountain, regularly invaded by the ducks from St. James’s Park – and enjoying sudden glimpses into other people’s lives through uncurtained windows, the hours marked only by the clock chimes of St. James’s Church, accompanied by the more uptempo tinkling of the clock at Fortnum & Mason, our local grocers.”

“At this point, when I am in London, I can’t imagine staying anywhere but Albany – all the more reason, perhaps, to clam up, maintain the longstanding omertà (or I should say discretion) that has held sway for centuries now, and count my blessings.”

Gibbs’ former home, ‘Set L6,’ is situated on the second floor in Albany’s Courtyard. It extends to some 1,178 square foot and includes a hall, reception room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. On the third floor, a separately accessed studio space has a shower room and kitchenette and of the property, the selling agents remark: “Whilst capable of immediate occupation, [it] does require the bathrooms being upgraded.”

Sold for just £60,000 ($75,000, €69,000 or درهم275,000) leasehold in March 2019 (presumably the term must have been very much towards its end), agents GreenHunt listed ‘Set L6 Albany’ on Zoopla first in May that year. Now, in April 2020, it remains for sale, but is instead listed on Primelocation. They seek £925,000 ($1.2 million, €1.1 million or درهم4.2 million) and offer it on a new 20-year leasehold with an upfront premium and a peppercorn ground rent.

Living in the building is not just the preserve of those with deep pockets. Peviously, in 2014, we featured ‘Set A5 Attic Albany’ – which was just £395 per week ($494, €454 or درهم1,800 per week) – whilst for those looking for something grander currently, a second and third floor freehold set is currently available through Sotheby’s International Realty for £4.95 million ($6.19 million, €5.69 million or درهم22.73 million). It extends to 1,890 square feet, is described as “meticulously refurbished” and includes an especially impressive drawing room.

Christopher Gibbs quoted:

“[I’ve always attracted] the grand and the raffish and the fast and the chic.”

“[I am] monumentally narcissistic.”

“I am a bit snooty… I do make exceptions, but very few.”

“We are here to learn, and my goodness I have a lot to learn.”

“[I was expelled from Eton for] Rabelaisian antics – illicit drinking, pantry raids of other boys’ rooms – that sort of thing.”

“Taste is something you catch – like measles or religion.”

“I like things in their natural state – people especially. As life goes by, that’s what I admire: objects and people that are unmonkeyed with, that are themselves, not trying to be something else.”

“I’m not interested in creating a dazzling impression of richness. We can make do with surprisingly little in life. It is best to have a few things which are really nice. I don’t approve of the mean look, but I do approve of the spare look, where every little bit is telling.”

“Being a shopkeeper, I used to sell things, sometimes.”

“I definitely suffer from the blown-mind syndrome… The only thing I’ll say in my favour, is that I was practically the only person I knew who actually went to work at nine o’clock in the morning, whether I’d been up to eight o’clock or not, because I had a job, my own business, and I realised that, if I didn’t, I wouldn’t have any of those things.”

“[I] help people make nice cosy homes where they are going to live happy, beautiful lives.”

“[I] encourage friends to dig into their heirlooms, to wear old clothes, to turn their backs on ugliness and conformism.”

“Collectors today want a good car, a good sound system, and a huge pink heart painted by Damien Hirst with dying butterflies on it which costs £400,000. Yet for much less you could buy something completely fascinating made 300 years ago.”

Quotes about Christopher Gibbs:

“Taste is difficult to define, but his is absolute perfection” – Min Hogg, founding editor of World of Interiors.

“[He was] like an 18^th century English parson who knew more about Etruscan vases than anyone at the British Museum” – Sir John Richardson, July 2018.

“I’m here to learn how to be a gentleman” – Mick Jagger of his then neighbour Christopher Gibbs whilst at a dinner party at his house.

“He was very flash… Sometimes he just wore tight jeans or fancy dress, like the others; but mostly his tastes were elaborate; suits with double-breasted waistcoats and cloth-covered buttons, and velvet ties, and striped Turkish shirts with stiff white collars, and cravats. Above all, he had a passion for carnations and was forever buying new strains, pink-and-yellow, or green-ink, or purple with red flecks” – Nik Cohn, author of Today There Are No Gentlemen, January 1971.

“Part Montesquieu, part Beau Brummel, and part Baudelaire… [Christopher Gibbs was a] well-born Renaissance man with an unmatched eye for aesthetics and a talent for friendship and the mot juste” – Hamish Bowles, international editor at large for Vogue, July 2018.

“Christopher was almost single-handedly responsible for making English antiques, and English heritage, look ‘cool’ again” – James Reginato of Vanity Fair, July 2018.

“A connoisseur of the weird and the wonderful” – Christopher Mason of The New York Times, September 2000.

“[He was an] acid-tripping ex-roué once known as the King of Chelsea” – Bitter words from the ex-Daily Mail ‘journalist’ and poison pen James Delingpole, executive editor of Breitbart.

“[The] avatar of Swinging London” – A more kind description from Sam Roberts of The New York Times.

“The arbiter of bohemian style” – Mitchell Owens of Architectural Digest Pro, July 2018.

“Christopher Gibbs: the man who brokered £50 million Getty grant to the National Gallery – and fed Princess Margaret hash brownies” – Huon Mallalieu of The Art Newspaper, July 2018.

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The entrance hallway of ‘Set L6’ has a fireplace.

The master bedroom of ‘

Looking into the reception room.

The somewhat basic kitchen is definitely in need of an upgrade.

The view from the set.

Albany’s famous ‘Rope Walk’ – Of it, Gibbs commented: “So ingrained is the sense of decorum that even to utter a friendly hello to a neighbor as we pass on the stone stairs or the covered outdoor canopy, known as the Rope Walk, might be violating a taboo, as if a few words of small talk could break the spell of privacy we Albanians prize so deeply. (A nod suffices, a hat raised to a lady.)”

Residents have access to the most peaceful outside spaces.

The third floor space included in the sale is arranged as a long, thin studio room.

It has a small kitchenette.

And a somewhat dated shower room.

A plan indicating how ‘Set L6’ is currently arranged.

A plan of the third floor studio space.

April 19, 2020
A Corona Getaway in London

For those looking to self-isolate in luxury in London, taking a ‘residence’ at The Milestone Hotel in Kensington could be the perfect option (if you’ve got £7,700 per week to spare)

If you’re rich, want to self-isolate during the coronavirus outbreak in London and don’t even want to go out to do shopping, you could do worse than move into a ‘residence’ within The Milestone Hotel overlooking Kensington Gardens and Kensington Palace in W8.

Though the Red Carnation Collection hotel, on its own website, is described as “temporarily closed due to current travel restrictions,” serviced apartments within the property are still being advertised online as available.

Listed on OnTheMarket.com for £7,700 per week ($9,600, €8,600 or درهم35,200 per week) or the equivalent of £550 per room per night ($685, €615 or درهم2,515 per room per night), a 743 square foot single-level, third floor apartment includes a reception room, two bedroom suites and a kitchen.

It is described by Harrods Estates as “beautiful” and “sumptuous” and having the “warm sense of being in your own private home.” Featuring a “vibrant and sophisticated” decoration scheme designed by Bea Tollman, the hotel’s founder, the agents laud the “contemporary polish that so cleverly blends with balancing the traditional features.”

‘Characteristics’ available to those taking the space include full 24-hour hotel service, access to the hotel’s health club, daily housekeeping services, 24-hour butler and room service and a full grocery shopping service.

The neo-Gothic former private home in which this ‘residence’ is situated became a hotel in 1922 and has been known as The Milestone since 1986. It has 43 guest bedrooms, 13 suites and 6 long-stay apartments and in 2019 unveiled a leopard print carpeted suite in honour of the Duchess of Sussex named the ‘Meghan Suite.’ A blessing or a bonus, depending on your view of the wayward on-off royal, is that the likelihood of the former Miss Markle popping in for tea at this time of lockdown is as likely as the Queen riding by on Shergar the racehorse.

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The exterior of The Milestone Hotel, 1 Kensington Court, Kensington, London, W8 5DL, United Kingdom.

The main bedroom.

The second of the bedrooms.

The kitchen of the apartment has a look of something from the 1990s, but is perfectly functional.

A floor plan of Apartment 6, the ‘residence’ offered.

March 28, 2020
A Belgravian Yo-Yo

Nicky Haslam designed Belgravia house for sale for 33% less than in 2010 in spite of yoyo-ing up and down in price for ten years

Estate agents like to make things sound grander generally and often give a house a name rather than a number. In the case of ‘Orpheo House’ in Belgravia, they’ve done the opposite and even though technically it stands in Elizabeth Street, its listed address is the rather grander sounding ‘50a Eaton Square.’

Grosvenor Estate owned Eaton Square, developed from 1827 onwards, has variously been home to actors, politicians and statesmen. Amongst them have been Stanley Baldwin, Sean Connery, Rex Harrison, Vivien Leigh, Joachim von Ribbentrop, George Soros and Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and most recently in 2019, the square was used as a location in the hit BBC drama series The Capture.

50a Eaton Square has had a curious history. In 1992, it was listed as the final address of the fourth and last Baron of Southborough on his death and subsequently, in 2009, it was sold to a “British music executive” according to Financial News. In 2010, he commissioned the renowned interior designer Nicky Haslam to turn it into a “trophy home” and the “epitome of comfortable luxury.” It now includes not only air conditioning and underfloor heating, but also has “secret drawers for DVDs” and “display cabinets for watches and sunglasses.”

“Super-stylish… [and] whimsical… with a Parisienne theme” according to the Evening Standard in 2016, the three-storey property fronts Elizabeth Street, but can also be accessed from a side door into Eaton Mews West – a cobbled street that has been home to Belgravia Garage since 1930.

Plainly, being next to the busy garage and car wash has put off buyers given that the property has yoyo-ed on and off the market at prices as high as £4.5 million since 2010. The real problem, however, is that the remaining 26-year lease is not enfranchisable.

Extending to 2,253 square feet, 50a Eaton Square features a double reception room, an Italian black lacquer kitchen and a small bedroom suite on its ground floor, a 25-foot by 24-foot reception on its first floor whilst a “generous” bedroom suite with dressing room, bathroom and west facing roof terrace takes up the entire second floor. A spiral wine cellar is located on the lower ground floor and a parking space within the mews is also included.

Agents Rokstone now seek the very much reduced sum of £3 million for the property.

The Names & Numbers – Orpheo House, 50a Eaton Square, Belgravia, London, SW1W 9BE

March 2020 – Reduced in price to £3 million ($3.5 million, €3.3 million or درهم12.9 million) and still available through agents Rokstone.

November 2019 – Listed for sale on Zoopla.com for £3.45 million ($4 million, €3.7 million or درهم14.8 million).

June 2018 – Listed for sale in Square Mile magazine for £4.25 million ($5 million, €4.6 million or درهم18.3 million).

October 2016 – Featured in the Evening Standard’s ‘Homes & Property’ section at a price of £4.25 million ($5 million, €4.6 million or درهم18.3 million) with agents Rokstone.

July 2011 – Listed as the ‘House of the Day’ on the Financial News website at a price of £3.95 million ($4.6 million, €4.3 million or درهم17 million) through agents Savills.

January 2010 – Listed for sale in Square Mile magazine for £4.5 million ($5.3 million, €4.9 million or درهم19.4 million) with agents Aylesford.

2009 – Sold to a “British music executive” according to Financial News. They state: “He moved out last year while [Nicky] Haslam completely gutted the house, taking it back to bare brick and changing the ceiling heights.”

June 1992 – Described as the last address of Francis Michael Hopwood, Lord Southborough, whom died on 15^th June 1992 (born 1922). Given the fourth Baron of Southborough had no offspring, the title (which was created in 1917 by King George V) then became extinct.

June 1955 – Featured in The Gazette as the address of Ambrose Dasent, an engineer and relative of the Sir George Webbe Dasent (1817 – 1896), the renowned translator of Scandinavian literature and mythology.

February 1936 – Featured in The Times as having “been sold by Messrs.’ George Trollope and Sons before auction.

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The designer of the interior of 50a Eaton Square, Nicky Haslam (pictured with fellow socialite Paris Hilton).

The entrance hall and staircase.

The main reception room.

Viewed from another angle.

The room includes a bar and is opulent in its styling.

A second reception room, on the ground floor, features a sitting area within a bay window.

It is has a division.

With a dining area beyond.

The kitchen features a central island.

The main bedroom suite.

Another view of that suite’s bathroom.

The suite comes with its own roof terrace.

The second bedroom is situated on the ground floor.

A floor plan of the property.

March 25, 2020
A Pricey Doer-Upper

Derelict Uncle Monty-esque farmhouse in the countryside of the Lake District National Park World Heritage Site for sale for a staggering sum

Described as “one of the most stunning sites in the Lake District National Park” by selling agents Michael C. L. Hodgson, the Hard Crag farmstead above High Brow Edge at Backbarrow in Cumbria has gone on sale for £795,000 ($1 million, €889,000 or درهم3.8 million) in spite of being nothing but an utter wreck.

Unusual in that it was built high on a hillside rather than in a valley in the 17^th century and unoccupied since 1954, this ‘yeoman style farmhouse’ with a barn and outbuildings is Grade II listed and on the National Park Authority’s register of Listed Buildings at Risk.

Offered with planning permission for redevelopment, designs for Hard Crag envision the creation of a parlour, snug, dining kitchen, utility room and guest bedroom suite with wet room to the ground floor and a sitting room with a raised platform and a master bedroom suite with a dressing room and bathroom to the first floor.

Surrounded by 36 acres of land that includes pasture, grazing, meadows, a tarn and rocky outcrop features, what sets this property apart are its views to Consiston, Scafell and the Langdales.

Though presently akin to Uncle Monty’s cottage in the cult film Withnail & I in its present condition, Hard Crag will most certainly once again soon be a truly fine home.

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September 8, 2018
Styled by Stoddart

‘Photographer to the Stars’ John Stoddart puts his Whitstable bachelor pad up for sale; it truly represents his bon vivant lifestyle

Suave Liverpool born ‘sniper-turned-snapper’ John Stoddart is selling his lavishly decorated apartment in the heart of the “oyster capital of Britain,” Whitstable.

John Stoddart at home

Extending to 919 square foot and situated on this delightfully eccentric seaside town’s High Street, the two-storey maisonette is presently arranged to provide a sitting room, dining kitchen, utility room, bedroom, bathroom and archive-studio room (that could easily revert to a second bedroom).

Stoddart was born in Liverpool and joined the Grenadier Guards at fifteen. He has worked with everyone from Tony Blair to Catherine Zeta-Jones and even captured Daniel Craig on the day before it was announced he’d be the next James Bond.

Agents Miles and Barr seek £235,000 ($306,000, €262,000 or درهم1.1million) for the apartment and with trains from Whitstable to London Victoria taking just 1 hour 30 minutes, this could be just perfect as a holiday bolthole.

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September 1, 2018
The King of Caravans

One-of-a-kind “big caravan-house” with patio on the roof for sale for £30,000; the current owner bought it for just £1 and spent £70,000 restoring it

Believed to be the last remaining example of 99 originally made, a “revolutionary” hammer finished aluminium caravan named a Berkeley Statesman has gone on sale.

Costing £1,065 when new in 1951 – the same price as a terrace house – and rebuilt at great expense by its current owner Tim Mitchinson after he found it hidden on a farm in Bedfordshire in 2004, the two-floor structure is described as being “a wonderful piece of history lovingly restored to its former glory.”

The 22-foot long by 12-foot high caravan features a living and dining area, a 1950s style kitchen with a range of appliances, two bedrooms capable of sleeping four and a shower room complete with a modern shower and an ingenious sink from an old railway carriage.

An advert for the Berkeley Statesman following its launch at the Earl’s Court Motor Show in 1951

On occasions, Berkeley Statesman caravans have known to take to racetracks

Of it, Mitchinson told the Discovery Channel:

“I thought it so ugly it, it had to be mine… [Restoring it was an] exercise in insanity… But it [is] absolutely unique… She arrived on the back of a lorry and I thought: ‘We’ll have a go.’ … A beautiful silver phoenix… It’s been blood, sweat and tears… A remarkable restoration.”

Speaking to The Yorkshire Post in December 2017, he added:

“I need to sell it so [my] house can be extended but I will miss it terribly. I am really proud of rescuing what is a valuable piece of social history.”

Estate agents RM English are marketing the Berkeley Statesman for just £30,000 ($38,500, €33,200 or درهم141,500) and point out that it is currently located in the centre of York. They add: “It will need to be transported off-site by a low loader trailer.”

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August 24, 2018
Highs and Lows in Hyde Park

Pint-sized flat in Knightsbridge goes on sale for ambitious sum of £5,813 per square foot; it was offered for the even more crazy sum of £7,027 per square foot in 2013

The owners of an apartment in the edifice of vulgarity that is One Hyde Park in Knightsbridge plainly have no belief in Brexit and increased stamp duty having affected the property market given they have just put the 989 square foot space on the market for the punchy price of £5.75 million ($7.65 million, €6.58 million or درهم28.11 million).

Offered effectively for £5,183 per square foot ($6,900, €5,928 or درهم25,342 per square foot) by agents Strutt & Parker, the third floor space was last marketed in June 2013 with what appears to be identical interior design for £6.95 million ($9.25 million, €7.95 million or درهم33.99 million). It consists of a 26’2” by 12’10” reception room with a champagne bar, a 9’2” by 6’4” kitchen and an 18’3” by 10’6 bedroom with an en-suite bathroom and comes with a single parking space and basement storage room.

A similar 988 square foot apartment on the fourth floor – which had been repossessed by an Irish bank – was marketed for £5.25 million ($6.99 million, €6.01 million or درهم25.68 million) or £5,313 per square foot ($7,071, €6,077 or درهم25,980 per square foot) in September 2013.

November 1, 2017
A Silo in SoHo

Penthouse in SoHo, New York for sale for 48% more than it was marketed for in 2007; it comes come complete with structures resembling a barn and a silo on its roof

This week the popular New York real estate blog 6sqft reported that a 1,250 square foot condo loft had gone on sale for £2.018 million ($2.649 million, €2.282 million or درهم9.726 million). What makes it unusual is that it comes with structures resembling a silo and a barn on its roof deck.

Described as being “in need of updating” but featuring ceiling heights of upto 20-foot, the propery includes living and dining spaces along with an open plan “sleeping nook”, walk-in closet, an office area and a bathroom on one of its two levels. Above, one finds an 800 square foot outdoor space with a built-in bar and pergola. The apartment was previously offered for sale in 2007 for £1.367 million ($1.795 million, €1.546 million or درهم6.590 million).

The penthouse at 118 Wooster Street is within a 6-storey, 13 unit building and is offered to the market by City Realty. Of it, the firm comments: “You won’t be able to duplicate this unit anywhere in Manhattan. This quiet space can be configured to your exact needs [and the roof deck offers] potential for a second-level addition.”

October 29, 2017