Tag: garage

The Art of Driving a Manual Car with a Broken Clutch; Racing Legend Juan Manuel Fangio – A Quixotic Adventure
David G. Lennox examines the peril of the “stick shift” and celebrates the spirit of the Argentinian Formula One legend Juan Manuel Fangio

Ah, the manual transmission, or as the Americans rather quaintly call it, the stick shift. It’s the mark of a true motoring connoisseur, a delightful dance between man and machine. But what happens when our gallant steed’s clutch decides to surrender? Fear not, dear reader, for this is not merely a tale of woe, but a story of resilience, cunning, and a dash of British stiff upper lip.

The Plight of the Broken Clutch

Picture this: You’re cruising down the motorway, perhaps humming along to a bit of Vivaldi, when suddenly, the clutch pedal sinks to the floor with all the grace of a fainting Victorian maiden. You’re now in possession of a rather expensive paperweight. But do we panic? Absolutely not. We soldier on, for we are British, and adversity is our bread and butter.

Driving a manual car with a malfunctioning clutch is akin to attending a high-society ball with two left feet. Awkward, challenging, and inevitably leading to some colourful language. Yet, it has been done. Take, for instance, the legendary tale of Juan Manuel Fangio (1911 – 1995), the Argentinian maestro of motorsport and a man who dominated the first decade of Formula One by winning the World Drivers’ Championship five times.

Fangio – who was nicknamed ‘El Chueco’ (the “bandy legged one”) and ‘El Maestro’ (“the master” or “the teacher”) – once drove his Maserati 250F to victory in the 1957 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, despite suffering from a gearbox so obstinate it could have been designed by a committee of bureaucrats. Though not exactly a clutch failure, it’s a testament to the kind of indomitable spirit we need.

Symptoms of a Malfunctioning Clutch and Their Solutions

Now, for those who prefer their motoring escapades without the added drama, here’s a helpful guide to recognizing and remedying a malfunctioning clutch:
1. Slipping Clutch:If you notice the engine revving but the car isn’t accelerating with its usual vigour, it’s likely your clutch is slipping. It’s akin to expecting a marathon runner to sprint after a three-course Sunday roast. Solution: Get thee to a mechanic post-haste. A slipping clutch is a slippery slope to a complete breakdown.
2. Grinding Gears:If your gear shifts sound like a knife fight in a cutlery drawer, your clutch might not be fully disengaging. Solution: Check the clutch fluid. Low levels can cause this problem. If the fluid is fine, you might need a clutch adjustment or a new clutch plate.
3. Sticky Clutch:A clutch that doesn’t return to its original position is about as useful as a chocolate teapot. Solution: This could be due to air in the hydraulic line or a faulty clutch master/slave cylinder. Bleeding the clutch line might do the trick, but professional help may be required.
4. Spongy Clutch Pedal:If your clutch pedal feels like you’re stepping on a sponge, there could be air in the hydraulic system or a leak. Solution: Inspect the clutch master and slave cylinders for leaks, clutch master cylinder is located next to the inner wing in most cases, then try and bleed the system to remove any air.
5. Clutch Pedal Vibrations:Feeling like you’ve stepped onto the world’s tiniest bouncy castle? This could indicate a warped clutch disc or pressure plate. Solution: Unfortunately, this requires a clutch replacement. Prepare your wallet for a bit of a bruising.
A Final Word

Driving a stick shift with a broken clutch is not for the faint-hearted. It’s a Herculean task that demands not just skill, but a certain joie de vivre. So, the next time your clutch decides to call in sick, channel your inner Fangio and remember: where there’s a will, there’s a way – preferably to the nearest garage.

Until next time, keep your gears in check and your spirits high. After all, motoring mishaps are just part of the grand adventure.

Cheerio and happy motoring!

Retired solicitor David G. Lennox is an “avid consumer of margaritas” and a Rolls-Royce enthusiast. He motors around the country in his quest to watch ‘the sport of Kings’ as often as he can in his 1990 Silver Spur II.

Additional information:

How to check clutch master cylinder – autodoc.co.uk

Juan Manuel Fangio entered 52 Formula One races and won 24 of them, a win rate that has not been matched by anyone else.

The celebrated racing driver was said to have “a way with women,” but never married. At one time, he was linked to Eva Peron and after retiring sold Mercedes-Benz cars in Argentina and went on to become the honorary president of Mercedes-Benz Argentina in 1987.
September 6, 2024
A Perverted Parish

Internationally infamous Handforth parish council member Brendan Murphy faces jail for calling his neighbours “perverted” and a “tart” and a “peeping Tom”

Handforth parish council became infamous in December when a “doughty clerk” named Jackie Weaver mercilessly “kicked out” argumentative male councillors whilst “barely blinking when being yelled at” by them.

By February this year, the council’s meeting were being “dogged by rows again,” but now further scandal has emerged after one of its members, Councillor Brendan Murphy, was convicted of harassing his neighbours over a 13-year period.

Whilst the bickering councillors of Handforth provided light amusement for millions at the height of December’s lockdown, 79-year-old Councillor Murphy it seems is headed to jail for labelling his elderly neighbours “perverts” and “The Tart” and “The Peeping Tom.”

“Maverick” Murphy, currently a member of the Real Independent Group and the “first Macc Tory to ever be sacked” in December 2001 according to the Macclesfield Express, was found guilty of two charges of harassment at Stockport Magistrates’ Court last Friday.

Featured in the Daily Mail earlier this week, Murphy stood accused of “hounding” his neighbours Christopher and Margaret Boyd “with barbed comments after they fell out over a dispute about local gossip… and alleging he was underpaying his council tax.”

With police called on over 19 separate occasions, Murphy – whom unsuccessfully (unsurprisingly) stood for Parliament for the Conservative Party in the Vale of Clywd in 2001 – Mr Murphy told the court:

“I call Mr Boyd a ‘Peeping Tom’ and his wife a ‘Tart’ for a good reason and I think my legal response is justifiable.”

“I saw a CCTV camera on the wall filming me and I jokingly said, ‘I see you are a peeping Tom.’ I also said: ‘Mind you don’t fall off that roof, I cannot give you the kiss of life,’ but that was a joke too.”

“On one of the occasions, I was out with my dog. Mr and Mrs Boyd were walking down the road hand in hand swinging their arms looked very happy.”

“I said: ‘I’m glad to see you are so happy’ but instead of crossing the road she lurched into me and the dog whimpered in pain and that is when I called her a tart.”

“I think they are making a big deal out of this. I do not do it every day. I am an elected active councillor and I do a lot of community work.”

“There have been instances where I did say in response to them and they would stare, laugh, and sneer.”

“Mr Boyd is a very active DIY man with improving the garden, etc. His garage is his workshop, and he makes a loud noise that I do not want to hear.”

“People use the word ‘tart’ in lots of different ways and I will continue calling them a Peeping Tom and a tart as long as the cameras are still there.”

“I say these words 100 times when I see the cameras and it just gets it off my chest. There are nastier things I could say.”

Responding after being convicted, Murphy of 6 Hilton Road, Disley, Cheshire, SK12 2JU “confirmed that he intends to remain as a Cheshire East councillor” and boldly declared: “An immediate appeal will be launched, I am confident the conviction will be overturned.”

Previously, in April 2012, Brendan Murphy was found guilty of harassing Mr and Mrs Boyd. At that time he was fined £300 for harassment, ordered to pay £1,500 in court costs and given a restraining order prohibiting “him from speaking to or making gestures at the Boyds,” according to Macclesfield Live.

Murphy, the kind of person even “snitchin’” Priti Patel wouldn’t welcome to her street, will be sentenced on 26^th April. He remains on unconditional bail until then, but will go down in history with the likes of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Zipporah Lisle-Mainwaring as an ultimate neighbour from hell.

A Perverted Parish 2021 – The row between Brendan Murphy and his neighbours Christopher and Margaret Boyd escalated after they installed a fence in 2007 as part of an attempt to stop him harassing them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jB3P_0GAi0I
A Perverted Parish 2021 – Councillor Brendan Murphy, a man prone to calling his neighbours “perverts” on hundreds of occasions, was one of the councillors involved in December 2020’s infamous Handforth parish council Zoom debacle.

March 26, 2021
An English McMansion Monstrosity
Gargantuan Cheshire ‘McMansion’ once owned by a BBC Sports Personality turned tax fraudster for sale; it’s a monstrosity and beyond gaudy

Somewhat generously described as “Cheshire’s most flamboyant home” by the Manchester Evening News in December 2019 and as a place where BBC Wales Sports Personality 1980 turned VAT fraudster Duncan Evans for a time “lived the life of a country squire,” Deansgreen Hall in Lymm, Cheshire has been on the market for £6 million since 2019.

Described as “architecturally unsurpassed and with a lavish interior” and an “ambassadorial style Smallbone kitchen” by selling agents Jackson-Stops, this vast English attempt at a ‘McMansion’ is quite frankly one of the most ludicrously laughable houses we’ve ever featured.

Standing on a plot of just under 11 acres where a probably perfectly charming yet subsequently bastardised residence was constructed in 1864, the ‘hall’ itself extends to about 20,000 square foot. It includes 5 reception rooms, a cinema room, a games room, a music room, an orangery and 8 en-suite bedrooms.

In addition, there is a ‘leisure suite’ with an indoor swimming pool and gym, a staff flat, a 3-bedroom lodge, a 620 square foot ‘entertaining pavilion,’ garaging for 28 cars, a helicopter hangar, kenneling and stabling.

Plainly desperate to offload this gargantuan white elephant, Jackson-Stops declare: “Our clients are looking to downsize and would consider part exchange with either another residential property or commercial property, or possibly another asset class (for instance, prestige and collectible cars, art, etc.).”

An English McMansion Monstrosity – Amateur golf champion, BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year 1980 and tax fraudster Duncan Evans owned Deansgreen Hall from 2002 to 2003.

The entrance hall to Deansgreen Hall harks back to the past and currently features coats of armour and a model of an old sailing ship.

The dining room of the McMansion is equally “historic” in its inspiration, yet the white gloss paint scheme simply just doesn’t work.

Plainly aimed at a sale to a footballer, the cinema room – complete with its naff sparkling light ceiling and purple panels – could have been designed by the “prosecco gagging” disaster that is Dawn Ward.

The Names & Numbers – Deansgreen Hall, Crouchley Lane, Lymm, Cheshire, WA13 0TL, United Kingdom
- March 2021 – For sale for £6 million ($8.4 million, €7 million or درهم8 million) with Jackson-Stops. Listed first with the firm circa December 2019.
- June 2018 – A former policeman named Roderick Bond, whose current correspondence address for his active company Ravenstone UK Ltd., was jailed for 2 years and 8 months as a result of his involvement in a “Formula 1 film tax scam” in June 2018.
- 2006 – Purchased by the current owner and “remodeled and presented in its current condition.”
- 2003 – Sold by Duncan Evans for £3.5 million ($4.9 million, €4.1 million or درهم18 million). “Devious and accomplished fraudster” Evans subsequently received a jail sentence of 4 years in 2009 for his part in a £21 million ($29 million, €24 million or درهم108 million) VAT fraud. He was again arrested in July 2017 after going on the run to Portugal.
- 2002 – Sold to BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year 1980 Duncan Evans for £1.2 million ($1.7 million, €1.4 million or درهم2 million) having reverted to private ownership in the 1990s.
- 1970s – Used as “commercial offices” by Fairclough Homes.
- 1864 – Original house built on the site. What remains of that, God only knows.
In November 2020, we featured what we termed “the world’s worst McMansion,” a £1.65 million horror in New Jersey. In Deansgreen Hall, we’ve definitely found something that could actually come a very close second.

The insipid white theme continues in this vaulted sitting room of the English McMansion.

A spokesperson for selling agents Jackson-Stops remarked of the McMansion’s kitchen: “The centre of the house has an ambassadorial-sized Smallbone fitted kitchen/breakfast room with large central island (with seating for 10) with sofas at one end.” Any serious chef would respond: “What a bloody impractical layout.”

The McMansion’s indoor swimming pool, surprisingly, seems relatively tame in its decorative styling.

A games room in “regal red.”

It’s back to the medieval mixed up with nautical heritage theme on the McMansion’s landing – complete with a chess board that looks like it came from Dungeons & Dragons.

The ‘master bedroom’ has an especially ghastly fireplace surround and it’s got some shagpile carpets that Jimmy Savile would have loved to have rolled around on.

The nautical touch continues in this bathroom area where also included is a tub where Prince Andrew might feel at home.

The rear elevation of the McMansion is frankly nothing but a hotchpotch and a design disaster. How many styles did the architect wish to combine?

A set of flags stands patriotically at the front of the building along with a very necessary pair of dragon statues.

Looking outwards, there’s a hint of classicism to enjoy.

The garage block and ‘lodge house’ of the McMansion resemble something found on a Barratt housing estate.

Yet more patriotism on display at England’s naffest McMansion. Nigel Farage and Ann Widdecombe would go potty.

There are two lakes that are supposedly “stuffed” with carp. Watch out, Eddie Grundy of BBC Radio 4’s ‘The Archers’ will be round to do a bit of poaching.

The entrance gates to the McMansion complete with a set of cobbles that wouldn’t look out of place on ITV1’s ‘Coronation Street.’
March 1, 2021
Alan Holmes (1943 – 1996)

Attacked for just £1,000 in his own home in Parkway, Camden, NW1 on Christmas Day 1995, Derry born police mechanic Alan Holmes was left “tightly tied” to his bed, face down and fully clothed for ten days in a building where he was the last remaining tenant. Discovered only after he failed to show up for work on the 4^th January 2006, he survived for one night more and was able to explain the appalling crime perpetrated upon him before dying as a result of “horrendous injuries,” blood clotting and dehydration at University College Hospital, Bloomsbury. In spite of a £20,000 reward and (sadly too grainy to be of much use) CCTV images of individuals using his bank cards being made public, Mr Holmes’ “cold and ruthless” murderers have never been apprehended. Of this generous “quiet soul” and multiple sclerosis sufferer, his sister, Mavis Yule, later remarked: “He was a friendly, gentle person. He loved poetry and should have been a writer. He was very kind and would have given you the shirt off his back. Living in London, he saw people begging and sleeping in doorways. He felt very sorry for these people. He may have given them money for soup or given them a blanket – but he would never have let anybody he did not know into his flat.” In 2016, Richard Osley, the deputy editor of the Camden New Journal, rightly asked: “Who killed Alan Holmes? We have to keep asking… As clichéd and contrived as it may sound, Alan Holmes, the police mechanic who was starved in his own home, is the ghost of NW1’s Christmas past… An appeal might seem like a token gesture, a shot in the dark, but it’d be something.”

Watch ‘Crimewatch’s’ report on the case (aired Thursday 29^th February 1996 at 10pm on BBC1), go to 5:20 minutes to start:

The last known photograph of Alan Holmes, enjoying the company of friends on 25th December 1995 (as seen on the BBC’s ‘Crimewatch’).

April 18, 2020
An Ugly Duckling With All The Extras

“Ugly duckling” ex-crab boat converted into “ultimate fun factory” by billionaire equity investor for sale for 47% less than in 2017; it comes with gadgets galore amongst them a two-seat amphibious flying boat

Stanford educated private equity investor Richard Kayne manages over £25.3 billion ($31 billion, €28.7 billion or درهم113.8 billion) through his firm Kayne Anderson Capital Advisers. He also “doesn’t like to sit still,” has over 300 employees and is not only pretty “alternative” in the way he invests; he’s also pretty unusual in the style of yacht he favours.

Father of three Kayne took up sailing in order to “get [his] daughters involved in a family experience” around 2002 and then commissioned a 164-foot yacht named JeMaSa – a merger of the names of Jenni, Maggie and Saree, his aforementioned children. His love of “toys” – such as Eurocopter helicopters, sea planes, submarines, tenders, flyboards, jet-skis and inflatable water slides – subsequently resulted in a further purchase, a 170-foot steel hulled crab fishing boat that he intended simply to use as a “supply boat” to house his ever-growing collection of “kit.”

Richard Kayne and his wife Suzanne.

Prior to becoming ‘SuRi,’ the yacht was a crab fishing vessel named ‘Fierce Contender.’

Nowadays, the boat is more likely to be found taking wealthy individuals to off-the-beaten track locations.

Previously known as Fierce Contender (built in Lockport, Louisiana in 1978) and used in the Discovery Channel television series Deadliest Catch, the boat was converted into a “shadow yacht” in Seattle over the winter of 2007. Of the work, in November 2019, Kayne told Boat International:

“Designing the garage was a challenge. In addition to the helicopter we had a hovercraft, one of the world’s noisiest boats, a hand-built mahogany speedboat, a work boat, WaveRunners, Sea-Doos, sailboats, ski and wakesurfing boats and, eventually, an amphibious airplane.”

Renamed SuRi – a combination of his name and that of his wife, Suzanne – the Kayne family then took their fleet to Denarau, Fiji and though together the financier termed them his “hundred-metre articulated yacht,” he later came to realise that “neither yacht was adequate for all the people and all the toys.”

His response came in 2011 and of it, he announced: “I did another silly thing – I decided to sell JeMeSa and jumbo-size SuRi.” The boat was taken to Alameda, California, cut in half and expanded to provide further accommodation and “what is arguably the largest toy garage-cum-aircraft hangar afloat outside the US Navy.” The resulting “amenity-rich explorer yacht” is now 208-foot long and can accommodate 18 guests in 7 cabins with 19 crew.

Capable of a range of 7,400 nautical miles at a maximum speed of 13 knots, SuRi became what its owner termed “the ultimate fun factory” where: “Whatever it is that you want to do – put jet boots on your feet and go flying up in the air, go kitesurfing, take a cruise in a Riva type of boat, or go wakeboarding, wake surfing, waterskiing, fishing or diving, you just go and do it.”

Now, however, Kayne’s enthusiasm has moved on to developing an “American-style golf club” on New Zealand’s North Island. He first put SuRi – which astonishingly has over 3,300 followers on its Instagram account – up for charter through firms such as Cookson Adventures and then tried to sell the yacht for £35.8 million ($43.9 million, €40.7 million or درهم161.2 million) in 2017. That price plainly was not achievable and now, Burgess Yachts are offering the craft for the much-reduced sum of £18.8 million ($23 million, €21.7 million or درهم84.5 million).

Facebook: @TheSteepleTimes

Instagram: @TheSteepleTimes

Twitter: @SteepleTimes

April 5, 2020
A Belgravian Yo-Yo

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Facebook: @TheSteepleTimes

Instagram: @TheSteepleTimes

Twitter: @SteepleTimes

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

The entrance hall and staircase.

The main reception room.

Viewed from another angle.

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

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

It is has a division.

With a dining area beyond.

The kitchen features a central island.

The main bedroom suite.

Another view of that suite’s bathroom.

The suite comes with its own roof terrace.

The second bedroom is situated on the ground floor.

A floor plan of the property.

March 25, 2020
The Perfect Bachelor Pad

Ultimate bachelor pad for sale for £6 million in South Kensington; it has garaging for five cars

Originally a mews that was home to Rothmans’ Shire horses, a £6 million ($8.5 million, €6.8 million or درهم31.1 million) property in Elvaston Mews, South Kensington has been transformed into a perfect bachelor pad.

Sold in July 2006 for £1.95 million ($2.75 million, €2.21 million or درهم10.11 million), 7 Elvaston Mews extends to 2,552 square foot and is primarily made up of a 53-foot long state-of-the-art garage on the ground level with an internal office and cloakroom.

Situated in the heart of an area known as the ‘Queen’s Gate Grid’, this petrolhead’s paradise also comes with an “immaculately presented” two double bedroom apartment above. It features a large reception room, a dining kitchen, two shower rooms and two terraces.

Lurot Brand are the selling agents.

Follow The Steeple Times on Twitter at @SteepleTimes.

February 5, 2018
A Bargain in Belgravia

Belgravia mews house with garaging for five cars for sale for equivalent of £1,442 per week

A two-storey mews house behind The Lanesborough Hotel in Belgravia has gone on sale for what initially seems like a bargain price of just £1.5 million ($2 million, €1.7 million or درهم7.2 million).

The catch? The 1,391 square foot property in Wilton Row – which comes with a 40-foot long garage with space for up to five cars – is offered on a new 20-year lease that comes without the ability to extend or acquire the freehold.

Effectively priced at the equivalent of rent of £75,000 per year ($99,000, €83,000 or درهم362,000 per year), the unlisted building also includes a reception room, kitchen, two bedrooms and a bathroom.

Ayrton Wylie are the selling agents.

October 20, 2017
A Bargain in Belgravia

Belgravia mews house with garaging for five cars for sale for equivalent of £1,442 per week

A two-storey mews house behind The Lanesborough Hotel in Belgravia has gone on sale for what initially seems like a bargain price of just £1.5 million ($2 million, €1.7 million or درهم7.2 million).

The catch? The 1,391 square foot property in Wilton Row – which comes with a 40-foot long garage with space for up to five cars – is offered on a new 20-year lease that comes without the ability to extend or acquire the freehold.

Effectively priced at the equivalent of rent of £75,000 per year ($99,000, €83,000 or درهم362,000 per year), the unlisted building also includes a reception room, kitchen, two bedrooms and a bathroom.

Ayrton Wylie are the selling agents.

October 20, 2017
A Caged Crib

Former San Francisco home of actor Nicolas Cage for sale for £11.4 million or 660% more than it sold for in 1996

Thrice married and an Academy Award winning actor Nicolas Cage is also known for lavish spending. Aside from once buying twenty-two cars in one hit – including a “squadron” of nine Rolls-Royce – he “wound up” owning fifteen personal residences in 2007 and now one of them is for sale for £11.4 million.

898 Francisco Street in San Francisco’s Russian Hill neighbourhood was purchased by a trust connected to Cage in 2006 for £6.9 million and sold by him in 2008 at a loss for £6.3 million. It was built in Gothic Tudor style in 1914, extends to 6,305 square foot and is spread over four floors.

The front door is an example of fine craftmanship within the house

As is the carving on this fireplace

Featuring 4 reception rooms, 6 bedrooms and 7 bathrooms, the house also has a 2-car garage and enjoys views of the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and the Bay Area. It has a garden to the rear and is adjoined by a further adjacent plot on Hyde Street that has potential for a further residence.

Debi Dicello of Sotheby’s International Realty has the listing and seeks either a total of £11.4 million for the entire property or £8.8 million for the main house and £2.6 million for the adjacent 40-foot by 60-foot lot.

898 Francisco Street – The Numbers

2017 – £8.8 million ($12 million, €10 million or درهم44.1 million) for the main house plus £2.6 million ($3.5million, €2.9 million or درهم12.9 million) for the adjoining plot.

2008 – Sold for £6.3 million ($8.5 million, €7.1 million or درهم31.2 million).

2006 – Bought by a trust connected to Nicolas Cage for £6.9 million ($9.4 million, €7.9 million or درهم34.5 million).

1996 – Sold for £1.5 million ($2 million, €1.7 million or درهم7.4 million).

September 17, 2017