Tag: mansion

Cash Consuming Carbisdale Castle

Vast Scots Baronial mansion Carbisdale Castle – nicknamed ‘The Castle of Spite’ – goes on sale for sum 97% lower than it cost to build in the 1900s and 25% less than the sum spent on its 2010 renovation

A mega-mansion termed “the last grand castle built in Scotland” that cost £62 million to build between 1905 and 1917 has gone on sale for just £1.5 million in spite of developers having spent a small fortune on its renovation to date.

Extending to 41,433 square foot, category B-listed Carbisdale Castle in Sutherland is gargantuan in size compared to an average 818 square foot British home. Its construction began after the resolution of the then Dowager Duchess of Sutherland, Mary Caroline’s dispute with her late husband’s children from his first marriage, but ultimately the palatial pad was not completed until five years after her own demise.

Cash Consuming Carbisdale Castle – Mary Caroline, Dowager Duchess of Sutherland (1848 – 1912) and George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, His Grace The 3rd Duke of Sutherland (1828 – 1892). According to one source, the “deviant duchess” enjoyed an astonishing income of £100,000 per year until her death and married her third husband, a politician and businessman, Sir Albert Rollit (1842 – 1922) in 1896.

Cash Consuming Carbisdale Castle – The castle was used as a youth hostel for 66 years from 1945 until 2011.

Cash Consuming Carbisdale Castle – Its vast size made it ideal for institutional usage.

Featured on these pages in August 2014 and April 2016 after it was placed for sale after being used for 70 years as a youth hostel, the allegedly haunted building was sold to a London based investment firm now known as Faro Capital after being reduced in price from £1.2 million to £900,000. At this stage, £2 million had already been spent on renovations due to extensive water damage in 2010.

In the years since, Faro Capital have cleared Carbisdale Castle of its institutional contents and put in place plans to return the structure to use as what they term a “world class single family residence.” Now, of its current condition, a surveyor recently remarked: “The building offers a superb blank canvas,” according to current selling agents Strutt & Parker.

Speaking to The Scotsman late last week, Robert McCulloch for Strutt & Parker remarked of the sale of Carbisdale Castle:

“Already there has been interest. The property is in a state of partial renovation so it lends itself to being either a private residence or a commercial venture.”

“There has been interest in it as a hotel and also those who are interested in its charitable use. With its proximity to the North Coast 500 driving route and the rise in domestic tourism, I am sure people will see a lot of opportunity in this property.”

Carbisdale Castle, however, is still not without problems. Aside from its vast size and the associated costs of maintaining such a white elephant, it comes with a mere 20 acres of land and that is split into various spread-apart parcels. Thus, for a likely oligarch or business titan buyer – who will have to be someone with very, very deep pockets – privacy and security will remain an obvious issue.

Given his alleged penchant for burning £50 notes in front of the homeless, perhaps ‘Costly Carrie’ Symonds could persuade Boris Johnson to put in a bid. There’d be plenty to keep her busy after all and acres of wall space for her chum Lulu Lytle to cover in gold and gaud.

The Names & Numbers – Carbisdale Castle, Culrain, Ardgay, Sutherland, IV24 3DP, Scotland, United Kingdom

May 2021 – Placed for sale with Strutt & Parker for £1.5 million ($2.1 million, €1.7 million or درهم7.6 million) or the equivalent of just £36.20 per square foot.

2017 onwards – Of progress since purchase by Faro Capital, Strutt & Parker remarked in 2021: “The current position is that, since 2017, significant works have been carried out to the castle pursuant with the approved consent but the works required to complete the project have been put on hold.”

“This provides the flexibility to purchasers to either complete the development of the castle as a private home, or seek to vary the Listed Building Consent to include the development of the building for commercial use or the subdivision of the building as residential apartments.”

“The intention of the project was to combine all of the decorative features and grandeur of the Dowager Duchess of Sutherland’s original creation with services, systems, fixtures, fittings and layout of the highest contemporary quality together with reorganisation of the existing accommodation to suit 21st Century living and the development of a spa and swimming pool as complementary features.”

Works to Carbisdale Castle have included the stripping down of the building, the removal of redundant items, the excavation of a proposed swimming pool and the replacement of heating systems and lighting circuits.

September 2016 – Sold to Sloane Street, London based Faro Capital Limited (formerly known as the FCFM Group), who planned to turn the building into a “world class residence.”

April 2016 – Reduced in price to just £900,000 ($1.2 million, €1 million or درهم4.6 million) or the equivalent of just £21.70 per square foot.

August 2014 – Offered for sale by Savills for £1.2 million ($1.7 million, €1.4 million or درهم6.1 million).

2010 onwards – After extensive water damage caused by frost, £2 million ($2.8 million, €2.3 million or درهم10.1 million) is spent on renovations.

1945 – 2011 – Used as a youth hostel.

1944 – Gifted to the Scottish Youth Hostel Association (SYHA) by Colonel Salvesen’s son, Captain Harold Salvesen.

22^nd June 1941 – Used as the location to host the Carbisdale Conference at which it was “agreed that that the Russian forces, should they enter Norwegian territory, would not stay there after the war.”

1933 – Sold to Norwegian shipping and whaling tycoon Colonel Theodore Salvesen and used during the Second World War as a “safe refuge” for King Haakon VII of Norway and Crown Prince Olav, later King Olav V, during the Nazi occupation of Norway.

1905 – 1917 – Carbisdale Castle is built for Mary Caroline, Dowager Duchess of Sutherland (1848 – 1912) at a supposed cost of £500,000 or the equivalent of £62 million ($86 million, €71 million or درهم315 million) following the death of her husband, George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, His Grace The 3^rd Duke of Sutherland (1828 – 1892).

The Dowager Duchess (better known as ‘Duchess Blair’) had been jailed for 6 weeks after being found guilty of stealing documents during her divorce and when that was eventually finalised, it was agreed that a castle would be built for her just outside the Sutherland lands.

She intentionally chose – supposedly to spite them – a prominent hillside site visible from the very railway line the Sutherlands used to travel south and insisted that the clock tower of the house only had three clock faces. On the side facing Sutherland, the face is blank as “the Duchess did not wish to give the time of day to her former relatives.” As a result, Carbisdale Castle gained the nickname ‘The Castle of Spite.’

May 2, 2021
Epstein Gets The Wrecking Ball

Wrecking ball sent in to destroy Prince Andrew’s paedo bestie Jeffrey Epstein’s £13.2 million Palm Beach mucky mansion

Today, especially for ‘Rod’ from Australia, the reader who has left more comments than anyone else in the 9 years since The Steeple Times launched in 2012, we can report that a wrecking ball was sent in yesterday to forever rid the world of Jeffrey Epstein’s mucky mansion in Palm Beach.

Whilst Epstein’s palatial New York residence – sold for circa £36 million in March – will no doubt be restored in a graceful fashion (after a visit perhaps for a blessing by a priest or a rabbi), his Florida home at 358 El Brillo Way is being “wiped off the map of Palm Beach” according to the purchaser Todd Michael Glaser’s representative, real estate broker Lawrence A. Moens.

Of his plans for the property, Glaser told The Real Deal last November that he’d be constructing a “14,000 square foot Art Moderne mansion” on the site and added: “Palm Beach is going to be very happy [when] it’s gone.”

With permits issued for destruction last week, demolition crews from BG Group of Delray Beach “used heavy equipment to began pulling down the walls of the mansion. They tore into it again and again, starting on the east side – where vines still clung to the walls, blooming with flowers that were soon crushed – and eating through the house toward the waterfront,” the Palm Beach Daily News reported.

“By noon, debris littered the ground, as broken windows pierced walls that remained standing. And still intact was much of the second-floor balcony that overlooked the water, connected to the pool patio below by a graceful spiral staircase.”

Speaking after hearing of the wrecking ball’s swing yesterday, Michael Reiter, the former Palm Beach police chief who first led investigations into Epstein’s activities at the house, commented:

“The former owner of this house did unmeasurable damage to the lives of countless children and was able to corrupt the legal system to the point that the courts have called it a national disgrace. While it is critical that we learn from this tragedy, it is nearly as important that we follow with doing everything possible to erase any connection of him from our community.”

Situated on a plot of about an acre, 358 El Brillo Way had been enthusiastically marketed by Kerry Warwick of The Corcoran Group as a “beautiful John Volk lakefront residence located in the prestigious Estate Section… [with] westerly views of Tarpon Island and Everglades Island.” Unsurprisingly, the sales associate made no mention of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s monstrous activities whilst living there.

Epstein Gets Wrecking Ball – 358 El Brillo Way seen from the waterfront. Aside from the wraparound balconies, the property also included an outdoor swimming pool and docking facilities.

The Names & Numbers – 358 El Brillo Way, Palm Beach, Florida, FL 33480, United States of America

19^th April 2021 – Demolition begins to make way for new build.

15^th March 2021 – Sold to Miami property developer Todd Michael Glaser for £13.2 million ($18.5 million, €15.3 million or درهم67.9 million).

July 2020 – Listed for sale for £15.726 million ($21.995 million, €18.227 million or درهم80.777 million) by Kerry Warwick of The Corcoran Group. The property was described as standing on a lot of 36,050 square feet and featured a 14,223 square foot “white box” structure with 6 bedrooms, 8 bathrooms and a 3-car garage.

August 2019 – 12 News reported that the gates to the house had been vandalised by someone who tagged them “@Leroy” in large red letters.

2011 – Ownership transferred by Epstein from his name to an entity named Laurel Inc., a company registered in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

1990 – Sold to Jeffrey Epstein for £1.8 million ($2.5 million, €2.1 million or درهم9.2 million) and “significantly remodeled.”

1952 – Built to the designs of Austrian born John L. Volk (1901 – 1984) “in West Indies-style architecture.”

The wrecking ball was merciless yesterday as it tore down Jeffrey Epstein’s former home. Ridding the world of this house of horrors will not upset anyone other than perhaps his ex-lover associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

358 El Brillo Way will most definitely not be remembered as an architectural treasure.

An aerial shot of the property illustrates just why this scene of multiple abuse of underage girls truly deserved the wrecking ball.

This swimming pool was a place where Ghislaine Maxwell allegedly took many filthy photographs.

A view from above looking out across the water.

The property is located in a ritzy waterfront district of Palm Beach, Florida.

After the evil paedophile Jeffrey Epstein died and before the wrecking ball arrived, the gates of the property became prone to visits from vigilantes and graffiti artists. On one occasion, quite appropriately, a tag that read: “Gone but not forgiven” was added.

April 20, 2021
Flattening a Fountain

Boxy “Town Hall classical style” dictator crib ‘The Fountains’ on infamous The Bishops Avenue, N2 for sale for £3 million less than it listed for in 2012; this time it is destined for flattening

When we featured a 12,602 square foot house on The Bishops Avenue – a street often nicknamed ‘Billionaire’s Row” and a place where the Greek fashion tycoon Aristos Constantinou was shot dead on New Year’s Day 1985 with six bullets – in May 2015, it was for sale for £15 million.

Standing on a 0.65-acre plot, ‘The Fountains’ – originally named ‘Deans Cote’ and more simply known as just ‘39 The Bishops Avenue’ – has simply been left to rot in the time since and has now been placed on the market, but this time listed as just “land for sale.”

Gone, here, are the day of deviant dignitaries and dodgy despots entertaining in this house – built in 1926 and mocked more recently as “very boxy” and of a “Town Hall classical style” – and now, though much of the same furniture remains six years later, Knight Frank offer it for £12 million.

In spite of the £3 million reduction at a time when prices for houses with land has elsewhere risen, the seller has also spent time and money to gain planning permission to flatten the house and replace it with a larger 23,695 square foot “grand new build residence.”

Of the proposals, Knight Frank remark:

“The designs elevate the quality of the internal accommodation, offering increased lateral volume and a luxurious sense of space throughout.”

“The proposed residence comprises six-bedroom suites and a new lower ground floor with staff quarters and a range of additional amenity and leisure facilities including swimming pool, gym, cinema, catering kitchen and secure car parking.”

“The proposed landscaping for the private rear gardens includes a sensitive restoration of the historic water feature and pavilion.”

In 2014, whilst the Guardian revealed that of the 66 houses on the street, 16 were derelict and rotting, local estate agent Trevor Abrahmsohn bragged of it in 2006: “Among the wealthiest circles in the world, The Bishops Avenue is better known than Buckingham Palace. It’s a significant demonstration of status. If you live there, you don’t need to explain to people that you’re rich.”

When the house was marketed in 2012, Knight Frank made specific reference to the house having “majilis” or “private places where guests, usually male, are received and entertained.” Goodness knows, however, who was received in this airport sized room, but it certainly looks like a place that would have suited Saddam Hussein a treat.

The Numbers – The Fountains, 39 The Bishops Avenue, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London, N2 0BA, United Kingdom

April 2021 – Offered for sale for £12 million ($16.6 million, €13.9 million or درهم61 million) with planning permission to demolish and replace through Knight Frank’s Hampstead office.

May 2015 – Offered for sale for £15 million ($20.8 million, €17.3 million or درهم76.2 million) through Knight Frank and Glentree on behalf of executors of persons unnamed.

Today, instead of lauding its gaudy past, Knight Frank share this mockup of an even larger mansion that could replace the existing 1926-built structure.

Another mockup shows the proposed replacement from the rear.

The current entrance hall is somewhere the 1980s soap opera ‘Dynasty’s’ Alexis Colby (played by Joan Collins) would certainly feel in ecstasy.

The entrance is dominated by balconies and plenty of gold paint.

Acres of marble were used throughout the existing structure.

There’s plenty of filthy shagpile too.

The dining room today retains the very same table that was there in 2015. It’s certainly got enough seats for even the likes of Mohammed bin Salman even to host an interrogation with David Cameron and Lex Greenskill.

A corridor leading to the main “majali.”

The “majali” has been cleared of furnishings, but retains a few tacky chandeliers and columns.

The decrepit kitchen is an area that would not exactly appeal to Nigella Lawson or Delia Smith even.

The master bedroom has fallen into decline and features a carpet dotted with brown stains and a filthy looking pair of beds.

Another bedroom resembles something out of an OAP home.

The master bathroom has retained its frankly hideous murals.

The “majalis” from above with an overgrown ‘patio’ separating them.

The garden is somewhat neglected, but not nearly in as bad a condition as those of some of the neighbouring mansions.

Supposedly, these fountains are of historic value. At the moment, they’re just a tip.

The existing floor plans.

The proposed plans for the ground and basement levels include a new swimming pool, gym and cinema room.

Plans for the first floor and a new second floor.

Barratt Homes on steroids – The Fountains, 39 The Bishops Avenue, London, N2 as it was in 2015.

April 18, 2021
Monster of the Moment – Rebecca Sabben-Clare QC

Barrister Rebecca Sabben-Clare’s attempt to muzzle the media by citing the Cliff Richard case rather than muzzling her snarling dog shows her to be an utter disgrace

Those close to the seemingly supposedly “exceptionally bright” yet plainly actually just irresponsible barrister Rebecca Sabben-Clare QC ludicrously claimed Toby, her “snarling” terrier-cross, to be “sweet” and a “friendly pet” in the wake of it savagely causing the death of a “defenceless” seal nicknamed ‘Freddie Mercury.’

Just like giraffe slayer Merelize van der Merwe, who attempted to justify being gifted the “opportunity” to mercilessly slay an innocent giraffe by her husband for Valentine’s Day, wealthy and “fearless” Sabben-Clare opted to try to silence those outraged in the wake of the incident rather than taking responsibility for what the beast she owns had done.

A selfish self-preservationist rather than a seal conservationist, Sabben-Clare – who lives in a £6 million ‘mansion’ near the scene of her dastardly dog’s sick savagery – didn’t stick around for long to help at the scene of the mauling and later pompously declared: “I left for my own safety and that of my dog… There was nothing that I could do.”

Meanwhile, immediately concerned for her own reputation, Sabben-Clare “instructed lawyers Schillings to bully the media into not naming her.” Of this anything but selfless course of action, Guido Fawkes remarked: “She cited the Cliff Richard case to invoke a supposed right-to-privacy in an attempt to keep her name out of the story.”

Going further, Guido Fawkes continued:

“Rebecca Sabben-Clare set legal dogs Schillings on the press yesterday afternoon to try and cover-up her name, when that didn’t work after the Mail Online named her, Rebecca Sabben-Clare switched tactics and cooperated with a soft-soap PR puff piece telling the Standard:”

“I am heartbroken by this terrible accident. As an animal lover, I fully understand the dismay that has been expressed. I apologise unreservedly for what happened. In hindsight I wish, of course, that the dog had been on a lead but at the time that did not seem necessary.”

“Yet another example of the rich and powerful trying it on with lawyers to muzzle the press. Shame Rebecca Sabben-Clare QC didn’t muzzle her dog. Didn’t work and Schillings have lost again…”

Continuing further of this rotten ratbag, Roll On Friday yesterday reported that Sabben-Clare’s chambers, 7 King’s Bench Walk, had issued a statement about the totally avoidable yet utterly sick incident involving a dangerous dog that should now be put down. Their unnamed spokesman attempted to distance themselves and remarked:

“7 King’s Bench Walk is deeply saddened by the death of a seal by the side of the Thames following an incident involving a self-employed member of Chambers. This was a tragic accident which unfortunately resulted in the death of a lovely wild animal… Please be aware that Rebecca took her own advice in relation to this matter.”

One clear point arises out of this debacle that need never have happened: If Rebecca Sabben-Clare had kept her dog on a lead and controlled it in an area where there were supposedly notices about the seal’s presence, this incident would not have occurred. She should now face the consequences and her dog ought, at the very, be least taken away from her before it harms another animal or a child even.

#NameAndShame #RebeccaSabbenClare #Freddie #JusticeForFreddie

To join the 44,400 people who’ve already supported our Change.org petition seeking to get the giraffe slayer Merelize van der Merwe banned from Facebook, please click here.

Responding on Twitter, editor of ‘The Steeple Times’ Matthew Steeples remarked: “Rebecca Sabben-Clare QC, whose dog savaged an innocent seal because she let it run wild, should hand herself in at her nearest police station and she should hand her bloody dog in also. Shame on her for thinking she can PR her way out of this. The woman is a disgrace.”

Furthering her PR campaign, one of Rebecca Sabben-Clare’s neighbours later arrogantly blubbed: “He has no history of this and is super sweet with our dogs. I don’t know the breed. But she (Rebecca) is a nice person. It could happen to anyone.” The injuries to the now tragically deceased seal, Freddie Mercury, prove quite to the contrary.

March 27, 2021
Houses of Horror SOLD
Houses of Horror SOLD – As New York residence of croaked paedo Jeffrey Epstein goes into contract for 192% less than was asked for it, London home of mucky madam Ghislaine Maxwell supposedly nears sale for 400% more than she paid for it also

Plainly two sets of buyers in London and New York are prepared to set aside the horrors that went on in the respective residences of Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein given both are now “pending sale.”

In London’s ritzy Belgravia, the late ‘Bouncing Czech’ Robert Maxwell’s daughter’s somewhat tired, red and white painted mews house opposite Kevin Moran’s Nag’s Head pub is about to exchange contracts for circa £1.45 million, her lawyers announced this week. Miss Maxwell paid £290,000 for the property in 1997.

Meanwhile, in New York’s Lenox Hill, the 28,000 square foot, 7-floor pad where Jeffrey Epstein hosted grubby gatherings with the likes of the Duke of York and Woody Allen has gone into contract for “roughly” £36 million. Mr Epstein allegedly ‘bought’ the mansion for £14.5 million from his billionaire chum Leslie Wexner in 1998, though some claim the transfer to have been somewhat more of a gift than a purchase.

Whilst some real estate brokers claimed some “clients were absolutely appalled at the idea of buying a house owned by Epstein” – with one reporting: “I had clients hang up on me, angry that I even suggested it” – another concluded: “The deal is great for New York. It’s a low number, but that could be because of Covid and not Epstein. The buyer is a savvy person who got a good deal and will resell.” Going further, another broker concluded: “They could get it blessed by a rabbi and a priest.”

Meanwhile, elsewhere on Change.org, crusading author, sex abuse survivor and advocate Kirby Sommers’ petition seeking “no bail for Ghislaine Maxwell” reached 944 signatures this morning. Help it pass 1,000 and achieve a chance of success with Judge Alison J. Nathan by clicking here.

Houses of Horror SOLD – Ghislaine Maxwell leans on a doorway on the landing of her Kinnerton Street mews house as ‘Randy Andy’ the Duke of York poses next to the bannister with his chubby, grubby fingers around the waist of the then Virgina Roberts (now married and known as Virginia Giuffre) on 10th March 2001.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGnUxiOADzY

The Names & Numbers – 44 Kinnerton Street (AKA ‘Mucky Madam Ghislaine Maxwell’s Bathtub Bonk Pad’), Belgravia, London, SW1X 8ES, United Kingdom
- March 2021 – Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyer offered cash from the “pending sale of her £1.45 million ($2 million, €1.68 million or درهم37 million)” home as part of a package when they sought bail for the mucky madam for a third time.
- December 2020 – Members of the Maxwell family attempted to raise finance on the property but are not successful.
- August 2019 – According to Insider, a woman with “long hair [who] appeared to be in her 60s” was seen entering the property. She “denied that the socialite owns or lived in the house, claiming instead that the elusive socialite lived elsewhere down the street.”
- 10^th March 2001 – Prince Andrew allegedly had sexual relations with 17-year-old Virginia Roberts in a bathroom in the property. He continues to deny this occurred whilst claiming that a photograph of himself with Miss Roberts and Ghislaine Maxwell on the first floor of building is a fake also.
- 22^nd January 1997 – Ghislaine Maxwell paid £290,000 ($401,000, €337,000 or درهم5 million) for the three-storey leasehold mews house. It is situated at the heart of the Duke of Westminster’s Grosvenor Estate.
Houses of Horror SOLD – Top: Jeffrey Epstein pictured on the telephone in his decidedly kitsch ‘Bet Lynch-esque’ mansion on date unknown. Bottom: Prince Andrew pictured at the door of the residence waving as two young ladies and Jeffrey Epstein depart in December 2010.

The Names & Numbers – Herbert Straus House (AKA ‘Jeffrey Epstein’s Paedo Palace’), 9 East 71^st Street, Lenox Hill, New York, NY 10021, United States of America
- March 2021 – “In contract to sell for roughly £36 million ($50 million, €42 million or درهم184 million)” according to The Times, a sum 192% lower than the 2020 asking price.
- February 2021 – Price reduced to £47 million ($65 million, €55 million or درهم239 million).
- September 2020 – Placed for sale for £69 million ($88 million, €74 million or درهم351 million) through the Modlin Group as the ‘Herbert N. Strauss Mansion’ in order to attempt to disassociate it from Jeffrey Esptein.
- August 2019 – Valued in Epstein’s will at £40 million ($56 million, €47 million or درهم206 million)
- 1998 – “Sold” to Jeffrey Epstein for £14.5 million ($20 million, €16.8 million or درهم5 million), according to the New York Post, by his associate Leslie Wexner.
Houses of Horror SOLD 2021 – If it hadn’t been owned by Jeffrey Epstein, the ‘Herbert Straus House’ would not have acquired the nickname ‘Paedo Palace.’ The 40-room mansion, with interiors by Albert Pinto, would otherwise have been quite desirable and likely would have sold for a much higher sum.

Houses of Horror SOLD 2021 – Prior to sale, Jeffrey Epstein’s initials were quite sensibly removed from the main entrance.

Houses of Horror SOLD 2021 – Images of the house shared by realtors showed the best of the property. They did not include the grubby rooms – complete with spy holes – where Epstein and Maxwell were able to secretly watch sexual abuse by famous people they supposedly wished to blackmail.
March 6, 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
Justice for Stuart Lubbock 2021

As it is revealed that the father of Stuart Lubbock, murdered in Michael Barrymore’s swimming pool in 2001, has terminal cancer, it is time that the disgraced entertainer finally told the truth

This morning, the Mirror exclusively revealed the extremely sad news that Terry Lubbock, the father of a 31-year-old who was murdered in a swimming pool at the home of Michael Barrymore in 2001, has terminal cancer.

Speaking to the paper of his personal battle and belief that a new inquest into the violent sexual assault and slaying of Stuart Lubbock, courageous campaigner Terry Lubbock remarked:

“It’s a killer and I’m only going to be around for a few months. They can’t do anything about it, they say it has spread too far around my body.”

“We have got to get another inquest, then I will feel as though my job has been done. Then I can rest in peace.”

“I’ve given it my best shot, it’s taken me twenty years to start to get some kind of justice. I think it’s going to come.”

Last year, Essex Police and CrimeStoppers issued a new appeal for information at which time they stated: “19 years – still no justice; Help us get answers for Stuart; Someone knows.” Yesterday, going further, Detective Chief Inspector Stephen Jennings added:

“I believe that [Stuart] was raped and murdered that night. One or more of those party-goers are responsible for that serious sexual assault on Stuart Lubbock.”

“We remain committed to this investigation and continue to appeal for information leading to arrest and conviction in relation to the rape and murder of Stuart Lubbock.”

“Nine people went to the party at Michael Barrymore’s house, but only one of them – Stuart – ended up being violently sexually assaulted and murdered.”

“We know not everyone at that party was responsible for what happened, but someone was. We also know that not everyone at that party may know what happened, but someone does.”

“We want the people who do have information to come forward and talk to us – it is never too late to do the right thing and give the Lubbock family the answers and justice they have waited so long to have.”

Anyone with information can call the CrimeStoppers charity anonymously on 0800 555 111 or Essex Police on 101.

#justice4stuart

Pictured top: A drunken Michael Barrymore rolling around on the floor with the equally sozzled convicted racist bigot Marie-Claire, Baroness von Alvensleben and pictured also during a visit to a police station.

Justice for Stuart Lubbock – Father of two Stuart Lubbock had a bright life ahead of him when he was murdered. It is time justice was finally served on the person(s) responsible for his untimely murder.

Justice for Stuart Lubbock – The scene of the murder of Stuart Lubbock – 4 Beaumont Park Drive, Roydon, Harlow, Essex, CM19 5HB.

Justice for Stuart Lubbock – In 2020, Essex Police launched a fresh investigation into the murder of Stuart Lubbock in the wake of Channel 4’s ‘Barrymore: The Body In The Pool’ documentary.

Justice for Stuart Lubbock – The people who need to tell the truth about what happened at Michael Barrymore’s home on 31^st March 2001

Michael Parker (AKA Michael Barrymore) – Allegedly loudly said: “I need a f**k” in a taxi as he left the Millennium Nightclub to return to his home, the scene of the death of Stuart Lubbock. Barrymore later lied to a coroner’s court about facilitating drug taking at his house on the night in question also. He claimed to have been first to have discovered the body of Stuart Lubbock at 5.45am, called his manager Mike Brown before the ambulance arrived and then left the premises. He admits that was “wrong” and also bizarrely told Piers Morgan that in spite of “knowing others were hiding secrets about what happened to Mr. Lubbock” that “I am not going to say their names. I just hope they are brave enough to come forward one day.”

Mike Brown – Agent of Michael Barrymore. Called to the property before emergency services arrived.

Kelly Campbell – Had met Michael Barrymore for the first time on the night of the incident. Claimed not to have been aware of what happened.

James Futters (sometimes spelt ‘Futers’) – A paper boy turned chef. Described as “a local from the village” and a “friend and neighbour of Barrymore.” Claimed to have been the first to discover the body with Simon Shaw and stated: “[It was not] Michael Barrymore and not Jonathan Kenney [who found him].” Later, of him the Evening Standard reported: “Barrymore offered James Futters a white powder on his finger saying: ‘Do you want to try this?’ Mr Futters told the inquest that he leaned forward and licked the powder.”

Claire Jones – Then aged 17. Had met Michael Barrymore for the first time on the night of the incident. Claimed not to have been aware of what happened but told the police that she “saw Barrymore rummaging through drawers and changing his clothes before police arrived. When he left the house, he had a ‘bundle of material’ under his arm,” according to the Evening Standard. “She added: ‘Jonathan (Kenney) was rushing through the bungalow before the ambulance and police arrived. I got the impression he was hiding something.’”

Jonathan Kenney – Estate agent, drag queen and Michael Barrymore’s then lover; later arrested on suspicion of murder but never charged; known for having a “record of violence.” Claimed to have been the first to have discovered the body.

Justin Merritt – A dustman from Essex. Later arrested on suspicion of murder but never charged. Later paid £30,000 by the News of the World for an interview in which he stated Barrymore had “rubbed cocaine on Stuart Lubbock’s lips shortly before he died.”

Kylie Merritt – Sister of Justin Merritt. She also alleged Barrymore “rubbed cocaine on Stuart Lubbock’s lips shortly before he died” (curiously in the wake of her brother selling his account of the night).

Simon Shaw – Described as “a local from the village.” Michael Barrymore supposedly “ran off” to Mr. Shaw’s house to “buy himself thinking time [for two hours] before he was questioned by the police [at 7.49am].”

In addition, others, who’ve never been identified could also have possibly been present. If they were, they should come forward or be named by those listed above.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=qV8UnR8x3vM&feature=emb_logo

February 10, 2021
A Christmas Nightmare

“Mini castle” in Pennsylvania goes on sale in time for Christmas for 512% more than it sold for in 2000 in spite of its decoration being nightmare nasty

The most expensive property The Steeple Times featured in terms of price per square foot in 2020 was a 713 square foot one-bedroom pad in a development on the former Chelsea Barracks site in London, SW1.

Whilst that tiny and completely “lacking in room to swing a cat” space was ludicrously marketed at a sum of £3.5 million or £4,909 per square foot, for just £221,000 or £61 per square foot a buyer with the ability to see round a decorating disaster could bag themselves what agents Howard Hanna term a “mini castle” and “Victorian colonial” in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania.

Presented “Christmas ready” in spite of the fact it will likely languish on the market for months given how nightmare nasty it is inside, 26 Cloverdale Avenue (AKA ‘The Castle on Cloverdale Avenue’) was built in 1902. The 3,678 square foot house stands on a plot of 0.35 acres and includes 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, but what gets Howard Hanna going is the Venetian portico and balcony that they boldly claim is “envied by Juliet herself” even.

We’ll let the pictures of 26 Cloverdale Avenue speak for themselves, but of its location there’s not much to note. David Bowie recorded his first live album in Upper Darby in July 1974, but beyond that there’s nothing to attract anyone to a horror of a house that’s being promoted for 512% more than it sold for in 2000.

A Christmas Nightmare – The Numbers – 26 Cloverdale Avenue, Upper Darby, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, PA 19082, United States of America

December 2020 – Listed for sale in time for Christmas for £221,000 ($300,000, €246,000 or درهم1.1 million), a sum 512% higher than the sale price twenty years prior, through Howard Hanna Real Estate Services.

April 2000 – Sold for £36,000 ($49,000, €40,000 or درهم180,000).

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The sitting room has been tiled in a clinical fashion and is filled with leather seating you’d expect to see in the waiting room area of a brothel. The fireplace surround is, quite frankly, dreadful.

Whoever fitted the kitchen decided to plonk a three-tier open shelf in an odd position above the fridge. Plainly, given it is bloody hard to reach, nobody has or will ever use it.

Described as a “bonus room” (though what’s a “bonus” about it we cannot fathom), this space is set up as a home cinema. The owner’s decision to stencil “Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much” on the wall is equally curious.

The staging of the dining table with a Christmas cloth and tree won’t be of much help when the house is still on sale in July 2021.

That the agents decided that a metal device probably used for torture in a utility room was worth photographing speaks volumes.

The owners went to lengths to tuck in the sheets for this room’s photo session. The tiled flooring is especially welcoming, but any buyer will no doubt want to put in a bid for the tasteful bedroom set.

Another bedroom – with its nasty nets – looks like it could be in use by a hooker. The floors, after all, are easy to scrub.

Perhaps the internal front door with locks and a knocker is in place to ensure “clients” bang before entering.

Bizarrely in this room dedicated to Wonder Woman, somebody’s gone to town colouring in a few of the white tiles.

The rear decked area may appeal to rats and termites this Christmas, but it’s hardly an architectural triumph.

The agent belives this balcony is something “even Juliet would have envied,” but that’s about one of the only things about this train wreck of a house that she’d have got excited about in its current state.

There’s more chance of Chris Rea making it home for Christmas than someone buying this crib in the near future.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M48CDuzfgg

December 25, 2020
Pardoning Ghislaine

Odds of 3/1 emerge on Donald Trump pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell before 21^st January 2021 alongside Joe Exotic

Whilst Ladbrokes currently has odds of 2/1 on Donald Trump to “officially pardon himself in his first term” (i.e. before 21^st January 2021), this morning CalvinAyre.com reported that the odds of him freeing Ghislaine Maxwell from responsibility for her alleged crimes are currently 3/1 on the American betting exchange Bodog.

Suggesting the mucky madam “could ruin a lot of people’s day if she starts revealing uncomfortable facts” and adding that “Trump personally seems to like” her, CalvinAyre.com’s Derek Tonin argues that Maxwell is in the top “four Trump associates who may get a pardon for loyalty.” The other three number Julian Assange, Joe Exotic and Rudy Giuliani.

Whilst we are amongst those believing Trump’s repetition of “good wishes” to ‘Bouncing Bob’s’ deviant daughter in the summer were certainly a cryptic message to Maxwell about her future, surprisingly Tonin believes the top of the four will be Joe Exotic. Why? He concludes: “Because 2020 will forever be the year of the Tiger King.”

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Pardoning Ghislaine – Ironically, Jeffrey Epstein kept a “huge” stuffed tiger in the office of his “paedo palace” East 71st Street mansion in New York.

December 2, 2020
Thinking 2022

Event promoter bizarrely gives up on the coming New Year and begins promoting an event to welcome in 2022 instead

Whilst most of us are wishing 2020 would sink as fast as the Titanic, locked up Londoners surely would prefer to get through the coming New Year 2021 rather than already start worrying about New Year 2022.

For a firm named The Mansion London, however, this is not the case and rather prematurely, they are promoting a bash to welcome 2022 which they curiously claim the Evening Standard has already described as “one of the spookiest and biggest events around.”

Whilst associating New Year’s Eve with the spookiness of Halloween might itself seem a bit beyond wacky, the self-declared “best New Year’s Eve party in London” – for which tickets are priced from £24 for a “super early bird” to £150 per person for a “VIP table” seat – is being held not at some swanky West End joint, but instead in a “private venue” in the less salubrious Zone 2.

The Mansion London declare of their 2021 out, 2022 in bash: “[The] address will be sent to official ticket holders 48 hours before the night” and insist on a white dress code as they claim to “love expressive party animals.”

Going further, they then add: “An impressive clairvoyant will [also be on hand to] give free consultations all night so you [will] know exactly what to expect in 2022.” Given the financial crisis we face right before us now, said individual might by then have already missed the bus.

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Thinking 2022 – The Mansion London are plainly as keen as everyone else to say good riddance to 2020 and hope for the best in 2021, but they’re certainly a bit beyond ambitious in asking people to plan ahead and buy tickets now to their event to welcome in 2022.

November 7, 2020