The Steeple Times

Tag: for sale

  • Lavish Living and Little Owls at Lilford Hall

    Lavish Living and Little Owls at Lilford Hall

    Crumbling Northamptonshire estate Lilford Hall – where the little owl was introduced to Britain – for sale for £10 million, a sum £35 million lower than in 2014

    • Grade I listed Jacobean mansion with 13 chimney stacks for sale for £10 million; it was for sale last for £44.9 million in 2014 in spite of being listed on English Heritage’s ‘At Risk Register.’
    • Lilford Hall – parts of which have not been occupied since 1947 – is currently owned by a businessman who tried to sell burial plots in the grounds for £1,250 a pop and shares in a yacht loosely associated with Frank Sinatra for £23 each.
    • The 321-acre estate includes not only overgrown parkland, but also a zoo with cages that formerly housed bears and a lake for flamingos.
    • From 1711 until 1990, Lilford House was the seat of the Powys family – the 4th baron is credited with introducing the little owl to the UK.
    • More recently, in 1969, the “sexual mystic” artist Penny Slinger used the at-the-time derelict mansion in one of her best-known works.

    A 32,406 square foot Grade I listed Jacobean mansion 82 miles from Central London has gone on sale for £10 million – or the equivalent of just £308 per square foot.

     

    On this basis, Lilford Hall – set in 321 acres near Oundle – seems a comparative bargain when considered against the £4,786 per square foot sought for a Lennox Gardens, Knightsbridge triplex flat The Steeple Times featured in May, but buyers need to remember this – parts of this crumbling building, most notably the major state rooms, have not been used since 1947.

     

    Marketed last in 2014 for the even more punchy sum of £45 million, the “exceptional residential and amenity estate located on the River Nene,” is now offered by agents Savills. The “wonderfully proportioned” U-shaped mansion itself  is constructed of grey limestone and includes over 100 rooms and amongst them are 7 “impressive” reception rooms, a ballroom, a ‘great chamber’ and 9 bedrooms. In addition, there are two Georgian pavilions that were formerly coach houses and stabling, three cottages, a former zoo, the oldest private softball court in the world, a former flamingo enclosure and a deer park.

     

    “Impressiveness in the chief attribute of Lilford Hall as a specimen of architecture” claimed County Life in 1990 and as the seat of the Powys family from 1711 until 1990, it became not only a Downton Abbey-esque entertaining pad, but also housed nurses in the Second World War. Here, indeed, is an English country house that has seen lavishness and decline and thankfully here is an example that thankfully escaped the wrecking ball wrought so disgracefully on such houses in the 1950s and 1960s.

     

    Fascinatingly in the 1880s, Thomas Powys, 4th Baron Lilford filled his aviaries on the estate with rheas, kiwis, pink-headed ducks, free-flying lammergeiers and it was from here that he also introduced the little owl into the UK. There are said to be around 5,700 breeding pairs today, but sadly, according to the RSPB, their numbers are now in decline.

     

    More recently, in 1969, “sexually erotic” performance artist Penny Slinger took over the by then “derelict” mansion in conjunction with the filmmaker Peter Whitehead. Their resulting work, titled An Exorcism, was exhibited internationally and in 2004, after the current owners, Charles and Aziza Micklewright, acquired the house, they did something equally avant-garde; they attempted to sell burial plots in the grounds to Americans by citing the estate’s connections to the founder of the Brownists, Robert Browne – a man better known as ‘The Father of the Pilgrims’ and ‘The Grandfather of the Nation’ (of the United States of America).

     

    Whilst Mr and Mrs Micklewright were lauded for their considerable efforts towards the “huge task” of restoring Lilford Hall, they came to the attention of Historic England in May 2019 when the building was listed on the At Risk Register. At that time, the Oundle Chronicle reported: “The roof covering is in poor condition leading to water ingress and distress to the upper storeys. The front bays require structural attention. A schedule of urgent repairs has been identified but not implemented, and no long-term solution has been agreed.”

     

    Now, someone with very, very deep pockets is required to restore this gem. It would be helpful if they liked erotic art, bears, squash and owls also.

     

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cii3VlgfVy0
    Lavish Living and Little Owls at Lilford Hall, Northants – £10 million ($12.5 million, €11.1 million or درهم46 million) for The Lilford Hall Estate, Lilford, Oundle, Peterborough, Northamptonshire, PE8 5SG, United Kingdom through estate agents Savills – Crumbling Northamptonshire estate Lilford Hall – where the little owl was introduced to Britain – for sale for £10 million, a sum £35 million lower than in 2014.
    The artwork created by Penny Slinger and Peter Whitehead at the house has been exhibited internationally.

    The Names & Numbers – The Lilford Hall Estate, Lilford, Oundle, Peterborough, Northamptonshire, PE8 5SG, United Kingdom

     

    June 2020 – The estate is listed sale for £10 million ($12.5 million, €11.1 million or درهم46 million) through Savills. It includes 321.31 acres, of which 148.17 acres are pasture land whilst 157.48 acres are woodland. The majority of the estate is held on a freehold title, whilst the remaining 127.6 acres – known as ‘The Linches’ and ‘Lilford Woods’ – are held on a lease with 91 years remaining.

     

    2015 – Promoted as ‘The National Memorial Gardens,’ burial plots in the gardens of the hall were offered “available to any UK resident or national for an outstanding price of only £1,250 ($1,568, €1,393 or درهم5,758)” by Mark Bailey of Harley Investments. Around the same time, a website dedicated to Lilford Hall marketed “a piece of the formal gardens” for sale for £299 ($375, €333 or درهم1,377) to include “an officially certified ‘Squire of Lilford’ [title] … with this little piece of history.”

     

    March 2014 – The Irish Times reported that the asking price for the estate had been increased to £44.9 million ($56.3 million, €50 million or 206.8درهم million). They claimed the agents Coldwell Banker blamed “confusion over currency conversion rates and new instructions from the owner.”

     

    April 2014 – The Lilford Hall Estate is listed for sale through Coldwell Banker on MyHome.ie for £33.7 million ($44.2 million, €37.5 million or درهم155 million) on behalf of “an English gentleman.”

     

    2004 – The estate is acquired by the Micklewright family. Little information is available online about the Old Framlingham Charles Micklewright (born July 1958), but he is described as a “patent attorney” on Companies Houses pages. The businessman is mentioned also as a publisher and trustee of the Marsh Christian Trust elsewhere, whilst his Singaporean born wife, Aziza (born 1964), was a director of Lilford Properties Limited from 2013 to 2018.

     

    A website operated by Sign of the Times Limited, a Hong Kong company of Lilford Hall, Lilford, Oundle, Northamptonshire, PE8 5SG, currently offers shares in a yacht named ‘Sinatra the Voice’ for £23.91 ($29.99, €26.64 or درهم110.14) per share. The boat was built in 1956 and is tenuously linked to Frank Sinatra by the fact that a one-time owner, Beale Poste, loaned it occasionally to the crooner between 1968 and 1974 in West Palm Beach, Florida.

     

    1990 – The estate is closed to the public.

     

    1980s – The house is used as a location in the BBC English Civil War inspired historical drama series By the Sword Divided.

     

    1970s – Aviaries on the estate restocked by George Powys, 7th Baron Lilford (1931 – 2005). He “opened [the estate] to the public as a leisure park” and housed more than 350 birds of 110 species there. It remained thus for around 20 years and included a restaurant and shop. The aviaries and the 1,896 square foot restaurant building remain present still today.

     

    1969 – 1970 – American British “sexual mystic” artist Penny Slinger (born 1947) and Liverpudlian filmmaker Peter Whitehead used the “derelict mansion” as the setting for their works An Exorcism and Lilford Hall. They are lauded as a “photo romance” and exhibited at the Blum and Poe Gallery in Los Angeles in 2014, at the Haywood Gallery in London in 2015 and at the Fortnight Institute in New York in 2019.

     

    1949 – Stephen Powys, 6th Baron Lilford (1869 – 1949) died without having married or having had children. His properties aside from Lilford – a house in Mayfair, Bank Hall in Lancashire and the Bewsey Estate in Cheshire – passed to his second cousin twice removed.

     

    1947 – The estate is sold to a company named Merchant Ventures by the Powys family (though they remain present on the estate until 1990).

     

    1939 – 1945 – During the Second World War, the parkland of the estate was used as a military hospital for nearby airfields. From 1949 to 1954, some of the buildings constructed during this period were then used as a Polish school.

     

    1923 – First-class Northamptonshire cricketer Major John Powys, 5th Baron Lilford (1863 – 1945) built the first private softball court in the world in the grounds of the hall. It is now in disrepair and the roof has fallen into the inner court.

     

    1909 – 1910 – The hall was extended in the Edwardian manner including the provision of a new master bedroom with dressing room and bathroom by William Dunn and Robert Watson of Dunn & Watson.

     

    1901 – The estate surrounding the hall reaches its largest size and totals a vast 8,000 acres of land. Around this time, Queen Mary, wife of King George V, is said to have visited the gardens.

     

    1880s – Ornithologist and expert on the fauna of the Balearics Thomas Littleton Powys, 4th Baron Lilford (1833 – 1896) introduces the little owl into England on the estate. His aviaries were said to “feature exotic birds from all around the world” and a species of European lizard, the Lilford’s wall lizard (Podarcis lilfordi), is named in his honour. The 4th baron is repeatedly mentioned in the works of Charles Darwin for his contribution to the study of the science of evolution.

     

    1840s – Further changes to the building are orchestrated by the architect William Gilbee Habershon (circa 1818 – 1891). The Campaign to Protect Rural England described these Victorian extensions as “sensitive” in 2006 – a rare accolade given most additions to English country houses during this period were simply brash and vulgar.

     

    1740s – The Palladian architect Henry Flitcroft (1697 – 1769) adds “outstanding” Georgian interiors whilst “respecting the hall’s Jacobean exterior.” He “softened and brightened” the building as a result and also “constructed the Georgian pavilions and additional storeys to the east end of the two wings.” Other works by Flitcroft can be seen at Bower House in Essex, Wentworth Woodhouse in Yorkshire and Woburn Abbey in Bedfordshire.

     

    1711 – Lilford Hall is sold to the judge and Tory politician Sir Thomas Powys (1649 – 1719), Attorney General to King James II. Powys is best remembered for conducting the prosecution of the Seven Bishops in 1699. He is buried at Lilford.

     

    1630s – Construction of the main exterior of what to this day remains Lilford Hall as a “Jacobean-style gentry house” by William Elmes (the younger).

     

    1473 – The land that forms the estate is acquired by William Browne (1410 – 1489), a wealthy wool merchant and landowner from Stamford, from the estate of Baron Welles (who was beheaded by King Edward IV for treason). In 1495, “in a Tudor style,” he built a hall on the site and it passed to Robert Browne (1550 – 1633), the founder of the Brownists, ‘The Father of the Pilgrims’ and ‘The Grandfather of the Nation’ (of the United States of America).

     

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  • Moving On – June 2020

    Moving On – June 2020

    Moving on homes owned by the newsworthy – including properties owned by society snapper Sir Cecil Beaton, novelist Jackie Collins and film producer-director Peter Minns.

    A Tennis Court Teardown

    Moving On – June 2020 – Moves of the Noteworthy – A chronicle of the moves of the newsworthy – including homes owned by society snapper Sir Cecil Beaton, novelist Jackie Collins and film producer-director Peter Minns.

    Paris Hilton’s dad Rick’s realty firm Hilton & Hyland has just launched to the market the former Beverly Hills home of the late Jackie Collins OBE (1937 – 2015) for £13.4 million ($16.95 million). They don’t say much about the bonkbuster author’s residence of some 25 years other than: “Secluded behind gates and foliage lies a great opportunity to purchase a tennis court… Home could use a remodel or rebuild.” Miss Collins and her second husband art gallery owner Oscar Lerman paid £2.4 million ($3 million) for 5,269 square foot 614 N Beverly Drive in 1991.

    Limited Living in the ‘Hampshire Highlands’

    Moving On – June 2020 – Moves of the Noteworthy – A chronicle of the moves of the newsworthy – including homes owned by society snapper Sir Cecil Beaton, novelist Jackie Collins and film producer-director Peter Minns.
    https://vimeo.com/358107497/b6629a2217

    Reduced in price from £4 million ($5.1 million) in September 2019 to £3.73 million ($4.72 million) now through agents BCM, The Oast House at Hartley Mauditt in the South Downs National Park in Hampshire was converted by film producer-director Peter Minns in the 1990s.

     

    This delightful ‘mini estate’ looks like something that could have been in of The Darling Buds of May and comes with 76.28 acres of land suitable for ‘stick and ball’ polo, but the problem is this – a planning stipulation dictates that the majority of the main house is only allowed to be on a “short-term” basis whilst two cottages are for “holiday or seasonal worker use” and a bungalow is limited to “anyone fully employed in agriculture.”

     

    Minns is best known for having produced programmes including Mad Cows & Englishmen for the BBC, A Question of Sleaze – The Neil Hamilton Story for Channel 4 and Citizen 2000 – which followed the lives of twenty children who became 18 in the year 2000.

     

    Moving on Sir Cecil’s Seat

    Moving On – June 2020 – Moves of the Noteworthy – A chronicle of the moves of the newsworthy – including homes owned by society snapper Sir Cecil Beaton, novelist Jackie Collins and film producer-director Peter Minns.

    £4 million ($5.1 million) is sought for Queen Anne Reddish House in the Chalke Valley in Wiltshire by agents Savills. Society snapper Sir Cecil Beaton CBE, owner from 1947 until his death in 1980, described it as: “My dream home” and an “exquisite country seat” and between 1987 and 1999, it was home to the I Want to Be Free singer Toyah Wilcox. Aside from 6 acres of glorious gardens, the Grade II* listed house comes with two cottages, a range of follies and a water meadow. Locked-down Instagrammers have been moving all over its marketing brochure and sharing photos online, with one even gushing: “It’s the prettiest house I’ve seen EVER… EVER.”

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  • Back on The Front

    Back on The Front

    Coastal ‘estate’ with its own lighthouse perched on The Front above the White Cliffs of Dover for sale; it was used in scenes featuring Oliver Reed in ‘The Shuttered Room’

    In November 2013, The Steeple Times featured the sale of ‘The South Foreland Estate’ for £4 million. Its price bizarrely had been increased by £500,000 from when it was on the market earlier that year and now it is again being promoted – this time for an even more punchy sum of £5 million.

     

    Standing in 11.5 acres of land on the edge of the White Cliffs of Dover in “the most remarkable location on the Kent coast” according to Knight Frank, the freehold property is now known more simply as ‘The Cliff House.’ It is described as having “been renovated by the past two proprietors” and of it, they add: “The current owners have carried out extensive redecoration during their occupation.”

     

    Aside from the main house with 3 reception rooms and 5 bedroom suites, there is a 2 bedroom annexe, a 3 bedroom cottage and a 2 bedroom cottage. Also included is an unused lighthouse, a large garage, a swimming pool, lawned gardens and some “light woodland.”

     

    The agents don’t, however, mention if the owners will be making Dame Vera Lynn available to sing about bluebirds at post lockdown viewings.

     

    Back on The Front – £5 million for The Cliff House, The South Foreland Estate, The Front, St Margaret’s Bay, Dover, Kent, CT15 6HP, United Kingdom through estate agents Knight Frank – Coastal ‘estate’ with its own lighthouse perched on the White Cliffs of Dover for sale; it was used in scenes featuring Oliver Reed in ‘The Shuttered Room.’
    The lighthouse, originally known as the Lower South Foreland Lighthouse, itself was built in 1843 on the site of an earlier building. It was decommissioned in 1904 after the sands shifted and is Grade II listed. Agents Knight Frank simply remark of it: “Not use.”
    Back on The Front – £5 million for The Cliff House, The South Foreland Estate, The Front, St Margaret’s Bay, Dover, Kent, CT15 6HP, United Kingdom through estate agents Knight Frank – Coastal ‘estate’ with its own lighthouse perched on the White Cliffs of Dover for sale; it was used in scenes featuring Oliver Reed in ‘The Shuttered Room.’
    Oliver Reed as ‘Ethan’ at South Foreland Lighthouse in ‘The Shuttered Room’ with Flora Robson as ‘Aunt Agatha’ looking down. The 1967 British horror film was directed by David Greene and starred Gig Young and Carol Lynley.

    The Numbers – The Cliff House, The South Foreland Estate, The Front, St Margaret’s Bay, Dover, Kent, CT15 6HP, United Kingdom

     

    June 2020 – For sale for £5 million ($6.3 million, €5.6 million or درهم22.3 million) through Knight Frank.

     

    November 2018 – For sale for £5 million ($6.3 million, €5.6 million or درهم22.3 million) through Knight Frank.

     

    November 2013 – For sale for £4 million ($5.1 million, €4.5 million or درهم18.6 million) through Strutt & Parker.

     

    July 2013 – For sale for £3.5 million ($4.4 million, €3.9 million or درهم16.3 million) through Strutt & Parker.

     

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    Back on The Front – £5 million for The Cliff House, The South Foreland Estate, The Front, St Margaret’s Bay, Dover, Kent, CT15 6HP, United Kingdom through estate agents Knight Frank – Coastal ‘estate’ with its own lighthouse perched on the White Cliffs of Dover for sale; it was used in scenes featuring Oliver Reed in ‘The Shuttered Room.’
    Out on The Front – The main entrance to The Cliff House.
    Back on The Front – £5 million for The Cliff House, The South Foreland Estate, The Front, St Margaret’s Bay, Dover, Kent, CT15 6HP, United Kingdom through estate agents Knight Frank – Coastal ‘estate’ with its own lighthouse perched on the White Cliffs of Dover for sale; it was used in scenes featuring Oliver Reed in ‘The Shuttered Room.’
    The main entertaining space is a large 27-foot by 17-foot drawing room.
    Back on The Front – £5 million for The Cliff House, The South Foreland Estate, The Front, St Margaret’s Bay, Dover, Kent, CT15 6HP, United Kingdom through estate agents Knight Frank – Coastal ‘estate’ with its own lighthouse perched on the White Cliffs of Dover for sale; it was used in scenes featuring Oliver Reed in ‘The Shuttered Room.’
    There is also a sitting room.
    Back on The Front – £5 million for The Cliff House, The South Foreland Estate, The Front, St Margaret’s Bay, Dover, Kent, CT15 6HP, United Kingdom through estate agents Knight Frank – Coastal ‘estate’ with its own lighthouse perched on the White Cliffs of Dover for sale; it was used in scenes featuring Oliver Reed in ‘The Shuttered Room.’
    The kitchen has been redecorated by the current owners.
    Back on The Front – £5 million for The Cliff House, The South Foreland Estate, The Front, St Margaret’s Bay, Dover, Kent, CT15 6HP, United Kingdom through estate agents Knight Frank – Coastal ‘estate’ with its own lighthouse perched on the White Cliffs of Dover for sale; it was used in scenes featuring Oliver Reed in ‘The Shuttered Room.’
    One of five bedroom suites.
    Back on The Front – £5 million for The Cliff House, The South Foreland Estate, The Front, St Margaret’s Bay, Dover, Kent, CT15 6HP, United Kingdom through estate agents Knight Frank – Coastal ‘estate’ with its own lighthouse perched on the White Cliffs of Dover for sale; it was used in scenes featuring Oliver Reed in ‘The Shuttered Room.’
    The largest of the bathrooms in the house.
    Back on The Front – £5 million for The Cliff House, The South Foreland Estate, The Front, St Margaret’s Bay, Dover, Kent, CT15 6HP, United Kingdom through estate agents Knight Frank – Coastal ‘estate’ with its own lighthouse perched on the White Cliffs of Dover for sale; it was used in scenes featuring Oliver Reed in ‘The Shuttered Room.’
    Out on The Front – Views out to sea.
    Back on The Front – £5 million for The Cliff House, The South Foreland Estate, The Front, St Margaret’s Bay, Dover, Kent, CT15 6HP, United Kingdom through estate agents Knight Frank – Coastal ‘estate’ with its own lighthouse perched on the White Cliffs of Dover for sale; it was used in scenes featuring Oliver Reed in ‘The Shuttered Room.’
    A balcony overlooking the Strait of Dover.
    Back on The Front – £5 million for The Cliff House, The South Foreland Estate, The Front, St Margaret’s Bay, Dover, Kent, CT15 6HP, United Kingdom through estate agents Knight Frank – Coastal ‘estate’ with its own lighthouse perched on the White Cliffs of Dover for sale; it was used in scenes featuring Oliver Reed in ‘The Shuttered Room.’
    Thrree ancillary properties are included in the sale price.
    Back on The Front – £5 million for The Cliff House, The South Foreland Estate, The Front, St Margaret’s Bay, Dover, Kent, CT15 6HP, United Kingdom through estate agents Knight Frank – Coastal ‘estate’ with its own lighthouse perched on the White Cliffs of Dover for sale; it was used in scenes featuring Oliver Reed in ‘The Shuttered Room.’
    The interior of one of these spaces.
    Back on The Front – £5 million for The Cliff House, The South Foreland Estate, The Front, St Margaret’s Bay, Dover, Kent, CT15 6HP, United Kingdom through estate agents Knight Frank – Coastal ‘estate’ with its own lighthouse perched on the White Cliffs of Dover for sale; it was used in scenes featuring Oliver Reed in ‘The Shuttered Room.’
    Looking out to sea.
    Back on The Front – £5 million for The Cliff House, The South Foreland Estate, The Front, St Margaret’s Bay, Dover, Kent, CT15 6HP, United Kingdom through estate agents Knight Frank – Coastal ‘estate’ with its own lighthouse perched on the White Cliffs of Dover for sale; it was used in scenes featuring Oliver Reed in ‘The Shuttered Room.’
    Looking inland.
    Back on The Front – £5 million for The Cliff House, The South Foreland Estate, The Front, St Margaret’s Bay, Dover, Kent, CT15 6HP, United Kingdom through estate agents Knight Frank – Coastal ‘estate’ with its own lighthouse perched on the White Cliffs of Dover for sale; it was used in scenes featuring Oliver Reed in ‘The Shuttered Room.’
    The property is surrounded by land owned by the National Trust.
    Back on The Front – £5 million for The Cliff House, The South Foreland Estate, The Front, St Margaret’s Bay, Dover, Kent, CT15 6HP, United Kingdom through estate agents Knight Frank – Coastal ‘estate’ with its own lighthouse perched on the White Cliffs of Dover for sale; it was used in scenes featuring Oliver Reed in ‘The Shuttered Room.’
    The White Cliffs.
    Back on The Front – £5 million for The Cliff House, The South Foreland Estate, The Front, St Margaret’s Bay, Dover, Kent, CT15 6HP, United Kingdom through estate agents Knight Frank – Coastal ‘estate’ with its own lighthouse perched on the White Cliffs of Dover for sale; it was used in scenes featuring Oliver Reed in ‘The Shuttered Room.’
    Out on The Front – An aerial shot of the property.
  • Handbagged by Meghan

    Handbagged by Meghan

    Handbag created by Louis Vuitton to “celebrate” the marriage of Meghan Markle to Prince Harry to be auctioned for a crazy sum

    Handbags with connections to famous women often sell for crazy sums and in December 2015, The Steeple Times featured one used by Margaret Thatcher on her last visit to Downing Street. It sold for a staggering £47,500 ($60,000, €53,200 or درهم220,000) against a low estimate of just £1,000 ($1,260, €1,121 or درهم4,629) at Christie’s and now another made to “celebrate” the wedding of the then Meghan Markle to the then Prince Harry is being auctioned.

     

    Offered with an estimate of £12,000 to £18,000 ($15,100 to $22,700, €13,500 to €20,200 or درهم55,500 to درهم83,300) in spite of not even being in perfect condition, the 2018 Louis Vuitton ‘Petite Malle’ handbag is number 13 of 21 made. It features a Union Jack flag, has a blue and black leather lined interior and comes with a dust bag and box.

     

    Of the item, Sophie Higgs, designer collection specialist at Fellows Auctioneers, remarked: “We are delighted to announce the auction of this extremely rare handbag… In keeping with the wedding itself, the handbag has been shaped by the wealth of history that feeds all Louis Vuitton trunks, yet it flies a path of its own.”

     

    Given the supposed frostiness with her sister-in-law, one thing’s for sure: The Duchess of Cambridge most certainly won’t be putting in a bid. ‘MeGain’ fans (if there are any left), fastest fingers at the ready – The online sale is open and closes on Monday 8th June.

     

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    Handbagged by Meghan – Meghan Markle handbag for sale – Handbag created by Louis Vuitton to “celebrate” the marriage of Meghan Markle to Prince Harry to be auctioned for a crazy sum. Fellow Auctioneers are selling the lot in their online 8th June 2020 sale and have set an estimate of £12,000 to £18,000 ($15,100 to $22,700, €13,500 to €20,200 or درهم55,500 to درهم83,300).
    The bag is described as being “in a very good condition, like new, with only one minor scuff to the top left and lower corners.”
    Handbagged by Meghan – Meghan Markle handbag for sale – Handbag created by Louis Vuitton to “celebrate” the marriage of Meghan Markle to Prince Harry to be auctioned for a crazy sum. Fellow Auctioneers are selling the lot in their online 8th June 2020 sale and have set an estimate of £12,000 to £18,000 ($15,100 to $22,700, €13,500 to €20,200 or درهم55,500 to درهم83,300).
    It comes with a strap and its original box.
  • Beautiful Bolehyde

    Beautiful Bolehyde

    Wiltshire manor house once owned by the Duchess of Cornwall and considered as a home by the Duchess of Cambridge’s parents again for sale

    Described as a “royal love nest for the Middletons” by The Telegraph when last marketed for sale in March 2011, Bolehyde Manor (pronounced according to the paper: “Bow lea Hyde”) in Wilshire was home to the Duchess of Cornwall, as plain old Camilla Parker Bowles, from 1973 until 1986.

     

    Considered, but subsequently discounted by Carole and Michael Middleton as a home prior to their purchase of the £4.7 million The Manor at Bucklebury (featured in The Steeple Times in June 2012), Grade II* listed Bolehyde Manor at Allington, near Chippenham was at that time offered for £4.76 million according to the Daily Mail’s Richard Kay.

     

    Kay lauded the “14th-century pile near Chippenham” as having “everything an aspiring lord (and lady and the manor could wish for” and reported it as having been “not just where Prince Charles retreated when his marriage crumbled, intriguingly it was also where he courted Lady Diana.”

     

    According to the royal biographer Christopher Wilson – quoted in an article in the Daily Express in May this year – “in 1979, there was very little pretense about the intensity of the relationship between Prince Charles and Camilla. Most of the week he would be staying at Bolehyde Manor, sometimes Andrew Parker Bowles would come home for the weekend and Prince Charles would stay. But there was a very curious ménage à trois between these three.”

     

    Whether the house sold in 2011 is unknown, but this week it has again been placed for sale through agents Savills. They are marketing the manor at a sum £1 million lower for £3.75 million and with it comes 80.13 acres.

     

    Aside from the main 4 reception room, 8-bedroom main house, there is a 3-bedroom annexe and in addition the property has three additional cottages, stabling and outbuildings. There is a tennis court and swimming pool with the grounds and the majority of the land is devoted to organic farming.

     

    One thing is, for sure, the former Meghan Markle won’t be putting in a bid in spite of Bolehyde Manor having glorious gardens that have opened under the National Garden Scheme.

     

    The Names & Numbers – Bolehyde Manor, Allington, Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN14 6LW, United Kingdom

     

    June 2020 – For sale for £3.75 million ($4.71 million, €4.21 million or درهم17.31 million) through Savills.

     

    March 2011 – Offered for sale for £4.76 million ($5.98 million, €5.35 million or درهم21.96 million) by the Earl and Countess Cairns.

     

    1986 – Sold for £600,000 ($754,000, €674,000 or درهم2.8 million) by Andrew and Camilla Parker Bowles to Simon and Amanda Cairns.

     

    1973 – Andrew Parker Bowles moves in along with his then wife Camilla.

     

    1927 – Sold to a Mrs Mallet du Cros “in very indifferent repair” by the Gale family according to Country Life. She “restored and modernised it.”

     

    1635 – Sold to a yeoman named John Gale.

     

    Mid 17th century – Built on the site of an earlier house occupied by one Thomas de Bolehyde, a tenant of the Abbot of Glaston-bury.

     

    Pictured top: Carole Middleton, Bolehyde Manor and the Duchess of Cornwall.

     

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    Beautiful Bolehyde – £3.75 million for Bolehyde Manor, Allington, Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN14 6LW, United Kingdom – Wiltshire manor house once owned by the Duchess of Cornwall as Camilla Parker-Bowles and considered as a home by the Duchess of Cambridge’s parents Carole and Michael Middleton again for sale. Bolehyde Manor is offered for £3.75 million through agents Savills.
    The interior features traditional English country house style decoration.
    Beautiful Bolehyde – £3.75 million for Bolehyde Manor, Allington, Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN14 6LW, United Kingdom – Wiltshire manor house once owned by the Duchess of Cornwall as Camilla Parker-Bowles and considered as a home by the Duchess of Cambridge’s parents Carole and Michael Middleton again for sale. Bolehyde Manor is offered for £3.75 million through agents Savills.
    This study is currently lined with plenty of reading material.
    Beautiful Bolehyde – £3.75 million for Bolehyde Manor, Allington, Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN14 6LW, United Kingdom – Wiltshire manor house once owned by the Duchess of Cornwall as Camilla Parker-Bowles and considered as a home by the Duchess of Cambridge’s parents Carole and Michael Middleton again for sale. Bolehyde Manor is offered for £3.75 million through agents Savills.
    Original features including panelling abound throughout Bolehyde Manor.
    Beautiful Bolehyde – £3.75 million for Bolehyde Manor, Allington, Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN14 6LW, United Kingdom – Wiltshire manor house once owned by the Duchess of Cornwall as Camilla Parker-Bowles and considered as a home by the Duchess of Cambridge’s parents Carole and Michael Middleton again for sale. Bolehyde Manor is offered for £3.75 million through agents Savills.
    A pleasant courtyard garden is to be found to the rear of the house.
    Beautiful Bolehyde – £3.75 million for Bolehyde Manor, Allington, Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN14 6LW, United Kingdom – Wiltshire manor house once owned by the Duchess of Cornwall as Camilla Parker-Bowles and considered as a home by the Duchess of Cambridge’s parents Carole and Michael Middleton again for sale. Bolehyde Manor is offered for £3.75 million through agents Savills.
    To the front is a formal lawned area.
    Beautiful Bolehyde – £3.75 million for Bolehyde Manor, Allington, Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN14 6LW, United Kingdom – Wiltshire manor house once owned by the Duchess of Cornwall as Camilla Parker-Bowles and considered as a home by the Duchess of Cambridge’s parents Carole and Michael Middleton again for sale. Bolehyde Manor is offered for £3.75 million through agents Savills.
    Three cottages come with the house as well as an annexe also.
    Beautiful Bolehyde – £3.75 million for Bolehyde Manor, Allington, Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN14 6LW, United Kingdom – Wiltshire manor house once owned by the Duchess of Cornwall as Camilla Parker-Bowles and considered as a home by the Duchess of Cambridge’s parents Carole and Michael Middleton again for sale. Bolehyde Manor is offered for £3.75 million through agents Savills.
    The gardens have previously been opened to the public under the National Garden Scheme.
    Beautiful Bolehyde – £3.75 million for Bolehyde Manor, Allington, Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN14 6LW, United Kingdom – Wiltshire manor house once owned by the Duchess of Cornwall as Camilla Parker-Bowles and considered as a home by the Duchess of Cambridge’s parents Carole and Michael Middleton again for sale. Bolehyde Manor is offered for £3.75 million through agents Savills.
    They are quite delightful.
    Beautiful Bolehyde – £3.75 million for Bolehyde Manor, Allington, Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN14 6LW, United Kingdom – Wiltshire manor house once owned by the Duchess of Cornwall as Camilla Parker-Bowles and considered as a home by the Duchess of Cambridge’s parents Carole and Michael Middleton again for sale. Bolehyde Manor is offered for £3.75 million through agents Savills.
    A plan of the 80 acres currently offered with Bolehyde Manor.
  • Nasty NestSeekers

    Nasty NestSeekers

    Entitled Hamptons brat Jonathan Davis exposed for allegedly squatting during the coronavirus lockdown; it turns out he’s a realtor with NestSeekers

    Jonathan Davis is the founder of the Hamptons Brewing Company and the son of a self-declared “power broker” realtor named Tim Davis. Aside from also being a property agent and claiming to have been “born and raised” in the summer colony that the wealthy of New York flock to, on Friday, he was exposed as something else – Mr Davis has now been outed as a pesky squatter who allegedly doesn’t pay his rent and goes around wrecking other peoples’ homes.

     

    In March, Davis, a graduate of Lynn University “with a passion for business,” featured in an interview with Fox Business in which he bragged about how much business he was doing because of the coronavirus pandemic. In the typically brash style expected of a privileged preppy prat and speaking on behalf of his bosses at the NestSeekers brokerage, he declared:

     

    “Rental season is starting earlier now. Instead of Memorial Day, it’s 1st April… It’s a very proactive time… There is just more room to breathe out here and families feel safer… It’s not a bad environment to be quarantined.”

     

    According to Inside Edition, completely modest to his core “like father, like son, greatness never dies” Davis – whom according to his broker profile has sold properties priced as high as £9.3 million ($11.5 million, €10.3 million or درهم42.2 million) and pompously lauds himself as a “well-regarded agent” selling “a lifestyle, not just a dream home” according to posts on his Twitter handle – has himself taken advantage of the pandemic at the expense of someone who rented him a house.

     

    The “prominent real estate agent” and “alleged squatter,” the syndicated news-magazine reports, rented a 3-bedroom property in Sag Harbor from Paula Rosado and now “refuses to move out.” Davis is alleged to owe £12,100 ($15,000, €13,500 or درهم55,100) and has supposedly allowed his two German Shepherd dogs to “tear apart” the building and urinate all over her rugs and “couches” [sic]. Windows are reported broken also and of the situation, Rosado moaned: “It’s horrific. It really is just horrific… This has been a complete nightmare for us, for our family emotionally and financially.”

     

    When confronted by Inside Edition’s cameras, Davis refused to comment. His lawyer, meanwhile, angrily stated: “I’ve got no comments except: GET ORF THE GROUNDS!”

     

    The Steeple Times contacted Jonathan Davis and his bosses at NestSeekers – CEO and founder Eddie Shapiro, Bridgehampton salesperson Dylan Eckardt and associate broker Peggy Zabakolas – for comment on Saturday. They all failed to respond by 11am GMT Monday and thus provided illustration of the “ethics, integrity, loyalty, education, ingenuity and courage” by which Shapiro’s firm operates by. Allow NestSeekers into your home at your peril.

     

    Pictured top: Jonathan Davis looking annoyed alongside his ritzy Land Rover Discovery and a police officer.

     

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    Nasty NestSeekers – Realtor turned alleged squatter Jonathan Davis – Entitled Hamptons brat Jonathan Davis exposed for allegedly squatting in a house in Sag Harbor owned by Paula Rosado during the coronavirus lockdown; it turns out he’s a realtor with NestSeekers.
    The home rented to Jonathan Davis by Paula Rosado.
    Nasty NestSeekers – Realtor turned alleged squatter Jonathan Davis – Entitled Hamptons brat Jonathan Davis exposed for allegedly squatting in a house in Sag Harbor owned by Paula Rosado during the coronavirus lockdown; it turns out he’s a realtor with NestSeekers.
    The gardens of the Sag Harbor property now resemble something inhabited by Stig of the Dump. They were supposedly immaculate prior to Jonathan Davis moving in.
    Nasty NestSeekers – Realtor turned alleged squatter Jonathan Davis – Entitled Hamptons brat Jonathan Davis exposed for allegedly squatting in a house in Sag Harbor owned by Paula Rosado during the coronavirus lockdown; it turns out he’s a realtor with NestSeekers.
    Property owner Paula Rosado spoke to ‘Inside Edition’ to share her frustrations.
    Nasty NestSeekers – Realtor turned alleged squatter Jonathan Davis – Entitled Hamptons brat Jonathan Davis exposed for allegedly squatting in a house in Sag Harbor owned by Paula Rosado during the coronavirus lockdown; it turns out he’s a realtor with NestSeekers.
    On the Instagram page for his brewing company, Jonathan Davis declares: “A good time starts here.” As can be seen from this image, a good time is not being had by his caged dogs.
    Nasty NestSeekers – Realtor turned alleged squatter Jonathan Davis – Entitled Hamptons brat Jonathan Davis exposed for allegedly squatting in a house in Sag Harbor owned by Paula Rosado during the coronavirus lockdown; it turns out he’s a realtor with NestSeekers.
    Jonathan Davis’ unnamed legal representative made quite a scene, when asked for a comment.
    Nasty NestSeekers – Realtor turned alleged squatter Jonathan Davis – Entitled Hamptons brat Jonathan Davis exposed for allegedly squatting in a house in Sag Harbor owned by Paula Rosado during the coronavirus lockdown; it turns out he’s a realtor with NestSeekers.
    Mr Davis, however, surprisingly for a mouthy realtor, had little to nothing to say.
    Nasty NestSeekers – Realtor turned alleged squatter Jonathan Davis – Entitled Hamptons brat Jonathan Davis exposed for allegedly squatting in a house in Sag Harbor owned by Paula Rosado during the coronavirus lockdown; it turns out he’s a realtor with NestSeekers.
    Davis does like to brag about his supposed successes on his NestSeekers broker profile though. One Hamptons local we approached commented: “I wouldn’t trust him with a garden hoe.”
  • An Eaton Mess

    An Eaton Mess

    Eaton Square apartment for sale for £22.5 million in spite of needing complete renovation; it is listed at a price 25% cheaper than it was five years earlier in identical condition

    80 Eaton Square in Belgravia is an address where two well-known names have both lived (albeit it very briefly). Ex-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (1925 – 2013) “temporarily” resided in a “Greek shipowner’s flat” there after leaving office whilst the American financier and philanthropist George Peabody (1795 – 1869) stayed and died in the home of the Anglo-American fur merchant Sir Curtis Lampson (1806 – 1885).

     

    Grade II* listed and featuring a Greater London Council blue plaque commemorating Peabody, the stucco fronted building on the square’s northern terrace featured in The Steeple Times in September 2015. At that time, part of its ground and basement floors were placed for sale for the not too shabby sum of £30 million ($37 million, €33.4 million or درهم135.9 million) in spite of being a “complete wreck.”

     

    Now, five years later and most surprisingly in no better condition, the very same apartment has been relisted for just £22.5 million ($27.8 million, €25 million or درهم102 million) through agents Chestertons.

     

    Extending in total to 6,173 square foot, the duplex was previously promoted with a fancy design scheme by David Collins Studio but now is simply listed as a “5 bedroom maisonette” with “potential to create one of the finest homes in Eaton Square.” It comes with a private garden to the rear and access to the communal spaces of the square also.

     

    Pictured top: Baroness Thatcher, the entrance to 80 Eaton Square and a statue of George Peabody.

     

    Eaton Square’s ‘Famous Faces’

    Considered one of the best addresses in London and built for and still mostly owned by the Grosvenor family, Eaton Square features six adjoining, tree-planted gardens dissected by a four lane highway between Victoria and Sloane Square.

     

    Amongst the well-known people who have variously lived in the square are:

     

    No. 1 – Lord Boothby, paedophile and politician.

    No. 7 – Sir Sean Connery, actor.

    No. 7a – Lily Safra, philanthropist.

    No. 11 – Lord Lloyd-Webber, composer, and separately Dame Joan Collins, actress.

    No. 12 – Sir Osbert Lancaster, cartoonist.

    No. 22 – Lord Lucan, aristocrat who disappeared, and later Sir Roger Moore, actor.

    No. 29 – Sir Terence Rattigan, playwright.

    No. 37 – Neville Chamberlain, Prime Minister and prior to him Joachim von Ribbentrop, Nazi politician.

    No. 54 – Vivien Leigh, actress and Laurence Olivier, actor.

    No. 65a – Scene of the arrest of John Daly, train robber.

    No. 68 – Sir Barry Gibb, musician.

    No. 75 – Sir Rex Harrison, actor.

    No. 76 – The Aga Khan, royal.

    No. 82 – Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands.

    No. 90 – Sir William Gilbert, one half of Gilbert & Sullivan.

    No. 93 – Stanley Baldwin, Prime Minister.

     

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    An Eaton Mess – £22.5m for unrenovated 80 Eaton Square, SW1 – Eaton Square apartment for sale for £22.5 million through Chestertons in spite of needing complete renovation; Flats A & C, 80 Eaton Square, Belgravia, London, SW1W 9AP, United Kingdom are listed at a price 25% cheaper than it was five years earlier when it was priced at £30 million through Savills.
    An Eaton Mess – £22.5m for unrenovated 80 Eaton Square, SW1 – Eaton Square apartment for sale for £22.5 million through Chestertons in spite of needing complete renovation; Flats A & C, 80 Eaton Square, Belgravia, London, SW1W 9AP, United Kingdom are listed at a price 25% cheaper than it was five years earlier when it was priced at £30 million through Savills.
    An Eaton Mess – £22.5m for unrenovated 80 Eaton Square, SW1 – Eaton Square apartment for sale for £22.5 million through Chestertons in spite of needing complete renovation; Flats A & C, 80 Eaton Square, Belgravia, London, SW1W 9AP, United Kingdom are listed at a price 25% cheaper than it was five years earlier when it was priced at £30 million through Savills.
    An Eaton Mess – £22.5m for unrenovated 80 Eaton Square, SW1 – Eaton Square apartment for sale for £22.5 million through Chestertons in spite of needing complete renovation; Flats A & C, 80 Eaton Square, Belgravia, London, SW1W 9AP, United Kingdom are listed at a price 25% cheaper than it was five years earlier when it was priced at £30 million through Savills.
    An Eaton Mess – £22.5m for unrenovated 80 Eaton Square, SW1 – Eaton Square apartment for sale for £22.5 million through Chestertons in spite of needing complete renovation; Flats A & C, 80 Eaton Square, Belgravia, London, SW1W 9AP, United Kingdom are listed at a price 25% cheaper than it was five years earlier when it was priced at £30 million through Savills.
    An Eaton Mess – £22.5m for unrenovated 80 Eaton Square, SW1 – Eaton Square apartment for sale for £22.5 million through Chestertons in spite of needing complete renovation; Flats A & C, 80 Eaton Square, Belgravia, London, SW1W 9AP, United Kingdom are listed at a price 25% cheaper than it was five years earlier when it was priced at £30 million through Savills.
    An Eaton Mess – £22.5m for unrenovated 80 Eaton Square, SW1 – Eaton Square apartment for sale for £22.5 million through Chestertons in spite of needing complete renovation; Flats A & C, 80 Eaton Square, Belgravia, London, SW1W 9AP, United Kingdom are listed at a price 25% cheaper than it was five years earlier when it was priced at £30 million through Savills.
  • Roy Clark’s Roller

    Roy Clark’s Roller

    ‘I Never Picked Cotton’ singer Roy Clark’s Rolls-Royce heads to auction complete with suicide doors and emblazoned with his initials in gold leaf

    American Hee Haw host and country singer Roy Clark (1933 – 2018) was best known for songs such as Yesterday, When I Was Young and Thank God and Greyhound. Now, enthusiasts of this tobacco farmer’s son have the opportunity to buy a piece of his memorabilia in the form of a Rolls-Royce that he owned for some forty years.

     

    Last offered without reserve at the Leake Auction Company sale in Tulsa in June 2019, the dark red 1964 Phantom V touring limousine by James Young was owned by the star from 1977 until his death. Clark paid $19,500 (the equivalent of £70,000, $86,000, €79,000 or درهم316,000 today) when he purchased it and after it was subsequently sold to a “noted private collection in Texas,” they lavished £24,000 ($30,000, €27,000 or درهم110,000) on servicing it in 2019 and 2020.

     

    This month, RM Sotheby’s will sell the Rolls-Royce – which is currently located in Austin, Texas – as part of their 21st to 29th May ‘Driving Into Summer’ online sale. They have set an estimate of £49,000 to £57,000 ($60,000 to $70,000, €55,000 to €64,000 or درهم220,000 to درهم257,000). Of the car, they remark:

     

    “The limousine is finished in a lovely shade of dark red and accented by a gold pinstripe running the length of the car. The initials “RC” are prominently featured on the driver’s side passenger door. The interior is trimmed in tan leather and is accented by beautiful woodwork throughout. The driver compartment features Smiths instrumentation, an AM/FM radio, and an altimeter in the passenger glove box door. Furthermore, the car is equipped with electric windows and air conditioning which is vented into both the driver and passenger compartments. A division window separates the driver from the passengers. The rear compartment is the epitome of 1960s luxury and features dual footrests, fold-out jump seats, pillar-mounted flower vases, reading lights, and a Smiths clock while fold-out picnic tables flank a small cocktail bar with crystal decanters and glassware.”

     

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    Roy Clark’s Roller – 1964 ex-Roy Clark Rolls-Royce limousine to be sold – ‘I Never Picked Cotton’ singer Roy Clark’s Rolls-Royce heads to auction complete with suicide and emblazoned with his initials in gold leaf – RM Sotheby’s will sell the Rolls-Royce – which is currently located in Austin, Texas – as part of their 21st to 29th May ‘Driving Into Summer’ online sale. They have set an estimate of £49,000 to £57,000 ($60,000 to $70,000, €55,000 to €64,000 or درهم220,000 to درهم257,000).
    Roy Clark’s Roller – 1964 ex-Roy Clark Rolls-Royce limousine to be sold – ‘I Never Picked Cotton’ singer Roy Clark’s Rolls-Royce heads to auction complete with suicide and emblazoned with his initials in gold leaf – RM Sotheby’s will sell the Rolls-Royce – which is currently located in Austin, Texas – as part of their 21st to 29th May ‘Driving Into Summer’ online sale. They have set an estimate of £49,000 to £57,000 ($60,000 to $70,000, €55,000 to €64,000 or درهم220,000 to درهم257,000).
    Roy Clark’s Roller – 1964 ex-Roy Clark Rolls-Royce limousine to be sold – ‘I Never Picked Cotton’ singer Roy Clark’s Rolls-Royce heads to auction complete with suicide and emblazoned with his initials in gold leaf – RM Sotheby’s will sell the Rolls-Royce – which is currently located in Austin, Texas – as part of their 21st to 29th May ‘Driving Into Summer’ online sale. They have set an estimate of £49,000 to £57,000 ($60,000 to $70,000, €55,000 to €64,000 or درهم220,000 to درهم257,000).
    Roy Clark’s Roller – 1964 ex-Roy Clark Rolls-Royce limousine to be sold – ‘I Never Picked Cotton’ singer Roy Clark’s Rolls-Royce heads to auction complete with suicide and emblazoned with his initials in gold leaf – RM Sotheby’s will sell the Rolls-Royce – which is currently located in Austin, Texas – as part of their 21st to 29th May ‘Driving Into Summer’ online sale. They have set an estimate of £49,000 to £57,000 ($60,000 to $70,000, €55,000 to €64,000 or درهم220,000 to درهم257,000).
    Roy Clark’s Roller – 1964 ex-Roy Clark Rolls-Royce limousine to be sold – ‘I Never Picked Cotton’ singer Roy Clark’s Rolls-Royce heads to auction complete with suicide and emblazoned with his initials in gold leaf – RM Sotheby’s will sell the Rolls-Royce – which is currently located in Austin, Texas – as part of their 21st to 29th May ‘Driving Into Summer’ online sale. They have set an estimate of £49,000 to £57,000 ($60,000 to $70,000, €55,000 to €64,000 or درهم220,000 to درهم257,000).
    Roy Clark’s Roller – 1964 ex-Roy Clark Rolls-Royce limousine to be sold – ‘I Never Picked Cotton’ singer Roy Clark’s Rolls-Royce heads to auction complete with suicide and emblazoned with his initials in gold leaf – RM Sotheby’s will sell the Rolls-Royce – which is currently located in Austin, Texas – as part of their 21st to 29th May ‘Driving Into Summer’ online sale. They have set an estimate of £49,000 to £57,000 ($60,000 to $70,000, €55,000 to €64,000 or درهم220,000 to درهم257,000).
    Roy Clark’s Roller – 1964 ex-Roy Clark Rolls-Royce limousine to be sold – ‘I Never Picked Cotton’ singer Roy Clark’s Rolls-Royce heads to auction complete with suicide and emblazoned with his initials in gold leaf – RM Sotheby’s will sell the Rolls-Royce – which is currently located in Austin, Texas – as part of their 21st to 29th May ‘Driving Into Summer’ online sale. They have set an estimate of £49,000 to £57,000 ($60,000 to $70,000, €55,000 to €64,000 or درهم220,000 to درهم257,000).
    Roy Clark’s Roller – 1964 ex-Roy Clark Rolls-Royce limousine to be sold – ‘I Never Picked Cotton’ singer Roy Clark’s Rolls-Royce heads to auction complete with suicide and emblazoned with his initials in gold leaf – RM Sotheby’s will sell the Rolls-Royce – which is currently located in Austin, Texas – as part of their 21st to 29th May ‘Driving Into Summer’ online sale. They have set an estimate of £49,000 to £57,000 ($60,000 to $70,000, €55,000 to €64,000 or درهم220,000 to درهم257,000).
    Roy Clark’s Roller – 1964 ex-Roy Clark Rolls-Royce limousine to be sold – ‘I Never Picked Cotton’ singer Roy Clark’s Rolls-Royce heads to auction complete with suicide and emblazoned with his initials in gold leaf – RM Sotheby’s will sell the Rolls-Royce – which is currently located in Austin, Texas – as part of their 21st to 29th May ‘Driving Into Summer’ online sale. They have set an estimate of £49,000 to £57,000 ($60,000 to $70,000, €55,000 to €64,000 or درهم220,000 to درهم257,000).
    Roy Clark’s Roller – 1964 ex-Roy Clark Rolls-Royce limousine to be sold – ‘I Never Picked Cotton’ singer Roy Clark’s Rolls-Royce heads to auction complete with suicide and emblazoned with his initials in gold leaf – RM Sotheby’s will sell the Rolls-Royce – which is currently located in Austin, Texas – as part of their 21st to 29th May ‘Driving Into Summer’ online sale. They have set an estimate of £49,000 to £57,000 ($60,000 to $70,000, €55,000 to €64,000 or درهم220,000 to درهم257,000).
  • A Faithfull Flat

    A Faithfull Flat

    Triplex apartment in Knightsbridge building once home to Marianne Faithfull for sale for the astounding sum of £25 million

    Marianne Faithfull has been recuperating in London after being treated for coronavirus in April, but even with her wealth the singer-songwriter is unlikely to be able to afford to return to where she lived at 29 Lennox Gardens in Knightsbridge for several years from 1967. An apartment that forms the majority part of that Grade II listed building is now for sale for the staggering sum of £24.75 million ($30 million, €27.7 million or درهم110 million).

     

    A Faithfull Flat – Triplex apartment in Knightsbridge building once home to singer-songwriter Marianne Faithfull for sale for the astounding sum of £25 million – Strutt & Parker seek £24.75 million ($30 million, €27.7 million or درهم110 million) for Basement to First Floor Triplex, 29 Lennox Gardens, Brompton and Hans Town, Knightsbridge, London, SW1X 0DE, United Kingdom.
    Marianne Faithfull pictured in her apartment in the building in 1967. She lived there with her then husband John Dunbar and their son, Nicholas, but left to live with Mick Jagger. At the time, she told ‘New Musical Express’: “My first move was to get a Rolling Stone as a boyfriend, I slept with three and decided the lead singer was best.”
    A Faithfull Flat – Triplex apartment in Knightsbridge building once home to singer-songwriter Marianne Faithfull for sale for the astounding sum of £25 million – Strutt & Parker seek £24.75 million ($30 million, €27.7 million or درهم110 million) for Basement to First Floor Triplex, 29 Lennox Gardens, Brompton and Hans Town, Knightsbridge, London, SW1X 0DE, United Kingdom.
    Residents of Lennox Gardens have access to its private communal gardens. They were laid out on the site of the Prince’s Cricket Ground – the location of the famed Gentlemen of England vs. Australians and Players vs. Australians game in 1878. In 2017, we featured another £35 million flat overlooking this garden square also.

    Spread over three floors and extending to 5,280 square foot, the triplex is a complete contrast to the ordinary “white suburban bedroom” Faithfull imagined in her song The Ballad of Lucy Jordan. A far-cry from the drug riddled existence she subsequently slipped into, the ground floor, basement and first floor apartment includes a large formal drawing room, a family dining kitchen and a separate chef’s kitchen, a media and wine room, five bedroom suites and two courtyard gardens.

     

    The leasehold with share of freehold property – redeveloped by London Land Asset Management and designers 1508 London “on behalf of a private investor” – is offered by agents Strutt & Parker. The building was in recent years primarily home to the socialite-philanthropist Pia Hahn Marocco and its top floors offered to rent at a sum of £15,167 per month ($18,357, €16,966 or درهم67,416 per month).

     

    Facebook: @TheSteepleTimes

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    A Faithfull Flat – Triplex apartment in Knightsbridge building once home to singer-songwriter Marianne Faithfull for sale for the astounding sum of £25 million – Strutt & Parker seek £24.75 million ($30 million, €27.7 million or درهم110 million) for Basement to First Floor Triplex, 29 Lennox Gardens, Brompton and Hans Town, Knightsbridge, London, SW1X 0DE, United Kingdom.
    A Faithfull Flat – Triplex apartment in Knightsbridge building once home to singer-songwriter Marianne Faithfull for sale for the astounding sum of £25 million – Strutt & Parker seek £24.75 million ($30 million, €27.7 million or درهم110 million) for Basement to First Floor Triplex, 29 Lennox Gardens, Brompton and Hans Town, Knightsbridge, London, SW1X 0DE, United Kingdom.
    A Faithfull Flat – Triplex apartment in Knightsbridge building once home to singer-songwriter Marianne Faithfull for sale for the astounding sum of £25 million – Strutt & Parker seek £24.75 million ($30 million, €27.7 million or درهم110 million) for Basement to First Floor Triplex, 29 Lennox Gardens, Brompton and Hans Town, Knightsbridge, London, SW1X 0DE, United Kingdom.
    A Faithfull Flat – Triplex apartment in Knightsbridge building once home to singer-songwriter Marianne Faithfull for sale for the astounding sum of £25 million – Strutt & Parker seek £24.75 million ($30 million, €27.7 million or درهم110 million) for Basement to First Floor Triplex, 29 Lennox Gardens, Brompton and Hans Town, Knightsbridge, London, SW1X 0DE, United Kingdom.
    A Faithfull Flat – Triplex apartment in Knightsbridge building once home to singer-songwriter Marianne Faithfull for sale for the astounding sum of £25 million – Strutt & Parker seek £24.75 million ($30 million, €27.7 million or درهم110 million) for Basement to First Floor Triplex, 29 Lennox Gardens, Brompton and Hans Town, Knightsbridge, London, SW1X 0DE, United Kingdom.
    A Faithfull Flat – Triplex apartment in Knightsbridge building once home to singer-songwriter Marianne Faithfull for sale for the astounding sum of £25 million – Strutt & Parker seek £24.75 million ($30 million, €27.7 million or درهم110 million) for Basement to First Floor Triplex, 29 Lennox Gardens, Brompton and Hans Town, Knightsbridge, London, SW1X 0DE, United Kingdom.
    A Faithfull Flat – Triplex apartment in Knightsbridge building once home to singer-songwriter Marianne Faithfull for sale for the astounding sum of £25 million – Strutt & Parker seek £24.75 million ($30 million, €27.7 million or درهم110 million) for Basement to First Floor Triplex, 29 Lennox Gardens, Brompton and Hans Town, Knightsbridge, London, SW1X 0DE, United Kingdom.
    A Faithfull Flat – Triplex apartment in Knightsbridge building once home to singer-songwriter Marianne Faithfull for sale for the astounding sum of £25 million – Strutt & Parker seek £24.75 million ($30 million, €27.7 million or درهم110 million) for Basement to First Floor Triplex, 29 Lennox Gardens, Brompton and Hans Town, Knightsbridge, London, SW1X 0DE, United Kingdom.
    A Faithfull Flat – Triplex apartment in Knightsbridge building once home to singer-songwriter Marianne Faithfull for sale for the astounding sum of £25 million – Strutt & Parker seek £24.75 million ($30 million, €27.7 million or درهم110 million) for Basement to First Floor Triplex, 29 Lennox Gardens, Brompton and Hans Town, Knightsbridge, London, SW1X 0DE, United Kingdom.
  • An Agusta Ape

    An Agusta Ape

    1978 Piaggio Ape ‘limousine’ used by the controversial Countess Agusta – a woman who either fell or was pushed to her death from her home above Portofino in 2001 – to be auctioned

    On 8th January 2001, “shop assistant turned model turned multi-millionairess many times over turned fugitive” (via a stretch in what American’s so pleasantly term ‘pokey’) Countess Francesca Vacca Agusta “disappeared” from the terrace of her Ligurian seaside home. The series of events that preceded and followed could have featured in an Agatha Christie novel or a Sherlock Holmes story.

     

    Situated dominant above the “requisite stop for billionaires” that is Portofino – a colourfully painted former fishing village now peppered with Salvatore Ferragamo and Louis Vuitton stores – Villa Altachiara became the residence of the “embodiment of La Dolce Vita” Francesca Graffagni after she met the “helicopter entrepreneur” Count Corradino Agusta in the 1960s.

     

    Graffagni saw off the business tycoon’s first wife, Pupetta Maresca, after a torrid affair and following their marriage in 1974, amongst other things, became chatelaine of a 40-room property complete with a helipad. It had been built in 1870 by George Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon – whose death was attributed by amongst others Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to the “curse of King Tut” – as his holiday home and during the 1970s and 1980s guests to “jet-set parties” given at the house by the socialite Countess were ferried back and forth from their dock in Portofino harbour in a custom built 1978 Piaggio Ape coachbuilt ‘limousine.’ This vehicle, described as a “perfect yacht tender” with its opulently patterned interior and passenger-driver intercom, is now for sale.

     

    An Agusta Ape – £50k for Piaggio Ape used by Countess Francesca Agusta (1942 – 2001) – 1978 Piaggio Ape ‘limousine’ by Pavesi used by the controversial Countess Agusta – a very wealthy woman who either fell or was pushed to her death from her home above Portofino, Italy in 2001 – to be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s as part of their ‘Driving Into Summer’ 21st to 29th May 2020 auction with an estimate of £37,000 to £49,000 ($45,000 to $60,000, €42,000 to €55,000 or درهم165,000 to درهم220,000).
    Countess Francesca Agusta (née Francesca Vacca Graffagni, 29th October 1942 – 8th January 2001). It is most surprising that the late Dominick Dunne did not make a television programme about her life and demise.
    An Agusta Ape – £50k for Piaggio Ape used by Countess Francesca Agusta (1942 – 2001) – 1978 Piaggio Ape ‘limousine’ by Pavesi used by the controversial Countess Agusta – a very wealthy woman who either fell or was pushed to her death from her home above Portofino, Italy in 2001 – to be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s as part of their ‘Driving Into Summer’ 21st to 29th May 2020 auction with an estimate of £37,000 to £49,000 ($45,000 to $60,000, €42,000 to €55,000 or درهم165,000 to درهم220,000).
    Villa Altachiara (alternatively known as ‘Villa Alta Chiara’ or ‘Villa Carnarvon’) was one of Countess Agusta’s homes from the 1960s until her death in 2001; it was originally built as a holiday home for Lord Carnarvon (26th June 1866 – 5th April 1923) – the financier of Howard Carter’s explorations of Egypt’s Valley of the Kings that led to the discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb. The Carnarvon family hosted many guests during their ownership, amongst them Brooke Astor and Evelyn Waugh.

    Count Agusta died in 1989 without divorcing his second wife in spite of separating from her in 1985. At that time, in addition to Villa Altachiara, he had given her four apartments in Milan, an estate in Cuernavaca, Mexico, family jewellery and an undisclosed cash sum. With his demise, she came into yet further fortune.

     

    This by-then “very wealthy woman” hit the headlines again in 1994 when she and her new lover, a “former Portofino playboy politician [named] Maurizio Raggio,” were discovered to have been part of a corruption scandal involving Bettino Craxi, the Prime Minister of Italy from 1983 to 1987. Before police could apprehend them to charge them with amongst other things money laundering, the pair fled to Mexico and lived on her estate until 1997 as fugitives. During this period, the Countess reportedly attempted suicide at least once.

     

    Upon her return to Italy, the Countess plea-bargained and spent just three months in Milan’s Opera prison for her crimes in spite of receiving a two-year jail sentence. After “some further time under house arrest” in the Villa Altachiara, the “retired” gadabout then took up with a Mexican, Tirso ‘Tito’ Chazaro (also known as ‘Tirso Di Ricardo’ and ‘Rafael Tirso Roncado Gonzales’), and lived in the style of Miss Havisham. She was rarely seen in public and having become dependent on drink and drugs, was known for her erratic behaviour and temper.

     

    “Considerably the worse for wear and muttering she would not be coming back” on the night of 8th January 2001, the Countess supposedly told her lover and two others present that she was going for a swim, but either slipped on wet leaves or was pushed off a veranda into the sea. A search followed, but after the only traces found were the Countess’s dressing gown on the seabed close to the Villa Altachiara and her slippers on nearby rocks, press reports suggested she had either committed suicide or, given her past form, staged an “elaborate disappearing act.”

     

    Countess Agusta’s badly decomposed body washed up three weeks later on a beach at Toulon on the French Riviera. Her feet had been gnawed off by fish, her skull was smashed and her face was disfigured. She could only be identified by two rings she was wearing and her exact cause of death could thus not be determined.

     

    As an autopsy found no trace of water in her lungs, she plainly did not die by drowning, but in in 2004 the Countess’s brother, Domenico Vacca Graffagni, was quoted in the Independent as stating: “The [original] inquiry was closed in a hasty fashion because of absence of proof, relying too readily on ‘reasonable doubt’ … It was manslaughter. He [Chazaro] was always beating her. He didn’t mean to kill her. But that evening things didn’t go the way the Carabinieri said, my sister was not drunk and she did not slip on wet leaves on the veranda.”

     

    Adding further to speculation, much earlier, the Countess’s step-son, racing driver and team owner Rocky Agusta (1950 – 2018), told Corriere della Sera in 2001: “Francesca was a beautiful woman, simpatica, very rich… People have written that she inherited 500bn lire, but if it had been only 50 or 25, who commits suicide with 25bn lire set aside? … The people who were around her certainly did not help her…  It’s not up to me to formulate accusations, but Francesca was not alone that night. She was very upset. She should have been put to bed. Instead, they let her go out into a dark, wet, cold night, not even dressed.”

     

    In due course, the last of many wills left by Countess Agusta revealed Tirso Chazaro to be her sole beneficiary, but after this was challenged in court by her former lover, Maurizio Raggio, the pair split the legacy – reported to be worth as much as £165 million ($201 million, €186 million or درهم738 million) according to the Guardian in 2001 – sixty-forty between them.

     

    In 2009, the Villa Altachiara was offered for sale initially for £44 million ($54 million, €50 million or درهم198 million) and then for £30 million ($37 million, €34 million or درهم135 million) in 2014. It supposedly eventually sold for less than half that sum to a Russian billionaire a number of years later in spite of an estate agent remarking: “Some say the spirit of Countess Francesca Vacca Agusta still walks the estate looking for her husband and you can hear her shouting for him on the wind.”

     

    An estimate of £37,000 to £49,000 ($45,000 to $60,000, €42,000 to €55,000 or درهم165,000 to درهم220,000) for the Countess’s Piaggio Ape. Described as “sweet” and “[anything but] an Italian tuk-tuk” by RideApart, the one-off private taxi will be auctioned as part of the forthcoming RM Sotheby’s ‘Driving Into Summer’ 21st to 29th May 2020 online sale. One can only hope it finds a happier home than it encountered at that of its former mistress.

     

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    An Agusta Ape – £50k for Piaggio Ape used by Countess Francesca Agusta (1942 – 2001) – 1978 Piaggio Ape ‘limousine’ by Pavesi used by the controversial Countess Agusta – a very wealthy woman who either fell or was pushed to her death from her home above Portofino, Italy in 2001 – to be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s as part of their ‘Driving Into Summer’ 21st to 29th May 2020 auction with an estimate of £37,000 to £49,000 ($45,000 to $60,000, €42,000 to €55,000 or درهم165,000 to درهم220,000).
    An Agusta Ape – £50k for Piaggio Ape used by Countess Francesca Agusta (1942 – 2001) – 1978 Piaggio Ape ‘limousine’ by Pavesi used by the controversial Countess Agusta – a very wealthy woman who either fell or was pushed to her death from her home above Portofino, Italy in 2001 – to be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s as part of their ‘Driving Into Summer’ 21st to 29th May 2020 auction with an estimate of £37,000 to £49,000 ($45,000 to $60,000, €42,000 to €55,000 or درهم165,000 to درهم220,000).
    An Agusta Ape – £50k for Piaggio Ape used by Countess Francesca Agusta (1942 – 2001) – 1978 Piaggio Ape ‘limousine’ by Pavesi used by the controversial Countess Agusta – a very wealthy woman who either fell or was pushed to her death from her home above Portofino, Italy in 2001 – to be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s as part of their ‘Driving Into Summer’ 21st to 29th May 2020 auction with an estimate of £37,000 to £49,000 ($45,000 to $60,000, €42,000 to €55,000 or درهم165,000 to درهم220,000).
    An Agusta Ape – £50k for Piaggio Ape used by Countess Francesca Agusta (1942 – 2001) – 1978 Piaggio Ape ‘limousine’ by Pavesi used by the controversial Countess Agusta – a very wealthy woman who either fell or was pushed to her death from her home above Portofino, Italy in 2001 – to be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s as part of their ‘Driving Into Summer’ 21st to 29th May 2020 auction with an estimate of £37,000 to £49,000 ($45,000 to $60,000, €42,000 to €55,000 or درهم165,000 to درهم220,000).
    An Agusta Ape – £50k for Piaggio Ape used by Countess Francesca Agusta (1942 – 2001) – 1978 Piaggio Ape ‘limousine’ by Pavesi used by the controversial Countess Agusta – a very wealthy woman who either fell or was pushed to her death from her home above Portofino, Italy in 2001 – to be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s as part of their ‘Driving Into Summer’ 21st to 29th May 2020 auction with an estimate of £37,000 to £49,000 ($45,000 to $60,000, €42,000 to €55,000 or درهم165,000 to درهم220,000).
    An Agusta Ape – £50k for Piaggio Ape used by Countess Francesca Agusta (1942 – 2001) – 1978 Piaggio Ape ‘limousine’ by Pavesi used by the controversial Countess Agusta – a very wealthy woman who either fell or was pushed to her death from her home above Portofino, Italy in 2001 – to be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s as part of their ‘Driving Into Summer’ 21st to 29th May 2020 auction with an estimate of £37,000 to £49,000 ($45,000 to $60,000, €42,000 to €55,000 or درهم165,000 to درهم220,000).
    An Agusta Ape – £50k for Piaggio Ape used by Countess Francesca Agusta (1942 – 2001) – 1978 Piaggio Ape ‘limousine’ by Pavesi used by the controversial Countess Agusta – a very wealthy woman who either fell or was pushed to her death from her home above Portofino, Italy in 2001 – to be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s as part of their ‘Driving Into Summer’ 21st to 29th May 2020 auction with an estimate of £37,000 to £49,000 ($45,000 to $60,000, €42,000 to €55,000 or درهم165,000 to درهم220,000).
    An Agusta Ape – £50k for Piaggio Ape used by Countess Francesca Agusta (1942 – 2001) – 1978 Piaggio Ape ‘limousine’ by Pavesi used by the controversial Countess Agusta – a very wealthy woman who either fell or was pushed to her death from her home above Portofino, Italy in 2001 – to be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s as part of their ‘Driving Into Summer’ 21st to 29th May 2020 auction with an estimate of £37,000 to £49,000 ($45,000 to $60,000, €42,000 to €55,000 or درهم165,000 to درهم220,000).
    An Agusta Ape – £50k for Piaggio Ape used by Countess Francesca Agusta (1942 – 2001) – 1978 Piaggio Ape ‘limousine’ by Pavesi used by the controversial Countess Agusta – a very wealthy woman who either fell or was pushed to her death from her home above Portofino, Italy in 2001 – to be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s as part of their ‘Driving Into Summer’ 21st to 29th May 2020 auction with an estimate of £37,000 to £49,000 ($45,000 to $60,000, €42,000 to €55,000 or درهم165,000 to درهم220,000).
    An Agusta Ape – £50k for Piaggio Ape used by Countess Francesca Agusta (1942 – 2001) – 1978 Piaggio Ape ‘limousine’ by Pavesi used by the controversial Countess Agusta – a very wealthy woman who either fell or was pushed to her death from her home above Portofino, Italy in 2001 – to be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s as part of their ‘Driving Into Summer’ 21st to 29th May 2020 auction with an estimate of £37,000 to £49,000 ($45,000 to $60,000, €42,000 to €55,000 or درهم165,000 to درهم220,000).
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaGavF50j98