The Steeple Times

Tag: brochure

  • A Messed-Up Mansion

    A Messed-Up Mansion

    Dilapidated Grade II* listed South Yorkshire Georgian mansion Hickleton Hall for sale for a sum 25% lower than it was marketed for in 2014 but 185% more than it was valued at in 2016

    Empty country houses become liabilities and in the case of Hickleton Hall in South Yorkshire, the result of years of neglect will likely be either further decline or conversion into flats.

     

    A Messed-Up Mansion – Hickleton Hall, Hickleton, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN7 5BB, United Kingdom – For sale for £1.5 million ($2 million, €1.7 million or درهم7.3 million) through Fisher German.
    A neglected and boarded-up Hickleton Hall, Hickleton, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN5 7BB in 2016

     

    Offered for sale in 2015 for £2 million (at that time complete with its since separated stable block), this Grade II* listed Georgian stately home was built between 1745 and 1748 of limestone ashlar for a banker named Godfrey Wentworth. It was subsequently home to the Whig politician and Chancellor of the Exchequer Charles Wood, 1st Viscount Halifax from 1846 to 1885 and then used by the army during the Second World War.

     

    Converted first to a girls’ school in the 1940s, Hickleton Hall became a Sue Ryder Home in the 1960s. That closed in 2012 and in the years since fate has been anything but kind to the building. Described on a dedicated website as “eye-catching” but affected by subsidence and fissures caused by coal mining, the “asbestos riddled” structure has been targeted by vandals and thieves.

     

    The 34,000 square foot building was valued at a sum of between £525,000 and £825,000 in 2016 but is now for sale for £1.5 million through agents Fisher German. Their marketing brochure – which uses images of the mansion in better times – lists it as now coming with just 14.72 acres of land and planning permission for conversion into 20 apartments.

     

    Hickleton Hall – The Numbers

     

    October 2017 – For sale for £1.5 million ($2 million, €1.7 million or درهم7.3 million) through Fisher German.

     

    February 2016 – Valued at £525,000 to £825,000 ($693,000 to $1.1 million, €589,000 to €926,000 or درهم2.5 million to درهم4 million) by Christie & Co. Remedial work to restore the hall estimated at least £1.75 million ($2.3 million, €2 million or درهم8.5 million).

     

    April 2014 – For sale for £2 million ($2.6 million, €2.2 million or درهم9.7 million) through Hamptons.

     

    A Messed-Up Mansion – Hickleton Hall, Hickleton, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN7 5BB, United Kingdom – For sale for £1.5 million ($2 million, €1.7 million or درهم7.3 million) through Fisher German.A Messed-Up Mansion – Hickleton Hall, Hickleton, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN7 5BB, United Kingdom – For sale for £1.5 million ($2 million, €1.7 million or درهم7.3 million) through Fisher German.A Messed-Up Mansion – Hickleton Hall, Hickleton, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN7 5BB, United Kingdom – For sale for £1.5 million ($2 million, €1.7 million or درهم7.3 million) through Fisher German. A Messed-Up Mansion – Hickleton Hall, Hickleton, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN7 5BB, United Kingdom – For sale for £1.5 million ($2 million, €1.7 million or درهم7.3 million) through Fisher German. A Messed-Up Mansion – Hickleton Hall, Hickleton, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN7 5BB, United Kingdom – For sale for £1.5 million ($2 million, €1.7 million or درهم7.3 million) through Fisher German.A Messed-Up Mansion – Hickleton Hall, Hickleton, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN7 5BB, United Kingdom – For sale for £1.5 million ($2 million, €1.7 million or درهم7.3 million) through Fisher German. A Messed-Up Mansion – Hickleton Hall, Hickleton, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN7 5BB, United Kingdom – For sale for £1.5 million ($2 million, €1.7 million or درهم7.3 million) through Fisher German.A Messed-Up Mansion – Hickleton Hall, Hickleton, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN7 5BB, United Kingdom – For sale for £1.5 million ($2 million, €1.7 million or درهم7.3 million) through Fisher German.

  • Tales of The Tube

    Tales of The Tube

    South Kensington house for sale for £4 million in spite of being literally right next to a noisy London Underground line

     

    Estate agents are not known for honesty but Strutt & Parker certainly neglected a key detail when preparing particulars for a £3.95 million ($5.13 million, €4.38 million or درهم18.83 million) property in Pelham Street, SW7.

     

    In a brochure for what is termed a “fabulous five bedroom freehold house situated within a charming terrace of stucco fronted houses, set back behind a private paved garden,” the firm neglect to mention that exactly to the rear of the building is the busy District and Circle line.

     

    The renovated 2,523 square foot terraced house offered spans four floors – and presumably the top floors rattle less than the lower ones – and includes a drawing room, dining kitchen, a cinema room, 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. It has a garden to the front, a roof terrace and the London Underground directly next to it. How charming.

     

    Tales of The Tube – Pelham Street, London, SW7 – House directly next to District and Circle London Underground line for sale for £3.95 million ($5.13 million, €4.38 million or درهم18.83 million) through Strutt & Parker Tales of The Tube – Pelham Street, London, SW7 – House directly next to District and Circle London Underground line for sale for £3.95 million ($5.13 million, €4.38 million or درهم18.83 million) through Strutt & Parker Tales of The Tube – Pelham Street, London, SW7 – House directly next to District and Circle London Underground line for sale for £3.95 million ($5.13 million, €4.38 million or درهم18.83 million) through Strutt & Parker Tales of The Tube – Pelham Street, London, SW7 – House directly next to District and Circle London Underground line for sale for £3.95 million ($5.13 million, €4.38 million or درهم18.83 million) through Strutt & ParkerTales of The Tube – Pelham Street, London, SW7 – House directly next to District and Circle London Underground line for sale for £3.95 million ($5.13 million, €4.38 million or درهم18.83 million) through Strutt & ParkerTales of The Tube – Pelham Street, London, SW7 – House directly next to District and Circle London Underground line for sale for £3.95 million ($5.13 million, €4.38 million or درهم18.83 million) through Strutt & Parker

  • Best in Britain

    Best in Britain

    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 – formerly known as Benham Vallence – at Marsh Benham, near Newbury comes with around 130 acres of Grade II listed Capability Brown (1716 – 1783) designed parkland and currently extends to 27,620 square foot. It has planning permission in place to either revert to a truly epic single family mansion or to convert into a 100 bedroom ‘wellness centre’ to rival Champneys in Hertfordshire and Clinique La Prairie in Switzerland. The schemes proposed would provide between 50,000 and 140,000 square foot of accommodation and, already, businessmen Harry Marriott and Michael Fresson, owners since 2011, have restored the exterior of the building along with its gardens and park.

     

    Built at the behest of the nobleman William Craven (1738 – 1791) to designs of the Fulham born architect Henry Holland (1745 – 1806) in 1774 – 1775, this fine neoclassical house was constructed from Bath stone and later altered by the extremely wealthy Sutton baronets during their tenure in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The estate was sold for £1 million to the innovative computer manufacturers Norsk Data in 1983 and remained in the firm’s ownership until it was dissolved in 1992. It then became the offices of other technology companies until again being placed for sale for £6 million in 2010.

     

    Best in Britain – Benham Park (formerly Benham Valence), Marsh Benham, Speen, Newbury, West Berkshire, RG20 8EP, United Kingdom – For sale for £26 million ($33.4 million, €29.9 million or درهم123 million) with Savills.
    Benham Park in the era when it was used as offices; the modern buildings have now been demolished and the car park landscaped

    Best in Britain – Benham Park (formerly Benham Valence), Marsh Benham, Speen, Newbury, West Berkshire, RG20 8EP, United Kingdom – For sale for £26 million ($33.4 million, €29.9 million or درهم123 million) with Savills.
    The main mansion prior to renovation of its exterior

    Best in Britain – Benham Park (formerly Benham Valence), Marsh Benham, Speen, Newbury, West Berkshire, RG20 8EP, United Kingdom – For sale for £26 million ($33.4 million, €29.9 million or درهم123 million) with Savills.
    A view from another angle (after external renovation)

    Best in Britain – Benham Park (formerly Benham Valence), Marsh Benham, Speen, Newbury, West Berkshire, RG20 8EP, United Kingdom – For sale for £26 million ($33.4 million, €29.9 million or درهم123 million) with Savills.
    From the lake

    Best in Britain – Benham Park (formerly Benham Valence), Marsh Benham, Speen, Newbury, West Berkshire, RG20 8EP, United Kingdom – For sale for £26 million ($33.4 million, €29.9 million or درهم123 million) with Savills.
    And from its imposing entrance

    Best in Britain – Benham Park (formerly Benham Valence), Marsh Benham, Speen, Newbury, West Berkshire, RG20 8EP, United Kingdom – For sale for £26 million ($33.4 million, €29.9 million or درهم123 million) with Savills.
    One of several entrances to the estate

    Best in Britain – Benham Park (formerly Benham Valence), Marsh Benham, Speen, Newbury, West Berkshire, RG20 8EP, United Kingdom – For sale for £26 million ($33.4 million, €29.9 million or درهم123 million) with Savills.
    Another set of impressive gates

     

    Should a buyer use the existing designs for a residential scheme, they would find themselves owning a house that would not only come with 12 reception rooms and 29 bedroom suites, but also one with a sports complex, a sculpture gallery, a 40-seat cinema and garaging for 50 cars. Aside from an existing 5-bedroom mill house on the estate’s 10 acre lake and a gate lodge, the proposals would add a further 8 additional ancillary houses also.

     

    Of Benham Park, Crispin Holborow of selling agent Savills commented:

     

    “[This] is a nationally important stately home so its sale presents a very exciting proposition for a future owner to oversee its transformation. The prospect of restoring a property of such magnificent proportions with excellent access to London has not arisen for many years, and we expect interest from potential buyers for either its reinstatement as a significant country residence or its repurpose into a world leading wellness centre”.

     

    Those looking to extend the compound further have the option to purchase two separately owned properties that were formerly part of the estate. A house known as ‘Greenhouses’, for sale with Savills, is offered for £1.3 million and comes with 1.47 acres of land whilst Mill Bank House, which stands in 2 acres, is on the market through Strutt & Parker.

     

     

    The Numbers – Benham Park

     

    1771 – 1774

    William Craven, 6th Baron Craven paid Capability Brown £7,150 for works to the house and grounds. This sum is the equivalent of £989,000 today ($1.3 million, €1.1 million or درهم4.7 million).

     

    1982

    Sold to Norsk Data for £1 million (the equivalent of £3.2 million, $4.1 million, €3.7 million or درهم15.1 million today) by Sir Richard Sutton (born 1937).

     

    2010

    Placed on the market for £6 million ($7.7 million, €6.9 million or درهم28.3 million).

     

    2011

    Sold to Harry Marriott and Michael Fresson for £5 million ($6.4 million, €5.7 million or درهم23.6 million).

     

    2017

    Benham Park placed on the market for £26 million ($33.4 million, €29.9 million or درهم123 million).

     

    Separately owned estate houses

    Best in Britain – Benham Park (formerly Benham Valence), Marsh Benham, Speen, Newbury, West Berkshire, RG20 8EP, United Kingdom – For sale for £26 million ($33.4 million, €29.9 million or درهم123 million) with Savills.Mill Bank House – On the market for £1.4 million ($1.8 million, €1.6 million or درهم6.6 million).

     

    Best in Britain – Benham Park (formerly Benham Valence), Marsh Benham, Speen, Newbury, West Berkshire, RG20 8EP, United Kingdom – For sale for £26 million ($33.4 million, €29.9 million or درهم123 million) with Savills.Greenhouses – On the market for £1.3 million ($1.7 million, €1.5 million or درهم6.1 million).

     

  • Trumping a Visa

    Trumping a Visa

    Kushner family exposed for promoting their links to the Trump presidency to flog flats (with visas) to Chinese investors

     

    Yesterday, The Washington Post, in revealing that the Kushner family are hawking properties complete with investor visas, illustrated yet another appalling example of what is fast becoming the shadiest presidential dynasty in history.

     

    According to the paper, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner’s sister, Nicole Kushner Meyer, was in Beijing on Saturday to promote a New Jersey apartment complex named Kushner 1 to “a ballroom full of wealthy Chinese investors”. The event, which had been promoted with a brochure tagged: “Invest $500,000 and immigrate to the United States”.

     

    Of the way in which the Kushner family behaved, Richard Painter, former chief White House ethics lawyer in President George W. Bush’s administration remarked:

     

    “It’s incredibly stupid and highly inappropriate. They clearly imply that the Kushners are going to make sure you get your visa… They’re [Chinese applicants] not going to take a chance. Of course they’re going to want to invest”.

     

    Unsurprisingly, journalists found themselves evicted from the shindig. The Kushners’ reasoning? “The presence of foreign reporters threatened the ‘stability’ of the event. This is not the story we want”.

     

    Pictured above (left to right): Nicole Kushner Meyer, Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump Kushner and Donald Trump.

     

    Trumping a Visa – Jared Kushner’s family exposed for promoting their links to the Trump presidency to flog flats (with visas) to Chinese investors by The Washington Post – Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump Kushner, Donald Trump, Nicole Kushner Meyer, Kushner 1, China.

  • The house formerly known as Prince

    The house formerly known as Prince

    Despite a Málaga villa built by the musician Prince remaining on the market a year after it was put up for sale, bizarrely its asking price has been increased by £1 million (more…)

  • Cairness House – A Masonic mansion

    Cairness House – A Masonic mansion

    Cairness House, “Scotland’s most important Greek Revival house”, heads into its fourth year on the market (more…)

  • Squalor in South Ken

    Squalor in South Ken

    The worst property particulars ever?

     

    Estate agents often use clever photography to promote properties and urge sellers to tidy up and brew hot coffee before viewings. The brochure for a one bedroom flat in Stanhope Gardens in London’s South Kensington, however, is an example where an agent has done anything but. (more…)

  • Citizen of the Manor

    Citizen of the Manor

    Manor house owned by one of the McAlpine family comes to the market

     

    The McAlpine family have construction in their blood. They’ve built everything from The Dorchester to the Millennium Dome and one of the current generation, Cullum McAlpine, is no different. His Cotswolds country house, Cold Ashton Manor, is currently for sale for £4 million and its architectural features are stunning. (more…)

  • From the ashes

    From the ashes

    One of England’s finest estates comes to the market for £25 to £30 million

     

    The scene of the tragic deaths of the Conservative MP Michael Colvin and his wife Nicola in 2000 in a fire, Tangley House, near Andover in Hampshire subsequently had to be demolished. A new house was constructed on the site in 2005 by a property developer named Harry Marriott and now he’s put it on the market complete with 505 acres of land (more…)

  • Downturning

    Downturning

    A home worthy of any ‘Downton’ devotee is marketed for £6,500,000 less than it was previously promoted for in 2008

     

    With Downton Abbey back on our screens, Brits are waxing lyrical about life in country houses whilst our American cousins are already bemoaning that they won’t get to see the latest series until January. Any fan with deep enough pockets could live out their fantasy if they were to purchase Thornhill Park at Stalbridge in Dorset. (more…)