Nikolay Kalinin calls out Grant Shapps’ decision to replace ‘GB’ car stickers with ‘UK’ ones as utterly ludicrous
There are so many things that Conservative MPs could focus on right now.
They could work on reviving British business – if they truly care about Brexit – or strengthening links between the different regions in order to prevent them from declaring independence, but instead they decided to instead obsess about car stickers. Yes, you heard it right, car stickers.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps recently announced that production of traditional ‘GB‘ motifs used by British drivers abroad will be discontinued in favour of a legal emblem stating ‘UK.’ Their reasoning? The Daily Mail reports it is being done “as an attempt to win over unionists amid heightened tensions over post-Brexit border checks” and in order to “send a clear message about Northern Ireland’s place in the United Kingdom.” Exactly how the new rule will “win over unionists,” however, was not explained by the minister.
Tory MP Ian Liddell-Grainger responded to the announcement by stating: “I can’t see the point. It seems to me to be a complete waste of money when we don’t need to be wasting money. It also seems to be a slap in the face for people who are proud to be GB.”
However, another Tory MP told the Mail: “The United Kingdom is stronger because it has the link with Northern Ireland because if you say Great Britain you are excluding Northern Ireland. I think it strengthen the ties at a time when we have got a problem.”
If the transport secretary really cared about “including” Northern Ireland within the country, he would by this point get on with the construction of a bridge between Scotland and Northern Ireland that Boris Johnson pledged to build a few months ago, which would benefit national trade and establish an easier connection between Northern Ireland and the rest of UK.
Policy like this affirms what many online satirists and journalists have been saying: The Conservatives care about anything but the people they’re supposed to represent. Instead of passing legislation designed to help people, they introduce initiatives that are either pointless, such as One Britain One Nation Day, or do things that make life worse for people, for example by not closing the country in time when the Delta variant began to spread.
COVID has exposed even more how these people absolutely don’t care about the public’s wellbeing, because while Boris Johnson has pledged to remove the rule of compulsory mask-wearing in shops and public transport, a recent poll by YouGov has concluded that 71% of people in England, Wales and Scotland want mask-wearing to be compulsory after July 19th, with 66% saying that the rules should remain in shops and enclosed public spaces.
If you need more evidence, just look at the Conservatives trying to suppress the right to protest with the Policing and Crime Bill, which Labour proposed to amend by introducing a minimum sentence for rape. Unsurprisingly, the Conservatives voted against the amendment. They don’t care about the people who suffered violence in their households during lockdown, because as Labour MP Angela Rayner stated, the Conservatives are “more interested in protecting statues than protecting women.”
The Conservatives need to realise that even though they have a 363-seat majority, that does not grant them immunity from public scrutiny and accountability. They still have a job of representing the people, and it’s about time that they started doing that, instead of passing laws that are unnecessary and pointless.
Pictured top: Aside from being “beguiled” by the e-scooter lobby, as we reported on Sunday, Grant Shapps is now set to inflict his plain personal obsession with ‘UK’ stickers over ‘GB’ stickers on the British public.
Shapps’ decision has been ridiculed on all sides of the political divide. It will not only anger Brexiteers, but also those whose loyalties still are to the European Union.Of the move, Ian Liddell-Grainger MP remarked: “That is a bit bloody rum. I can’t see the point. It seems to me to be a complete waste of money when we don’t need to be wasting money. It also seems to be a slap in the face for people who are proud to be GB. It is a waste of time, a waste of money. I don’t know why we are bothering.” Going further, ‘The Sun’ added: “The AA described the move, which was settled on in May but not announced, leaving them feeling left ‘in the lurch’ as stocks of some 50,000 ‘GB’ motifs are now completely worthless.”
Previous advice, such as shown in this video shared on YouTube in February, is now out of date. Those that don’t follow the new rules, ‘The Sun’ concludes: “It will be a legal requirement to slap the ‘UK’ one on your car, and rule flouters could face fines. These will be down to the individual countries.”
Pointless prattler Lady Victoria Hervey yet again cashes in on her connections with the deceased nonce Jeffrey Epstein and his mucky madam Ghislaine Maxwell
Fresh from having spouted a bag of bollocks about coronavirus and admitting she “had no idea what was really going on” with her ex-lover Prince Andrew and a potential lover who thought her “too old” Jeffrey Epstein, contradictory cretin Lady Victoria Hervey is putting herself about on the interview circuit to bang on about Ghislaine Maxwell.
Going further and plainly after as much as she could ‘cheque in’ for her tacky tales, the ultimate ‘TwIt Girl’ and dimwitted dope Lady Victoria reminisced also about Ghislaine Maxwell’s ‘little black address book’ and claimed her incarcerated chum was “very pally” and “at ease” with Bill Clinton also.
Described by the by contrast lovely, late Tara Palmer-Tomkinson as “unpleasant” and “a right snob” previously, cash craving Lady Victoria cryptically concluded:
“Ghislaine always struck me as someone full of life and was always jetting around somewhere fabulous. She always had this air of mystery. She never gave away too much but she gave away enough you wanted to find out more.”
What must be remembered is this: Ludicrous lush Lady Victoria Hervey hasn’t actually seen Ghislaine Maxwell in years. Of their last meeting, she previously ridiculously and completely incorrectly remarked: “I don’t think anyone is going to find her. She’s gone far away. She’s a bit like a James Bond character. She’s quite a unique person and I don’t believe anyone is going to find her… I don’t think we will ever see her again, it’s going to be like Robert Maxwell continued; she will continue that family mystery.” Nobody will be hiring her as a clairvoyant anytime soon. Next!
Pictured top: Party princess turned pokey inmate Ghislaine Maxwell (left) and her blowjob educated subject Lady Victoria Hervey munching on an ice cream (right).
Classic clangers from former ‘It Girl’ Lady Victoria Hervey
“I am Lady Victoria Hervey – it doesn’t get more British than that.”
“Fuck BLM [Black Lives Matter].”
“Unless it’s champagne, I can’t handle it.”
“I’m an A-list celebrity and this is a C-list party.”
“I do have a day job.”
“My career always goes much better when I haven’t got a man.”
“A baby is easy – you hand them over to a nanny!”
“I’m kind of into star signs and I want my baby to have a sign that’s compatible with mine. It’s to plan though… We’ll just have to see… We’ll do the embryos and then I’ll figure out which month I’d like the baby to be born.”
“I’m not stupid. I’m not a dumb model.”
“[I aim to become] the next Kate Winslet – but with class.”
“I have had four past lives, three of them as a man. I was a composer in 17th-century Paris, I made materials in India and in Ancient Greece I was a famous politician. In Ancient Egypt I was keeper of the oils for the Pharaoh’s wife, and I love oils so it all kind of fits.”
“I feel I’ve aged 100 years in lockdown. I’ve had Botox, of course.”
“What annoys me is when these families have got like 12 children and we’re paying for these kids… They work out that they make more money being on the dole than having a job, they just laze around.”
“The real irony of this is that the poor get poorer and the rich get richer.”
“Travelling is in my blood, and so is liking luxurious things and spending.”
“I haven’t given up on men, there are a few of them around, but I keep leaving every city I meet them in.”
“Everyone from Europe wants to buy houses in LA.”
“I was too old for Jeffrey Epstein… [He seemed] very charming… He was a very well-liked guy.”
“I’m not one of those kind of girls, I don’t like going to dinners with ten models invited… I was very young and impressionable, Jeffrey was a very charismatic man.”
“I haven’t seen [Ghislaine Maxwell] since September [2018] at a friend’s baby shower… I don’t think anyone is going to find her. She’s gone far away. She’s a bit like a James Bond character. She’s quite a unique person and I don’t believe anyone is going to find her… I don’t think we will ever see her again, it’s going to be like Robert Maxwell continued; she will continue that family mystery.”
“I had no idea what was going on [with Jeffrey Epstein]… It’s extraordinary it’s the case, it’s a wild story.”
“I suddenly thought, I’m just Victoria Hervey… Horrible.”
“I don’t want to make enemies.”
Most people wouldn’t brag about being linked to the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, but Lady Victoria has gone as far as to brag that he rejected her.Lady Victoria (or ‘Lady V’ to those who consider this noxious nuisance a mate) has suddenly become an expert on Ghislaine Maxwell. One is simply left wondering how much she’s been paid for what is frankly not so relevant testimony about the mucky madam.
Nikolay Kalinin joins those mocking the “godawful silliness” of the One Britain, One Nation campaign and slams it as anything but true patriotism
It seems that because five years have passed since Brexit, the government has decided that the only problem that now needs solving is the public’s supposed lack of patriotism – and so they have decided to make muscular unionism an official government policy.
The first hellish component of this ‘plan’ is the One Britain, One Nation day, named after the campaign group of the same name, which according to its website aims to “create a strong, fair, harmonious and a proud British Nation – celebrating patriotism and respect for all our people.”
The campaign has even produced a song which was performed by schoolchildren, which was so disturbing that even GB News host Kirsty Gallacher stated: “I don’t want my children singing that”, even going as far as calling the tune “propaganda”.
The campaign promoted much-expected backlash on social media, with many comparing the campaign to something from the Hitler Youth, while LBC host James O’Brien said on air: “If I played you (the song) before Brexit and said that the Department of Education is encouraging all children in the country to sing this song at school, I don’t think you would have believed me.”
It seems that the government haven’t learnt their lesson, because American-born Tory MP for Beaconsfield Joy Morrissey announced recently on Twitter that she will be campaigning alongside the British Monarchist Society to “put a portrait of Her Majesty in every home, company, and institution that would like one” adding: “It is time to rediscover our pride in being British!”
As expected, the response on social media was dominated by condemnation, with many calling out the campaign as pointless at a time when the pandemic is the issue that needs focusing on. Journalist Ian Dunt responded: “If these people had the slightest idea what there is to be proud of about Britain, they’d not be coming up with this godawful silliness.”
The indy100 meanwhile wrote in their article about the issue: “The Tory party are almost becoming post-ironic. Perhaps Morrissey is angling for the Queen to bestow some sort of honours upon her, to which we say – nobody likes a teacher’s pet.”
I am not against the idea of putting up pictures of the monarchy in one’s home; we all have the personal freedom to do that, and I respect it. However, when an MP from the ruling party starts a campaign aiming to put up pictures in every person’s home, this begins to look like an act of utter ridiculousness and an attempt at indoctrination.
Morrissey also seems to have forgot to read the room, because a recent YouGov poll revealed that only 4% of the people in the UK have a portrait of the Queen in their house, which means that the public is simply not interested in the idea of having a picture of the monarch put in their sitting rooms. What Morrissey has done here is fail the most important task for an MP – to know, understand and react to what her electorate wants and needs.
Regarding the One Britain, One Nation campaign, I am not against teaching children about their country. Obviously, children should learn about their country and the communities within it, but why should the government force the schools to teach this romantic image of the nation to the children, when they could just give them all of the knowledge and let the children decide how they feel about their country? That would be much better, because not only does it reflect the idea of personal freedom, but it also allows children to strengthen their critical thinking.
I also find it extremely ironic how these ludicrous announcements were made at the same time when Savanta ComRes published a poll revealing that even five years after the EU referendum, the people in this country are still divided over the issue, with the results showing that 51% of the people would vote remain if the referendum was conducted in 2021.
If the government truly cares about uniting the people of this country, why not try harder to fix the divide between the more prosperous parts of the south and the less well off parts of the north? Why not, also, instead, give more money to local councils as opposed to spending it on a ‘royal yacht’ that will be nothing but a showboat for Boris Johnson’s ego? That would be true patriotism.
Nikolay Kalinin joins those condemning Boris Johnson’s decision to waste £200 million on a boat Britain didn’t ask for (or need)
Remember when Eurosceptics pledged Brexit would enable the government to give £350 million per week ($496 million, €406 million or درهم1.8 billion per week) to the NHS? Well, now we finally know where that money is actually going as the government has officially decided to waste some of it commissioning a vanity ship they claim will showcase the “best of British.”
Yet, one cannot ignore that this project seems so pointless and unnecessarily expensive, a fact that has been called out by figures in Parliament. When asked about the diplomatic benefits of “recommissioning HM Yacht Britannia” by Conservative MP for Romford, Andrew Rosindell, President for COP26, Alok Sharma, admitted: “The royal yacht was used on just 37 occasions for… signing trade deals during 1989 – 1997. There’s no evidence that the yacht made a difference to the trade deals secured in these years and this level of use would not represent a good return on investment.”
The Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Bridget Phillipson, also seemed to agree, stating: “We want to see public money used for targeted investment in a green economic recovery, resources for our NHS, and supporting families to succeed.”
She added that if the government does go ahead with the plan to build the yacht: “We’d want to see it built in Britain, supporting jobs and skills in shipyards here, and with a real focus on value for money at every stage.”
What we are seeing here once again is the government misappropriating taxpayers’ money in order to reinforce the fake vision of muscular unionism. The government is trying to reinforce a vision of a united Britain and ‘Britishness’ not through progressive deeds that reflect ‘British values,’ but through objects such as yachts named after recognisable things.
It’s not only the costly yacht however that reflects the idea that ‘muscular unionism’ is so empty, as some time ago an autonomous company launched trials of a self-driving bus in Cambridge, which was draped in the Union Jack.
Comedian Jonathan Pie reacted to the news by calling the bus “the perfect visual metaphor for a country in the grips of such inept and directionless leadership,” while Lord Andrew Adonis mockingly wrote that it “looks like a Brexit bus.”
While I like flags as much as the next man, the fact that ‘BoJo’ seems hellbent on putting them up everywhere demonstrates that his government has nothing much to offer. If Johnson really wants to unite the people of his country, he should work on fixing the rift between his government and Scotland and solve the problems Northern Ireland is facing as a result of Brexit.
The Queen’s love of the Royal Yacht Britannia was never a secret, but even she’s said to believe the decision to order a replacement to be quite beyond unrequired. Meanwhile, the most enthusiastic tin banger for the expensive tub has been Christopher Hope of ‘The Telegraph.’ He has run the paper’s campaign for the vessel since September 2016 and written three dozen articles in support of what he believes to be “putting right [the] historical wrong” of not having a royal yacht.
Grade A listed freehold Scottish castle with cottages, barony title, gold and copper reserves and 240 acres of land goes to auction for just £130,000 just as plans for a space centre are announced in the vicinity
Our November 2018 article on an Irish castle on a private island that was for sale for just £80,000 ($111,000, €93,000 or درهم409,000) continues to attract numerous hits each week to this day and now we’ve found something equally ‘cheap’ in Scotland that we imagine will prove equally popular.
Situated on Unst, the northernmost of the inhabited isles of Great Britain, 15th century Muness Castle is to be sold at auction on 23rd April with a guide price of just £130,000 ($181,000, €151,000 or درهم665,000). It comes with 240 acres and thus comes in at an astonishingly low price equivalent of just £542 per acre ($755, €629 or درهم2,800 per acre).
Given farmland in Oxfordshire is currently valued at around £10,300 per acre ($14,400, €12,000 or درهم52,700 per acre), this apparent bargain does, however, come with a number of catches. The “number of crofter’s cottages” that come as part of the property are “mainly in derelict condition,” according to auctioneers Future Property Auctions of Glasgow, and the most definitely presently anything but inhabitable 73-foot by 26-foot, Grade A listed castle itself is currently “run as museum by Historic Scotland” on a “free of charge basis.”
Currently owned by one Gavin Farquhar of the Ecclesgreig Estate in Kincardineshire, the property offered was listed as having a “consideration” value of £65,000 ($91,000, €75,000 or درهم333,000) in August 2006 and aside from a number of “burdens” to various parties, includes part-diviso rights to “gold and copper reserves discovered in a recently commissioned geological survey.”
For a buyer wanting a barony title, seclusion and to own land on a “superb section of coastline” rich in flora, fauna and sea life where dolphins, otters, puffins, seals and whales are spotted regularly, here is a bargain piece of paradise. Unst covers an area of 46 square miles, has a population of 632 and is accessible primarily by ferry since its airport was mothballed in 1996.
The island of Unst is bizarrely internationally famous for a bus shelter known as ‘Bobby’s Bus Shelter.’ The stop and shelter was saved by a then 7-year-old boy named Bobby Macaulay in 1996 after he wrote to the local council asking them not to remove it because it was where he kept his bike whilst at school. The council relented and furnished it with a sofa and television and periodically give it themed additions which have included tributes to Nelson Mandela, sheep, puffins and women’s suffrage in the United Kingdom.Another attraction on the island was the Valhalla Brewery, the northernmost brewery in the United Kingdom. Named after the Norse god Odin, Valhalla produced dark ales from malt, hops and bere barley, but after the owners fell ill, it ultimately closed permanently. In March this year, plans to reuse the brewery site for the construction of the Shetland Space Centre were announced and should they go ahead around 140 new jobs would be created on Unst as a result.An aerial view of the castle shows how thick its walls are and thus provides evidence as to why it has lasted over 423 years in spite of the harsh climate of its situation.The structure retains many original architectural details.Though the building is currently simply a tourist attraction, perhaps – subject to any planning processes – it could be returned to residential usage. The cost and dealing with bureaucrats might, however, be prohibitive and request by ‘The Steeple Times’ to selling auctioneers Future Property Auctioneers about such had not been answered at time of publication.The setting of the castle with views to the North Sea beyond and a cottage adjoining.The original floor plan of the building (before French pirate enemies of the then owner burnt the place down in 1627). As a result, now, the castle now has only two of its original three stories remaining. The building was used from 1713 by the Dutch East India Company as a storage space for goods the Company managed to salvage from the wreck of one of their vessels, but was then recorded as roofless and abandoned in 1775.This map shows the true isolation of the location.The coastline of Unst is truly epically spectacular.
This 2018 video shows Muness Castle with scaffolding around it – indication that good care has been taken of what remains of the structure.
It’s time for the ‘MeGain & Randy Show’… As dopey dipstick Diane Abbott MP sticks her gumboots into the fallout of the Duchess of Sussex’s car crash interview, the scandalous Prince Andrew should again be called to answer questions
This morning, however, seizing on an opportunity to shove her gibberish filled gumboots back into the fray in the wake of the Duchess of Sussex’s Prince Andrew-esque interview, Abbott decided to chuck a hand grenade into the mix and told the Guardian:
“One of the most upsetting things is when people, meaning well, will say: ‘Oh, but Diane, you’re so strong.’ Nobody is that strong. Nobody can take the sort of abuse that Meghan had to take and that I’ve had to take. And by dismissing it by saying: ‘Oh, black women are strong,’ that’s denying our humanity.”
“For a lot of black and mixed-race women, when they can look at what we’re now hearing, what’s happening to Meghan, they can realise: if this can happen to her and if it could be so crushing and humiliating to her, I can face up to how that sort of thing makes me feel.”
“We shouldn’t internalise the idea that we’re not supposed to feel vulnerable, we’re not supposed to get upset, and we should have people around us that we can confide in, or we can be open with. Otherwise, it’s incredibly corrosive.”
“[Palace officials] clearly very soon did not welcome a mixed race woman marrying into the Royal Family… There has got to be very serious reflection. They need to look at some of the people that work at Buckingham Palace.”
“I don’t think they necessarily need to get into a tit for tat publicly but they do need to think hard about some of the attitudes of the courtiers, the aides the advisers who are in Buckingham Palace because it is clear that on that level they didn’t adjust well to having a mixed-race woman marry into the Royal Family.”
“[The media want to] tear down a woman for no apparent reason.”
Whilst the brain of Britain that isn’t Miss Abbott’s influence in this matter will likely not go far, elsewhere in the Guardian this morning, the paper’s Ben Quinn reported that Gloria Allred, a lawyer for some of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims, “has suggested that Buckingham Palace’s plans to examine bullying allegations against the Duchess of Sussex are a “calculated decision” to take the focus off Prince Andrew.”
Speaking of alleged bullying by the Duchess of Sussex specifically, Allred told the paper:
“Allegations about him are far worse than the allegations about Meghan Markle. Prince Andrew was a working royal when he became a friend of Jeffrey Epstein, who was a sexual predator… Prince Andrew is accused of much more than bullying or harassment in the workplace.”
“Why does Buckingham Palace not conduct an investigation and make a public statement condemning Prince Andrew for failing to provide what is requested to those who are seeking the whole truth and justice for the victims of crimes against children?”
“Why has Prince Andrew not been stripped of the royal titles that he enjoys, as has been the case for Meghan and Harry? He has certainly not brought dignity and respect to his work as a royal.”
“The investigation into Meghan Markle is a distraction, and it appears hypocritical under the circumstances. I have to wonder if it reflects a calculated decision to take the focus off of Prince Andrew.
“It is long overdue for the palace to change its priorities and announce that it is conducting its own investigation of Prince Andrew. In addition, it should immediately issue a statement condemning Prince Andrew for failing to provide full in-person cooperation in the ongoing criminal investigation by the United States justice department.”
Now, today, we join those calling for ‘Randy Andy’ to finally do the decent thing: Be a good boy and go to America and answer the FBI’s perfectly reasonable questions about your involvement with the mucky madam Ghislaine Maxwell and your conveniently croaked ‘bestie’ Jeffrey Epstein.
The MeGain & Randy Show – For months now, people have been asking of Diane Abbott: “Have you seen this woman?” Well, this morning she predictably resurfaced and stuck her gumboots into the fallout of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s disastrous interview with Oprah Winfrey.The MeGain & Randy Show – The “publicity shy” Duchess of Sussex (or Meghan Markle as she then was) used to be happy to hang around with publicity loving Lizzie Cundy. Whether she actually “ghosted” her former ‘friend’ and Piers Morgan is also debatable.
The confusion of the woman formerly known as Meghan Markle
Given ‘MeGain’ banged on about her friendship with Prince Andrew’s daughters prior to meeting Prince Harry in the Oprah interview, is there really any truth to her having never Googled the royal family or researched them with a view to seeking them out?
Did the then Meghan Markle really “ghost” her supposed chums Lizzie Cundy and Piers Morgan or are they both just getting rather carried away with their own attention seeking agendas?
Prior to marrying into the royal family and since, has ‘MeGain’ “organised pap shots” of herself?
Why did the Duchess of Sussex lie and claim she hadn’t met her half-sister in over 20 years when photographic evidence shows quite to the contrary 13 years ago?
Why didn’t the Duchess of Sussex simply show herself to be a bigger person and make amends with her own father instead of going to war on him? If she had simply behaved with dignity and made one less enemy, wouldn’t she have been perceived as a far better person?
Why is the Duchess of Sussex claiming that the royal family “silenced” her at the same time as repeatedly giving interviews to the international media and taking the dime of the hardly quiet Netflix and Spotify?
Why are the Duke and Duchess of Sussex now suggesting they were “cut of financially” by the royal family when they previously stated they “wanted to be financially independent”?
Why do ‘MeGain’ and her drip husband think they should be entitled to have the public pay for their security when they turned their backs on public duty for first “privacy” and then personal profit?
If ‘MeGain’ wanted such a “simple life,” why did she seek out a career first in acting and then get herself into a relationship with a member of the royal family?
Why, subsequently, did this woman with a desire for “ordinariness” then return to Los Angeles and sign deals with the likes of Disney, Netflix and Spotify?
Has ‘MeGain’ ever used body doubles of herself and her son, Archie?
Did the Duchess of Sussex make up that she had already been married to Prince Harry for three days when she walked down the aisle on 19th May 2018?
How many times has ‘MeGain’ actually been married? Twice or three times?
The MeGain & Randy Show – The Duchess of Sussex’s claim that she hadn’t seen her half-sister Samantha Markle in 20 years has been proven to be a lie by fact of this photograph.The MeGain & Randy Show – The Duchess of Sussex also stands accused of organising paparazzi to take photographs of her, yet hypocritically still moans and bangs on about press intrusion.The MeGain & Randy Show – Ever since she came to public prominence, social media has been awash with rumours about the Duchess of Sussex and her use of body doubles and some go further even and remarkably suggest she faked her pregnancy even.The MeGain & Randy Show – Elsehwere on social media, this image of graffiti that read “Prince Andew is still a nonce” trended. Contrary to what many suggest, however, it is quite possible to actually dislike the behaviour of both the Duchess of Sussex and Duke of York as the two are not mutually connected.The MeGain & Randy Show – Those “in the know” continue to question when Meghan Markle first met Prince Andrew and what went on between them prior to her marriage to the alleged sexual abuser’s nephew.
EXCLUSIVE – “Nationally important” Grade II* listed Berkshire mansion in 130 acres for sale for £26 million; its interior is yet to be renovated
A Grade II* listed building capable of being reinstated as one of Britain’s finest country houses has just been placed on the market for £26 million.
Benham Park – formerly known as Benham Vallence – at Marsh Benham, near Newbury comes with around 130 acres of Grade II listed Capability Brown (1716 – 1783) designed parkland and currently extends to 27,620 square foot. It has planning permission in place to either revert to a truly epic single family mansion or to convert into a 100 bedroom ‘wellness centre’ to rival Champneys in Hertfordshire and Clinique La Prairie in Switzerland. The schemes proposed would provide between 50,000 and 140,000 square foot of accommodation and, already, businessmen Harry Marriott and Michael Fresson, owners since 2011, have restored the exterior of the building along with its gardens and park.
Built at the behest of the nobleman William Craven (1738 – 1791) to designs of the Fulham born architect Henry Holland (1745 – 1806) in 1774 – 1775, this fine neoclassical house was constructed from Bath stone and later altered by the extremely wealthy Sutton baronets during their tenure in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The estate was sold for £1 million to the innovative computer manufacturers Norsk Data in 1983 and remained in the firm’s ownership until it was dissolved in 1992. It then became the offices of other technology companies until again being placed for sale for £6 million in 2010.
Benham Park in the era when it was used as offices; the modern buildings have now been demolished and the car park landscaped
The main mansion prior to renovation of its exterior
A view from another angle (after external renovation)
From the lake
And from its imposing entrance
One of several entrances to the estate
Another set of impressive gates
Should a buyer use the existing designs for a residential scheme, they would find themselves owning a house that would not only come with 12 reception rooms and 29 bedroom suites, but also one with a sports complex, a sculpture gallery, a 40-seat cinema and garaging for 50 cars. Aside from an existing 5-bedroom mill house on the estate’s 10 acre lake and a gate lodge, the proposals would add a further 8 additional ancillary houses also.
Of Benham Park, Crispin Holborow of selling agent Savills commented:
“[This] is a nationally important stately home so its sale presents a very exciting proposition for a future owner to oversee its transformation. The prospect of restoring a property of such magnificent proportions with excellent access to London has not arisen for many years, and we expect interest from potential buyers for either its reinstatement as a significant country residence or its repurpose into a world leading wellness centre”.
Those looking to extend the compound further have the option to purchase two separately owned properties that were formerly part of the estate. A house known as ‘Greenhouses’, for sale with Savills, is offered for £1.3 million and comes with 1.47 acres of land whilst Mill Bank House, which stands in 2 acres, is on the market through Strutt & Parker.
The Numbers – Benham Park
1771 – 1774
William Craven, 6th Baron Craven paid Capability Brown £7,150 for works to the house and grounds. This sum is the equivalent of £989,000 today ($1.3 million, €1.1 million or درهم4.7 million).
1982
Sold to Norsk Data for £1 million (the equivalent of £3.2 million, $4.1 million, €3.7 million or درهم15.1 million today) by Sir Richard Sutton (born 1937).
2010
Placed on the market for £6 million ($7.7 million, €6.9 million or درهم28.3 million).
2011
Sold to Harry Marriott and Michael Fresson for £5 million ($6.4 million, €5.7 million or درهم23.6 million).
2017
Benham Park placed on the market for £26 million ($33.4 million, €29.9 million or درهم123 million).
Separately owned estate houses
Mill Bank House – On the market for £1.4 million ($1.8 million, €1.6 million or درهم6.6 million).
Greenhouses – On the market for £1.3 million ($1.7 million, €1.5 million or درهم6.1 million).
Classically proportioned Wiltshire village house for sale; it’ll supposedly appeal to “your typical wealthy Briton” (whatever that might mean)
Primarily built between 1620 and 1760, a classically proportioned four-storey house in the Wiltshire village of Seend has been placed on the market this week for £4.5 million ($5.8 million, €5.2 million or درهم21.2 million).
Of ashlar and rendered stone construction and built for Mary, Dowager Duchess of Somerset in 1760, Seend Park (or ‘Seend Green House’ as it was previously known) was owned by the now retired judge Sir Mathew Thorpe from 1971 and since 1990 by its current owners. It has been Grade II listed since 1962 and was somewhat unkindly described by the architectural scholar Sir Nikolaus Pevsner CBE FBA (1902 – 1983) as: “So absolutely plain… that it looks like an institution”.
The main house, which has been modernised in recent years and extends to 11,357 square foot, includes 4 reception rooms, 11 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms. It has many original features and in addition there is a 4 bedroom, 1,994 square foot lodge and a 3,630 square foot coach house within the property’s 26.4-acre grounds.
Of the pint-sized mini estate, James Mackenzie of selling agents Strutt & Parker told The Times: “Architecturally, the house will attract your typical wealthy Briton”.
Conversion of “one of Europe’s first purpose-built office blocks” for sale; £3.5 million Grade II* listed Georgian house in Bath literally straddles a canal
Some people dream of living beside a lake or a river, but a Grade II* listed detached property recently placed on the market in Bath gives anyone with £3.5 million ($4.2 million, €4.5 million or درهم16.6 million) to spare the opportunity to literally live above a man-made waterway.
Cleveland House – originally known as Canal House – stands on top of a bridge and tunnel that straddles the Kennet & Avon Canal and in spite of being built as “one of Europe’s first purpose-built office blocks” has a look that is very much “Georgian domestic”. The limestone ashlar, three-storey building was constructed to the designs of one of Bath’s greatest architects, John Pinch the Elder (1769 – 1827), between 1817 and 1820 and served as the canal’s management headquarters until 1864.
Converted next to residential usage and then requisitioned for government use in 1939, the building again reverted to office usage. A property developer named Trevor Osborne then acquired it and commenced a transformation into what is described as “a truly exceptional Bath residence” in 2015.
Aside from 7,218 square foot of accommodation, including 5 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms, what makes Cleveland House truly remarkable are its entertaining spaces. The 30-foot long former company boardroom, complete with a 20-foot high newly repainted domed ceiling, is now the house’s drawing room and in addition there is a formal dining room and a library. Whilst a fully prepared cinema room and wine cellars are housed in the basement, other points of note are a large, newly built family room, a first floor roof terrace and garaging for four cars.
Mill Bank House – On the market for £1.4 million ($1.8 million, €1.6 million or درهم6.6 million).
Greenhouses – On the market for £1.3 million ($1.7 million, €1.5 million or درهم6.1 million).
