The Steeple Times

Tag: Elizabeth I

  • Gertrude Bell did NOT live here

    Gertrude Bell did NOT live here

    Should there be a blue plaque in honour of the controversial explorer Gertrude Bell in Cadogan Square in spite of the fact she did not actually “live” there?

     

    Today, in The Guardian, arts correspondent Mark Brown reported on the controversy that has arisen as a result of English Heritage deciding it appropriate to approve a blue plaque in honour of Gertrude Bell CBE (1868 – 1926) in Cadogan Square, Knightsbridge.

     

    Gertrude Bell did NOT live here – Should there be a blue plaque in honour of the controversial explorer Gertrude Bell in Cadogan Square? She did not actually “live” there.
    Gertrude Bell has variously been described as an administrator, peace maker, preserver of heritage, pioneer and a woman of international influence. She was also considered a spy and mocked for opposing vote’s for women.

     

    Though home to the explorer’s grandmother and a place she stayed at on “numerous occasions” for over 40 years, Bell’s biographer, Graham Best, asks: “Is this a case of cultural appropriation? … She didn’t really have anything to do with London.”

     

    He continues:

     

    “The thing with Gertrude Bell is that everyone is trying to appropriate her as a person. She is deeply misunderstood.”

     

    “The thing is everyone is trying to grab hold of Gertrude Bell and say yes, she’s one of us. But she’s not.”

     

    Going further, the article also attempts to smear “Queen of the Desert” Bell by referring to the fact that she opposed vote’s for women and repeatedly makes reference to the William Morris designed Red Barns in Redcar being her genuine home.

     

    Just like with Queen Elizabeth I – a woman who seemingly slept in every bed in the land – it is effectively plaques to famous people could end up being put up just about everywhere they ever went. In February this year, The Steeple Times reported on a condominium in Pacific Heights, San Francisco that was for sale complete with a plaque that proclaimed: “2151 Sacramento Street: This house, built in 1881, was once occupied by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.” It turned out that the author had “visited” the building for just a few hours.

     

    Pictured top: Nicole Kidman as Gertrude Bell with Robert Pattinson as T. E. Lawrence in the “muddled mess” that was Werner Herzog’s 2015 film ‘Queen of the Desert.’

     

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  • Sir Arthur Conan Doyle did NOT live here

    Sir Arthur Conan Doyle did NOT live here

    San Francisco condominium with a plaque that falsely claims Sir Arthur Conan Doyle lived there for sale for £2.6m; it was actually home to a whackjob doctor who believed he could cure any disease

     

    Offered last for £1.779 million ($2.495 million, €2.010 million or درهم9.163 million) in 2012, 2151 Sacramento Street in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights has just been brought to the market by the well-known and often eccentrically dressed realtor Joel Goodrich for £2.637 million ($3.698 million, €2.979 million or درهم13.581 million).

     

    Adorned with a plaque that reads: “This house, built in 1881, was once occupied by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle,” the apartment offered is one of four within a Beaux-Arts building that replaced the original structure in the 1920s. It extends to 2,528 square foot and includes 2 reception rooms, 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, 3 parking spaces and a south facing roof deck.

     

    Sir Arthur Conan Doyle did NOT live here – #4, 2151 Sacramento St, San Francisco, CA 94109, USA – For sale through Joel Goodrich for £2.637 million ($3.698 million, €2.979 million or درهم13.581 million) – San Francisco condominium with a plaque that falsely claims Sir Arthur Conan Doyle lived there for sale for £2.6m; it was actually home to a whackjob doctor named Dr Albert Abrams who believed he could cure any disease
    Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859 – 1930) and the plaque to him at 2151 Sacramento Street; he actually stayed at The Clift Hotel during his brief visit
    Sir Arthur Conan Doyle did NOT live here – #4, 2151 Sacramento St, San Francisco, CA 94109, USA – For sale through Joel Goodrich for £2.637 million ($3.698 million, €2.979 million or درهم13.581 million) – San Francisco condominium with a plaque that falsely claims Sir Arthur Conan Doyle lived there for sale for £2.6m; it was actually home to a whackjob doctor named Dr Albert Abrams who believed he could cure any disease
    Dr Albert Abrams (1863 – 1924) was facinated with curing vibrations and came up with radionics and the theory of spondylotherapy; here he is pictured with his pointless invention

     

    Just as in Britain with Elizabeth I – a woman who, it seems, slept in virtually every bed in the land – the truth about Conan Doyle’s association is much more mundane. The author and creator of Sherlock Holmes did visit the then owner of the property, one Dr Albert Abrams, whilst on a short visit to San Francisco in 1923 but actually only for a few hours.

     

    Conan Doyle is noted for having supported Abrams, a controversial professor of pathology at Stanford University and the inventor of a whackjob device named a dynamizer, when others turned there backs on him. His claim to fame was that his contraption could analyse a single drop of blood and then transmit a cure back by radio waves. As with many others of that time, this hocus-pocus was eventually discounted as utterly outrageous and Abrams was in turn branded: “The dean of twentieth century charlatans.”

     

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    Sir Arthur Conan Doyle did NOT live here – #4, 2151 Sacramento St, San Francisco, CA 94109, USA – For sale through Joel Goodrich for £2.637 million ($3.698 million, €2.979 million or درهم13.581 million) – San Francisco condominium with a plaque that falsely claims Sir Arthur Conan Doyle lived there for sale for £2.6m; it was actually home to a whackjob doctor named Dr Albert Abrams who believed he could cure any diseaseSir Arthur Conan Doyle did NOT live here – #4, 2151 Sacramento St, San Francisco, CA 94109, USA – For sale through Joel Goodrich for £2.637 million ($3.698 million, €2.979 million or درهم13.581 million) – San Francisco condominium with a plaque that falsely claims Sir Arthur Conan Doyle lived there for sale for £2.6m; it was actually home to a whackjob doctor named Dr Albert Abrams who believed he could cure any diseaseSir Arthur Conan Doyle did NOT live here – #4, 2151 Sacramento St, San Francisco, CA 94109, USA – For sale through Joel Goodrich for £2.637 million ($3.698 million, €2.979 million or درهم13.581 million) – San Francisco condominium with a plaque that falsely claims Sir Arthur Conan Doyle lived there for sale for £2.6m; it was actually home to a whackjob doctor named Dr Albert Abrams who believed he could cure any diseaseSir Arthur Conan Doyle did NOT live here – #4, 2151 Sacramento St, San Francisco, CA 94109, USA – For sale through Joel Goodrich for £2.637 million ($3.698 million, €2.979 million or درهم13.581 million) – San Francisco condominium with a plaque that falsely claims Sir Arthur Conan Doyle lived there for sale for £2.6m; it was actually home to a whackjob doctor named Dr Albert Abrams who believed he could cure any disease Sir Arthur Conan Doyle did NOT live here – #4, 2151 Sacramento St, San Francisco, CA 94109, USA – For sale through Joel Goodrich for £2.637 million ($3.698 million, €2.979 million or درهم13.581 million) – San Francisco condominium with a plaque that falsely claims Sir Arthur Conan Doyle lived there for sale for £2.6m; it was actually home to a whackjob doctor named Dr Albert Abrams who believed he could cure any diseaseSir Arthur Conan Doyle did NOT live here – #4, 2151 Sacramento St, San Francisco, CA 94109, USA – For sale through Joel Goodrich for £2.637 million ($3.698 million, €2.979 million or درهم13.581 million) – San Francisco condominium with a plaque that falsely claims Sir Arthur Conan Doyle lived there for sale for £2.6m; it was actually home to a whackjob doctor named Dr Albert Abrams who believed he could cure any disease Sir Arthur Conan Doyle did NOT live here – #4, 2151 Sacramento St, San Francisco, CA 94109, USA – For sale through Joel Goodrich for £2.637 million ($3.698 million, €2.979 million or درهم13.581 million) – San Francisco condominium with a plaque that falsely claims Sir Arthur Conan Doyle lived there for sale for £2.6m; it was actually home to a whackjob doctor named Dr Albert Abrams who believed he could cure any diseaseSir Arthur Conan Doyle did NOT live here – #4, 2151 Sacramento St, San Francisco, CA 94109, USA – For sale through Joel Goodrich for £2.637 million ($3.698 million, €2.979 million or درهم13.581 million) – San Francisco condominium with a plaque that falsely claims Sir Arthur Conan Doyle lived there for sale for £2.6m; it was actually home to a whackjob doctor named Dr Albert Abrams who believed he could cure any diseaseSir Arthur Conan Doyle did NOT live here – #4, 2151 Sacramento St, San Francisco, CA 94109, USA – For sale through Joel Goodrich for £2.637 million ($3.698 million, €2.979 million or درهم13.581 million) – San Francisco condominium with a plaque that falsely claims Sir Arthur Conan Doyle lived there for sale for £2.6m; it was actually home to a whackjob doctor named Dr Albert Abrams who believed he could cure any disease Sir Arthur Conan Doyle did NOT live here – #4, 2151 Sacramento St, San Francisco, CA 94109, USA – For sale through Joel Goodrich for £2.637 million ($3.698 million, €2.979 million or درهم13.581 million) – San Francisco condominium with a plaque that falsely claims Sir Arthur Conan Doyle lived there for sale for £2.6m; it was actually home to a whackjob doctor named Dr Albert Abrams who believed he could cure any disease

  • 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).

     

  • Overheard – 26th October

    Overheard – 26th October

    Clangers overheard and snippets spotted by readers of ‘The Steeple Times’

     

    Begging a feast

    In Gloucester Road, a beggar was overheard talking to an American old lady. He said: “I’m trying to get myself a feast”. She curtly answered: “Who do you think you are? Elizabeth I? Go to the park and kill a swan and you’ll be all set”.

     

    A girl on the side

    At La Brasserie’s bar, another elderly American settled down. This blazer and baseball cap wearing man announced to the bartender: “I’m from LA. I have to land”. The perplexed server looked bemused so, the stateside visitor carried on: “Make it a Johnny Walker Black Label. Ice, lemon and a girl on the side”.

     

    Connecting Meyer

    In a restaurant, former ambassador and all-round know-all Sir Christopher Meyer sat pontificating with his sons. He was overheard to loudly remark: “I’m very well connected, I’ll have you know”. Another guest, sat nearby, chirped up and told her companions: “Yes, of course he is. Appointed by the war criminal Tony Blair. That’s a connection and a half. One to be really proud of”.

     

    Knightsbridge vs. Chigwell

    In another restaurant in Knightsbridge, a set of louche men, throwbacks to the 1980s in fact, sat chatting about their glory days. One rudely pointed to a man minding his own business and shouted: “You’re not a Knightsbridge kind of guy. We’ve had Brexit. We’re reclaiming our land”. His target responded: “I hear you’re from Chigwell. You’re welcome to that land”.

     

    Submit comments you hear to [email protected]. We publish amusing and ridiculous chatter we receive and sometimes we change names and locations to protect the identities of the vain and the vacuous.

     

  • Noelle Blackman

    Noelle Blackman

    The Steeple Times asks Respond charity CEO Dr Noelle Blackman: What’s on your mantelpiece? (more…)

  • Reader offer: ‘Puff’ by John Agard

    Reader offer: ‘Puff’ by John Agard

    An invitation to the London finale of John Agard’s new satire

     

    Readers of The Steeple Times are invited to ‘Puff’, a new play by John Agard, on Wednesday 9th July at London’s newest literary and arts private members’ club, LIBRARY on St Martin’s Lane (more…)

  • Paul Hammond: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”

    Paul Hammond: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”

    The Steeple Times asks Paul Hammond of wine investment company IG Wines: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”

     

    The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom”. What’s your guiding force?

    Work dynamically, innovate, always be prepared to learn new things and be openminded.

     

    “Don’t get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion, a great motto. What’s yours?

    Go hard, then go home sobberish.

      (more…)

  • A Prodigy house

    A Prodigy house

    A country seat with a prodigious history

     

    Historic Brereton Hall in Brereton, Cheshire is a fine Elizabethan country house but one that has been sadly separated from much of its original estate. (more…)

  • Russians, rock stars and royalty

    Russians, rock stars and royalty

    A £6 million mews house on the site of Henry VIII’s manor house

     

    Cheyne Walk in Chelsea has long been a favourite address of Russians, rock stars and royalty. Cheyne Mews, situated to the rear of it, is built on the site of King Henry VIII’s manor house and with the sale of a £5,950,000 mews house there, a purchaser has the opportunity to acquire what agents Chesterton Humberts describe as a “discreet country cottage in the heart of Chelsea”. (more…)

  • Andrew Hancock: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”

    Andrew Hancock: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”

    The Steeple Times asks artist Andrew Hancock: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”

     

    The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom”. What’s your guiding force?

    “The increasing sense that time is speeding up”.

     

    “Don’t get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion, a great motto. What’s yours?

    “Fearless for Your Love Forever!” – I inscribed it into the surface of a recent artwork that appears in my latest exhibition. It may be the first truly heartfelt line I’ve written in months and stands as a declaration to succeed despite all odds. That and a quote from Albert Finney’s character in Saturday Night Sunday Morning… “Don’t let the bastards grind you down!” – I like that one.

      (more…)