Combining a mix of society's last word and both wit and wisdom, The Steeple Times covers food, drink and fine dining as well as luxury, travel, the arts, individuals of influence and current affairs in the United Kingdom, America and elsewhere. We are best described as being akin to "a cross between The Huffington Post and Private Eye".
The magazine's following is affluent, engaged and international. With 41% of readers coming from the UK and 38% from America, The Steeple Times also has strong presence within Canadian, Italian, German and Australian territories.
January 5, 2019
by Matthew Steeples
Matthew Steeples celebrates the nicknames of Chelsea’s characters but regrets that the area itself is rapidly being stripped of the very character that made it so appealing In Chelsea well-known barflies and lavish lunchers have long been given wacky nicknames. Amongst my friends and acquaintances are ‘Steve the Lunch’ (known for planning where to … Continue reading “The Collapse of Chelsea Character”
September 10, 2018
by Matthew Steeples
Chelsea estate agent optimistically markets an £850 per week house with unpainted walls and an exposed gas meter by announcing: “It does have a new boiler” Other than the legendary Roy Brooks, the only honest man in his game, estate agents will be optimistic about just about anything. A bit of damp: “no problem”; … Continue reading “A Rental Ruin”
September 6, 2018
by Matthew Steeples
John Stoddart exhibition of silkscreen prints of his iconic works at Chelsea Arts Club attracts the attention of some BBC heavyweights On Tuesday, at the Chelsea Arts Club in London, photographer John Stoddart illustrated his versatility as an artist in exhibiting silkscreen prints created from his works. Present at the preview were a … Continue reading “Fame & The Beeb”
August 24, 2018
by General
Though considered one of society’s “Bright Young Things,” the “morally dubious” daughter of Sir John and Lady Mullens was just a tempestuous coke addict who got away with murder. Separated from her supposedly violent American singer husband, John Sterling Barney, and living with an “extravagant, bisexual waster” named Michael Scott Stephen in 1932, Elvira … Continue reading “Elvira Mullens Barney (1904 – 1936)”
June 6, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
Grade II* listed Kent townhouse for sale for just £166 per square foot; a similarly sized property in Knightsbridge would set you back £2,000 per square foot A freehold 2,500 square foot detached 15th century timber framed house just 23 miles south of London has gone on sale for the lowly sum of £166 … Continue reading “A House of Hide”
May 27, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
Classically proportioned Wiltshire village house for sale; it’ll supposedly appeal to “your typical wealthy Briton” (whatever that might mean) Primarily built between 1620 and 1760, a classically proportioned four-storey house in the Wiltshire village of Seend has been placed on the market this week for £4.5 million ($5.8 million, €5.2 million or درهم21.2 million). … Continue reading “Wealthy in Wiltshire”
May 1, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
Conversion of “one of Europe’s first purpose-built office blocks” for sale; £3.5 million Grade II* listed Georgian house in Bath literally straddles a canal Some people dream of living beside a lake or a river, but a Grade II* listed detached property recently placed on the market in Bath gives anyone with £3.5 million … Continue reading “Domesticity Above A Canal”
September 7, 2016
by Jacina Coyne
New contributor Jacina Coyne on how to spend a day in Petworth, West Sussex Petworth is well known for its synonymous stately home and its grounds by ‘England’s greatest gardener’, Capability Brown. This is a charming gem of a town in the English countryside and is easily accessible from London. I reached it in … Continue reading “The pleasures of Petworth”
May 21, 2016
by Matthew Steeples
Grade I listed house in Northern Ireland offered for sale for the first time since it was built in 1620
May 19, 2016
by General
Big Issue sellers are normally pleasant but Mr Make a Big Issue is quite the exception.
April 3, 2016
by Matthew Steeples
Georgian house in Lancashire will appeal to George Osborne’s new northern wealth
June 12, 2015
by Matthew Steeples
Richard Littlejohn’s attack on the memory of the late Jean-Charles de Menezes is an utter disgrace
April 27, 2015
by General
It’s Christmas every day for this bearded giant. Generally spotted in the pubs of South Kensington and always on his own, Kensington Claus has favoured drinking spots at each bar he visits
April 26, 2015
by Matthew Steeples
A bizarre, eight-floor converted water tower in the middle of an ugly redevelopment of an Essex lunatic asylum remains on the market despite a price cut of £200,000
April 25, 2015
by General
A well-known fixture each and every evening at Knightsbridge restaurants including San Lorenzo and Scalini during the 1990s and 2000s
by General
The Steeple Times asks Isle of Wight born producer and scriptwriter Dominic Minghella: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”
March 29, 2015
by Matthew Steeples
Dallas mansion with a prayer room and the largest private bowling centre in America that was previously owned by a billionaire oil baron remains for sale despite a price cut of £7 million
February 3, 2015
by Matthew Steeples
Bristol Cars market a stunning 402 ‘Hollywood Special’ just as they prepare to move into a new showroom and launch their first new model since 2003
August 26, 2014
by Matthew Steeples
This British Army officer served in the Boer, First World and Second World Wars. He was shot in the face twice in WWI and lost his left eye and was shot once through the skull, hip, leg, ankle and ear. In 1915, he lost his left hand and tore off his own fingers after a … Continue reading “Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart VC, KBE, CB, CMG, DSO (1880 – 1963)”
August 19, 2014
August 7, 2014
by Matthew Steeples
Former residence of Leona Helmsley comes to the market Leona Helmsley didn’t do “little”. She lived by the belief that “only the little people pay taxes” and housed herself in a vast mansion on a 40-acre plot in Connecticut. Helmsley died at the house in 2007 and it is now once again for sale
March 22, 2014
by Matthew Steeples
A roundup of the art worth seeing at BADA The BADA Antiques & Fine Art Fair on Chelsea’s Duke of York Square is an annual showcase of art and antiques that range in price from £100 to £1 million. Here, The Steeple Times picks three of our favourite items on display that suit a … Continue reading “The best of BADA”
December 30, 2013
by Matthew Steeples
Central London is losing its character A house in Pelham Street for £105 million, Tamara Ecclestone spends £1 million on a bathtub and Made in Chelsea’s Spencer Matthews racks up a bar bill of £450,000. These are all headlines we’ve featured recently that illustrate the nonsensical world that has become The Royal Borough of … Continue reading “Naff off”
December 20, 2013
by Matthew Steeples
20 questions with former English rugby union player and England captain Lewis Moody The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom”. What’s your guiding force? Family and friends who will always keep you grounded and honest “Don’t get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion, a great motto. What’s yours? A man’s character … Continue reading “Lewis Moody: “What’s on your mantelpiece?””
August 25, 2013
by James Murphy
James Murphy offers a rundown on the trends in cinema today and an insight into what is coming in 2014 and 2015 Summer 2013 was unremarkable for movies. Iron Man 3: too clever for its own good. Man of Steel: a long way from ‘super’. Wolverine: pointless, toothless and a waste of Hugh Jackman’s … Continue reading “Genre watch”
June 8, 2013
by Matthew Steeples
By day this Walton Street resident can be spotted drinking coffee and dressed quite conventionally. He is better known, however, for donning earrings and styling himself rather like the former Eastenders character Pat Butcher by night. His favoured watering hole was previously The Admiral Codrington but he hasn’t been seen there that often of late.
May 16, 2013
by Matthew Steeples
He cruises the streets of Knightsbridge and Belgravia in the afternoons and hoots every so often as he drives along. Often spotted puffing away on a cigar, nothing more is known of this diminutive character.
May 10, 2013
by Matthew Steeples
Famous simply for being thrown out of Waitrose in Kings Road because of his helping hands and also for his daily dance on the steps of Patara in Fulham Road, little else is known about this Chelsea eccentric. Goodness knows what’s hidden inside the flasher mac The Waitrose Clepto generally sports.
April 4, 2013
by Matthew Steeples
“Archers addicts” are up in arms BBC Radio 4’s The Archers is an institution and its devoted following object to those who mess with it at their peril.
March 12, 2013
by Matthew Steeples
Matthew Steeples offers offers a tribute to the late Robert Troyan I first met the larger than life Bostonian character Robert Troyan (1950 – 2013) with his partner Anthony Feldman in the early 2000s at their impressive apartment in Mayfair. Though I did not come to know them well, I fondly recall a number … Continue reading “A monstrous murder in Mayfair”
February 21, 2013
by Matthew Steeples
“London’s rudest landlord” enjoyed causing offence more than anything else. Following on from his father’s purchase of the lease of Soho’s The Coach & Horses pub in 1943 Norman “You’re Barred” Balon worked there and then later, as landlord, presided over “prostitutes, gays, lesbians and a bit of the theatre community”. When a visiting rugby … Continue reading “Norman Balon”
January 26, 2013
by Matthew Steeples
A professional beggar who was well known in Soho and Pimlico. She lived in a £7 a night hostel but preferred to be found in The French House. She liked Gap jeans and was a gambling addict but surprisingly was a teetotaler. The thought of crossing Oxford Street is said to have worried her greatly.
December 17, 2012
by Matthew Steeples
This genius of British design was told by leading bicycle manufacturer Raleigh that his lightweight, small-wheeled bicycle wouldn’t sell in the early 1960s. He proved them utterly wrong and his work with Sir Alexander Issigonis on the Austin Mini created a car that will be remembered forever. This unmarried and utterly eccentric engineer was also … Continue reading “Dr Alexander Moulton CBE (1920 – 2012)”
December 4, 2012
by Matthew Steeples
Jilly Cooper’s state of the nation style summary strikes chords with Matthew Steeples Best-selling bonkbuster author Jilly Cooper might be best known for novels such as Riders and Jump! but in the 1980s and 90s she was equally lauded as “one of the Conservative Party’s most ardent supporters.” Cooper, born in 1937, showed … Continue reading “The Woman Who’ll Make Politicians Jealous”
November 15, 2012
by Matthew Steeples
This mouthpiece was born in Rettendon, Essex in 1958 and vents bile on all manner of subjects. Articles such as: “Why don’t more women moan like me?” and “Liz Jones’ baby craving drove her to steal husband’s sperm in ultimate deception” are frankly illustrative of why she’s so unpopular. After she got banned from the … Continue reading “Liz Jones”
November 12, 2012
by Matthew Steeples
Matthew Steeples examines the truth behind Liz Jones giving up on her “rural idyll” The Mail’s Liz Jones is a waspish woman who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. Those who’ve paid even a moment’s attention to her bleating, will be familiar with lines such as: “Last week, my brand … Continue reading “The battleaxe in the Beemer”
October 28, 2012
by Matthew Steeples
A different side to Peter Rachman is revealed Whenever the name Rachman is mentioned, the first things that come to mind are greed, extortion and intimidation. The word is so engrained in such that “Rachmanism” now features in the dictionary, defined as: “The exploitation of tenants of slum properties by unscrupulous landlords.” … Continue reading “Redefining Rachman”
October 25, 2012
by Matthew Steeples
The Queen’s life in 3 minutes and 24 seconds This week we must thank Dan Large for having alerted us to an amazing YouTube video showing Her Majesty The Queen’s life in 3 minutes and 24 seconds. Created by “an old retired guy who likes to play with computers” named “HerBunk” and using … Continue reading “Video of the Week: The Queen morphs”
October 9, 2012
by Matthew Steeples
The Steeple Times asks the chef, author and television personality Sophie Michell: “What’s on your mantelpiece?” The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom.” What’s your guiding force? “Independence and the life choices that come with it.” “Never regret, never explain, never apologise” is, in our humble opinion, a great motto. What’s yours? As … Continue reading “Sophie Michell: “What’s on your mantelpiece?””
October 8, 2012
by steepleadmin
Christian Huhnt reports on recent changes at Cassis restaurant As I work in the arts and also collect wines, I find Cassis Bistro in South Kensington most comfortable as here I find myself surrounded by great works by Julian Opie, Gary Hume and Henri Matisse alongside as a humongous and well-stocked wine rack at … Continue reading “The perils of fusion”
October 7, 2012
by Matthew Steeples
A most curious tale of playboys, socialites, lawyers and real estate moguls This week the mystery buyer of Clarendon Court, the former marital home of Claus and Martha “Sunny” Von Bülow (1932 – 2008), was revealed as a restaurateur and real estate mogul named Paul Roiff. Separately, the New York Post reported that Mr … Continue reading “Reversing Fortunes: Tales of former home of Claus von Bulow”
October 4, 2012
by Matthew Steeples
Nicky Haslam adds another string to his bow Nicky Haslam is a man of many parts. He’s best known as an interior designer and author but over the years, in chameleon like fashion, he’s variously styled himself as Liam Gallagher, bought a house in Transylvania on the net and once told Vanity Fair he’d … Continue reading “Video of the Week: Total Control”
September 30, 2012
by Matthew Steeples
The sale of Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell’s Malibu beach house Goldie Hawn’s performance in the 1992 romantic comedy Housesitter with Steve Martin was described by the noted film critic Roger Ebert as “one of her best performances.” In the film, Martin’s character builds a dream home for himself and his girlfriend but is … Continue reading “Hawn’s Housesitter”
June 26, 2012
by Matthew Steeples
He is said to have come up with the Bond family motto: “The World is Not Enough” and in real life was laird of the Hebridean island of Great Bernera. Mirrlees collaborated with Ian Fleming extensively and is considered to have been one of his greatest influences. This Buddhist was also interested in mystic philosophy, … Continue reading “Count Robin de la Lanne-Mirrlees (1925 – 2012)”
June 4, 2012
by Matthew Steeples
Music fit for The Queen In recent days, Gary Barlow’s albumn Sing has topped the UK album charts with sales of 40,000 copies. Two hundred and ten musicians, including the African Children’s Choir and the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force Band, helped record this special tribute to The Queen. Produced by Barlow with … Continue reading “Singing for a Diamond”
