Tag: mansion

A Pyrotechnic Pad
Mansion in controversial compound in The Boltons, SW10 for sale for £50 million; the setting has seen court cases and pyrotechnic parties involving a self-declared “Relentless” multi-millionaire

One of London’s most expensive streets, The Boltons, is generally thought of as a perfectly peaceful place. Its past occupants include authors such as Jeffrey Archer and Beatrix Potter, yet in December 2018 one of its residents, a “flamboyant multi-millionaire and former barrister” named Giles Mackay was slapped with a £7,500 on-the-spot-fine. He had breached a noise abatement order after hosting an all-night Halloween rave complete with pyrotechnics and “thumping bass music.”

A Pyrotechnic Pad – Controversial Giles Mackay, pictured with his “on-off” Russian squeeze Khristina Sysoeva, developed the three Boltons Place houses between 2004 and 2006 with two other businessmen. The selling agents did not comment as to which of the three houses is now for sale.

Mackay, who the Daily Mail noted to have been in and “on-off relationship” with a Meet The Russians ‘star’ named Khristina Sysoeva and whom was previously issued with a similar order in 2015, also found himself subject to press attention in 2012 after losing a court case to the developers of his Boltons Place home.

The plainly temperamental businessman – whom claimed his middle name was “Relentless” due to having “the money and anger to push on and make sure you deliver or get punished” in one of 3,700 “abusive emails” to Walter Lilly & Co. – joined one Paul Daniel and Stephen West to build Nos. 1, 2 and 3 Boltons Place on the site of a former BT telephone exchange in 2004.

In April 2015, the Mirror reported on one of the houses being sold to an offshore company for £51,171,950. They lauded it as a “perfect mansion” and pointed out that a further staggering sum of £7.6 million in stamp duty would have been paid in addition.

Now, one of the three 17,500 square foot houses, which is for sale through agents Berkeley Private Capital. Little information is shared on an OnTheMarket.com listing for the property, but of it the firm declare:

“An amazing detached mansion in Chelsea discreetly offered for sale to a serious buyer at a preferential price for a quick sale.”

“The owners are VVIP and viewings will only be entertained with full disclosure of eligibility to purchase at circa £50 million confirmed by the prospective purchaser’s solicitors.”

Those with an interest in pyrotechnics and parties need not apply.

The Numbers – Boltons Place, The Boltons, London, SW10

October 2010 – For sale for circa £50 million ($65.1 million, €55.2 million or درهم239 million).

April 2015 – One of the three houses is sold for £51,171,950 ($66.6 million, €56.5 million or درهم244.5 million) on an asking price of £55 million ($71.6 million, €60.7 million or درهم262.8 million).

2002 – Site of former BT telephone exchange sold to controversial businessman Giles Mackay and two other parties for £13.2 million ($17.2 million, €15.4 million or درهم63.1 million). The trio engaged Walter Lilly & Co. to build three mansions on the site at a total cost of £15,476,971 ($20.1 million, €17.1 million or درهم73.9 million) “for construction on all three plots” in March 2004. The houses were completed in 2006.

Other Notable Residents of The Boltons

Between 1999 and 2006, Madonna owned a house in The Boltons and other well-known residents have included Sir Julian and Dame Paddy Ridsdale.
- 8 The Boltons – Douglas Fairbanks Jr. KBE (1909 – 2000), actor, lived there in the 1950s with his wife Mary Lee Hartford, former wife Huntington Hartford, the A&P supermarket heir.
- 14 The Boltons – Otho Stuart (1863 – 1930), Shakespearean actor-manager, lived there, exact dates unknown.
- 19 The Boltons – The Rt. Hon. Anthony Crosland (1918 – 1977), Labour Party politician, author and one-time lover of Roy Jenkins, lived there, exact dates unknown.
- 20 The Boltons (also known as ‘The Grove’) – Colin MacInnes (1914 – 1976), author, lived there, exact dates unknown. For a time in the 20^th century, the building also served as Our Lady’s Convent along with 21 The Boltons.
- 24 The Boltons – Sir William Gilbert (1836 – 1911), playwright and one half of Gilbert and Sullivan, lived in the house between 1877 and 1884 and wrote six of his best known comic operas there beginning with The Sorcerer in 1877, HMS Pinafore in 1878, The Pirates of Penzance in 1879, Patience in 1881, Iolanthe in 1882 and Princess Ida in 1884. Gilbert moved from No. 24 The Boltons in 1884 to a newly built house nearby at No. 39 Harrington Gardens.
- 29 The Boltons – Used as an infant school for fifteen years after the Second World War.
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A Pyrotechnic Pad – The house offered for sale in Boltons Place is situated at the northern end of The Boltons, SW10.

A Pyrotechnic Pad – The Boltons is regularly mentioned in features on Britain’s most expensive houses.
October 14, 2020
Five of the Worst – Undesirable Homes Currently For Sale

‘The Steeple Times’ selects five undesirable homes currently for sale that many would say would remain best avoided; they’ve all been in the news and they’re all connected to infamous names

Destined most certainly not to feature in Penny Churchill’s Downton Abbey-esque country house porn Country Life column or as an Evening Standard chi-chi ‘Homes & Property’ ‘House of the Week,’ we have selected five undesirable homes currently for sale.

In spite of the fact that one has a link to a recently deceased paedophile, two have been the scene of murders, one is supposedly haunted and the final was the setting for a bizarre nine year sleep, their prices seem somewhat crazy – but maybe some people will just love the idea of living with notoriety. Whether any of these undesirable homes sell for their asking prices, however, seems as likely as the case of Jack the Ripper ever being solved.

Paedo Palace – 9 East 71^st Street, Lenox Hill, New York, NY 10021, USA

For sale for £69 million ($88 million, €74 million or درهم121 million) through Modlin Group.

Known as the ‘Herbert Straus House’ in polite circles, but now forever more likely to be remembered as ‘Jeffrey Epstein’s Paedo Mansion,’ this 28,000 square foot, 7-floor, 40 room mansion was home to the deceased bestie of Prince Andrew from 1996 until his incarceration and suicide in 2019.

Few details are shared on the listing other than to declare it of “gargantuan size and opulence” and “the largest single-family home in New York City.” Though the late Alberto Pinto’s design work at the property is lauded, there’s no mention of what Ghislaine Maxwell got up to there or the bizarre birthday parties with Christopher Mason.

Murder Mansion – Devisdale House, Dunham Road, Bowdon, Cheshire, WA14 4QG, UK

For sale for £3.25 million ($4.16 million, €3.51 million or درهم15.28 million) through Jackson-Stops.

Originally called ‘Oakleigh,’ this “striking Gothic Victorian villa” subsequently became known as ‘The House of Horror’ but has now been renamed ‘Devisdale House’ in an attempt to relieve it of a position in the ranks of undesirable homes.

In March 2005, Christopher Lumsden, a partner in the international law firm Pinsent Masons, killed his former Sotheby’s auctioneer wife Alison in the house in a “frenzied domestic attack in the master bedroom” according to The Sun. He stabbed her 30 times after she announced she was leaving him for another man and was amazingly jailed for just five years “after he was found guilty of manslaughter on the ground of diminished responsibility, claiming he had a depressive illness.”

‘Oakleigh’ subsequently “fell into rack and ruin” in spite of reports suggesting Lumsden may have inherited his wife’s fortune, but more recently it was purchased by a property developer. They have added an especially ghastly underground swimming pool, sauna, cinema room and triple garage and now pompous selling agents Jackson-Stops pretentiously laud the property as “incredible,” “striking” and “meticulously remodelled.” Christopher Lumsden, meanwhile, was released from prison after serving just two years of his jail sentence.

A Killer Castle – Pencoed Castle, Pencoed Lane, Llanmartin, Newport, Gwent, Wales, NP18 2ED, UK

For sale with a guide price of £950,000 ($1.2 million, €1 million or درهم1.7 million) by auction on 17^th September 2020 through Allsop.

Pencoed Castle dates to the 13^th century and in the time since one can imagine all sorts has gone on there. Most recently, in 2016, a then 56-year-old businessman Peter Morgan strangled his girlfriend of three years, a 25-year-old personal escort named Georgina Symonds, in a bungalow in the castle grounds. The married multi-millionaire was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 25 years in prison and with that the estate found itself joining the ranks of undesirable homes.

Wales Online report that “it is not known if Mr Morgan still owns the property,” but for less than a million pounds, a buyer could get themselves not only the castle (which could be turned into 12 dwellings and offices also), but also a former farmhouse, two bungalows and 64.8 acres of land. Previous plans to turn the site into a Disneyland-style theme park called Legend Court came to nothing and of the property a local cryptically remarked: “This place’s recent history is very dark.”

Axing a Ghost – Maplecroft, 306 French Street, Fall River, Massachusetts, MA 02720, USA

For sale for £696,000 ($890,000, €751,000 or درهم1.2 million) through Century 21 The Seyboth Team.

Sold last for £469,000 in February 2018 and £386,000 in November 2014, Maplecroft is described by realtor Suzanne St. John as “a Queen Anne Victorian Mansion,” but many would consider it fitting instead of a listing on a roster of undesirable homes. It was built in 1887, extends to 3,935 square foot and includes 7 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms.

The allegedly haunted residence, which stands on a plot of 0.31 acres, is notable as the post-prison home of one Lizzie Borden (1860 – 1927) – a woman who was the main suspect in the 1892 axe murders of her father and step-mother. Accused, tried and acquitted, Miss Borden inherited a fortune, bought Maplecroft and when she died of pneumonia her wake was held in the parlour.

The current owner also owns the house where the murders were committed and runs it as a ‘murder house B&B.’ He had intended to convert Maplecroft into something similar, but COVID-19 (and perhaps the spirit of Lizzie Borden) got in the way.

A Nine Year Sleep – Sleepy Cottage, 1 School Lane, Turville, Henley-On-Thames, Buckinghamshire, RG9 6QX, UK

For sale for £750,000 ($960,000, €810,000 or درهم1.3 million) through Savills.

Strictly speaking, our final choice in our roster of undesirable homes, has had only a gruesome past in a fictional sense given that it sits in a village used in Midsomer Murders. Nobody in their right minds – if such a place did really exist – would want to reside in any of Midsomer’s locations given the risk of ending up brown bread would be so high, but the innocent sounding name of this cottage makes it worthy of mention.

Used also in the perfectly harmless series Goodnight Uncle Tom and the BBC sitcom The Vicar of Dibley, 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom Sleepy Cottage is also noteworthy as it was most famously home to ‘The Sleeping Girl of Turville.’

Of this enigma, selling agents Savills remark:

“Ellen Sadler, who lived in the cottage with her family when in 1871, aged eleven she purportedly fell into a deep sleep from which she could not be roused for nine years. The case attracted international attention from newspapers, medical professionals and the public. She became a tourist attraction for the village, and her family made considerable money from visitors’ donations.”

“Rumours exist that among the elder Turville residents that Royalty even took an interest in her. The Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII, visited her and laid his hands on her which people in those days believed would cure the sick.”

“As the years went on and with no sign of Ellen waking, speculation grew that her illness was caused by her mother, an issue that was never resolved. In late 1880, soon after her mother’s death, Ellen awoke. She later married and had at least five children.”

Undesirable Homes Currently For Sale – Pictured top: Jeffrey Epstein’s initials were prominently displayed at the entrance to 9 East 71^st Street whilst the entrance hallway beyond aimed to impress with its classical grandeur. Goodness knows how many unfortunates passed through this space on their way on their way to be abused by the late Mr Epstein and his mucky madam Ghislaine Maxwell.

September 12, 2020
Chic Chicheley

Grade I listed Baroque mansion Chicheley Hall in Buckinghamshire for sale for £7 million or 62% less than the current owners have spent on it

Just as historically significant as the £10 million Lilford Hall in nearby Northamptonshire we featured in June, but in far better condition, a Grade I listed mansion in Buckinghamshire has just come to the market for £3 million less.

Chicheley Hall, near Olney is being sold due to the activities there – a combination of a conference venue, hotel and a centre used by the Royal Society – being curtailed due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. It is offered for the sum of £7 million – which seems a relative bargain given its current owners paid £6.5 million for it in 2007 and spent a further £12 million on its renovation subsequently.

Constructed on the site of an earlier house destroyed in the Civil War in the 1720s to the designs of master builder Francis Smith, Chicheley Hall became the seat of Sir John Chester, the 4^th baronet. It is of nine bays on three floors upon a raised basement and is described as an “exceedingly rare example” of English Baroque architecture.

“For more than 100 years, architectural historians have waxed lyrical in the pages of Country Life of Chicheley Hall” remarked Penny Churchill when it was placed for sale in June 2007 and since 2009 it has been owned by the Royal Society.

Having carried out a “major programme of repair and refurbishment to turn the hall into a high-quality venue for residential conferences,” the Society created a venue that provided 14 bedrooms suites in the main house, 34 en-suite bedrooms in two Grade II* listed former stable blocks, two lecture theatres, meeting rooms, sitting rooms, dining rooms and reception areas. There is parking for 50 vehicles and an apartment that was used by the centre’s director.

Knight Frank market the 34,928 square foot freehold property as a whole or in three lots complete with 75 acres. They describe the mini-estate as including “beautiful formal gardens, a ‘3 sided’ lake, a walled garden, woodland walks, a Grade II* dovecote and farmland.”

Chicheley Hall is situated 7 miles north east of Milton Keynes and is 50 miles from both central London and Oxford.

The Names & Numbers – Chicheley Hall, Hall Lane, Chicheley, near Olney, Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, MK16 9JJ, United Kingdom

September 2020 – For sale for £7 million ($9.1 million, €7.7 million or درهم12.6 million) through Knight Frank.

June 2020 – De Vere Venues permanently closed Chicheley Hall as a conference venue and hotel due to the impact of coronavirus. In a statement to MKFM, the firm remarked: “Sadly the resulting devastating economic impact [of the pandemic] on the hospitality industry, together with heightened operational restrictions, has meant we have taken the difficult decision to close our doors permanently.”

2007 – Sold to the Royal Society for £6.5 million ($8.5 million, €7.2 million or درهم31.1 million). They supposedly subsequently spent £12 million ($15.6 million, €13.3 million or درهم57.5 million) on renovations. These were in part funded by the Norwegian-American business and philanthropist Fred Kavli (1927 – 2013).

June 2007 – Placed for sale for £9 million ($11.7 million, €10 million or درهم43.1 million) through Savills on behalf of Nicholas Beatty, the 3^rd Earl (born 1946).

2001 – Used as a stand-in for Bletchley Park in the feature film Enigma. The building has also been used in other productions including Pride and Prejudice, The Meaning of Life, The Red Violin and Black Beauty.

1952 – Ownership by the Chester family ends when David Beatty, 2^nd Earl Beatty (1905 – 1972), son of First World War naval hero Admiral David Beatty, bought the hall. Of his “major restoration programme,” Penny Churchill remarked: “Interior designer Felix Harbord, perhaps best known for his work at Luttrellstown Castle near Dublin, set out to recreate classic 18th-century interiors, using mainly light colours to accentuate the beauty of the mouldings and panelling. Very sensibly, the earl also added a bathroom to almost every bedroom.”

1939 to 1945 – Chicheley Hall was used by the Special Operations Executive as its Special Training School No. 46, by Czechoslovaks for SOE parachute missions and as a FANY wireless telegraphy school. After the war, the hall was converted for use as a school.

1720 to 1724 – Built by Sir John Chester, 4^th baronet on the site of an earlier mansion to the designs of master-builder Francis Smith of Warwick. According to Country Life’s Penny Churchill, “a total of 955,550 bricks was used in the construction of the house, wings and garden, of which a staggering 85,000 were used for the garden walls.” She added: “For the next four years, Sir John himself paid the various master-craftsmen who worked on the interiors. The result was some of the finest woodcarving, joinery and plaster-work to be found in any English country house of that period. The elegant formal gardens were laid out by George London and Henry Wise, of Hampton Court and Melbourne Hall fame.”

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The entrance hall of the house is impressive. English Heritage remark of it: “Entrance hall with Corinthian surround to front door and triple arched screen with marble columns leading to staircase, said to be designed by Flitcroft when working for Kent. Ceiling painting attributed to Kent.”

The ceiling painting is attributed to William Kent and depicts Herse and her sisters sacrificing to Flora.

Continuing, there is an especially wide staircase beyond.

One of many reception rooms.

The dining room is dominated by wooden panelling.

Another entertaining space.

In its last use as a hotel and conference centre, a total of 48 bedroom suites were created within the property.

This former coach house is currently configured as two large conference suites and a meeting room.

One of two lecture theatres currently on-site.

A conference room.

Another view of the exterior of Chicheley Hall.

Viewed from across the ‘three sided lake.’

An aerial shot of part of the 75-acre mini estate.

And from another angle.

Formal gardens.

A plan of part of the Chicheley Hall site.

September 8, 2020
Five of the Best – Houses for Sports Fanatics

‘The Steeple Times’ discovers five properties that will appeal to serious sports fanatics with a desire to indulge their passions at home that are currently for sale

Whilst most would simply go to a racecourse to watch the horses or to a football ground to cheer on their heroes on the pitch, five homes follow where sports lovers can partake in their very own confines follow:

503 Studio Road, Stamford, Connecticut, USA

£5.84 million ($7.69 million, €6.51 million or درهم28.24 million) through William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty.

A vast 18,000 square foot house on 13.21 acres in Connecticut that is currently for sale cannot be described as a “looker,” but it comes with its own private, professional indoor hockey and skating rink (pictured top). There’s a Zamboni ice resurfacer “for perfect ice” and even heated team benches, a lighted scoreboard, home and visiting team locker rooms and a viewing ‘lounge.’ In addition, there are two guest houses and an outdoor swimming pool.

St. Clements Hall, Terrington St. Clement, Norfolk, UK

£240,000 ($316,000, €267,000 or درهم444,000) through Attik.

Most people looking for a “3-bedroom semi-detached house” are likely to be couples with 2.4 children, but for those in a somewhat different position, a 19^th century, 1,873 square foot former youth hall might appeal. Primarily reconfigured to provide a 27-foot by 39-foot ‘skate bowl’ with 13-foot vertical wall, mini skate park and three 4-foot quarter pipes, the house also more conventionally has an open plan living space, 3 bedrooms and a shower room. Even the snobby girl in Avril Lavigne’s Sk8er Boi song might be impressed; the house has featured in The Sun, on the BBC and in Netflix’s Amazing Interiors.

Tourles Farm Stud, near Lewes, East Sussex, UK

£2.5 million ($3.3 million, €2.8 million or درهم12.1 million) through Windsor Clive International.

Owned by the Kazakhstani phosphorus tycoon Nurlan Bizakov since 2010, Tourles Farm Stud has been part of Hesmonds Stud. Described in TDN Europe as “one of the best presented farms we have offered in recent years” by William Harford of Windsor Clive, the 113.78 acre property “has [only] become available due to the owner’s successful investment in France [at Monfort et Preaux in Normandy]” and comes with a 3-bedroom cottage, a stable barn with 26 boxes and a 4 furlong all-weather gallop.

UNICA, 10697 Somma Way, Los Angeles, USA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=193&v=UDRVhCe8hIc&feature=emb_title

£75.8 million ($100 million, €84.5 million or درهم137.3 million) through Hilton & Hyland.

On and off the market since 2018, this “one-of-a-kind” 41,000 square foot Bel Air house on 1.35 acres includes 8 bedrooms and an astounding 21 bathrooms. There are also 20 garage spaces in an “auto-gallery,” 8 bars, a 36-person screening room and not one, but two 75-foot swimming pools. The pièce de résistance for sports fanatics? A full-sized NBA basketball court.

Kinlochdamph Estate, Torridon, Scottish Highlands, UK

£2.75 million ($3.62 million, €3.06 million or درهم13.30 million) through Goldsmith Estates.

Extending to 4,085 acres, the Kinlochdamph Estate is perfect for those wishing to achieve a Macnab (and bag a salmon, a stag and a brace of grouse within one day). It has a recently refurbished 4-bedroom lodge, red deer stalking, trout fishing on its hill lochs and a small population of grouse, ptarmigan, woodcock and snipe. Income is provided by forestry and a hydro scheme, but any wannabe John Buchan will purely be buying this place for its sporting rights.

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September 7, 2020
Moaning Maxwell

Mucky madam Ghislaine Maxwell is now outrageously moaning about not having a desk or email access; she’ll be asking for Krug next

When you are put in the clink, your rights are understandably reduced, but plainly Ghislaine Maxwell just cannot fathom that.

This morning, Bloomberg reported that the spoilt brat of a brazen crook and one-time lover of a convicted paedophile “is still not satisfied with the conditions she finds herself in a federal lockup in Brooklyn.” Her lawyers remarked: “[They] seem punitive rather than anything necessary to ensure that the MDC [Metropolitan Detention Center] as a whole is running smoothly.”

Apparently, amongst her new main gripes are that “she doesn’t have a desk or a writing surface where she can take notes when reviewing documents” and “has no access to email.” Previously, Ms. Maxwell set her lawyers to work to report that she’d been moaning about being “forced to wear special clothing” and had “prison guards constantly observing [her] and take notes on her every activity.”

Though ‘Bouncing Bob’s’ mendacious mucky madam daughter is rather fond of building up address books and filing information that could be used to blackmail the rich and famous, she’s plainly not yet realised that she’s no longer living in a Manhattan mansion. What’ll she be requiring next? Room service and caviar and Krug champagne on tap?

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Moaning Maxwell – Ghislaine Maxwell is used to having things her way and here she is pictured in her youth tapping away at an early computer.

August 18, 2020
Meddling MeGain

With even the ‘Observer’ turning on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, it is time for the meddling pair to learn the art of silence

With even the Observer’s Catherine Bennett having turned on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex this morning, this ridiculous duo really now need to do one thing: Shut up.

In her column Bennett quite sensibly remarked: “[Finding Freedom is a] book that, at a stroke, exposes the embryonic visionaries to ridicule, dismays their supporters and, as demonstrated last week, delights there enemies.”

Here, indeed, is a meddling duo that have scored the biggest own goal in recent royal history and here is a couple that are now perceived to be even more ridiculous than the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. ‘MeGain’ and her drip of a husband have no sense and they employ only advisors whom pathetically pander to their ludicrous whims.

Sitting in their luxurious £11.2 million Californian mansion, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s toxic war on the media has backfired. Equally, their failure to repay the £2.4 million of public money spent on Frogmore Cottage has angered many and now, again, these supposed privacy seekers have hypocritically been making yet more video missives bleating about their pathetic plight. In doing such, they achieve only one thing: Making the public like them less and less.

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Meddling MeGain – Ensconced in their Montecito mansion, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex plainly do not realise how utterly out of touch they are with the public. They would do best to avoid further publicity and jolly well learn the art of silence.

August 16, 2020
A Grand Greek Revival
Grand Greek Revival mini-mansion in Illinois goes on sale for just £35 per square foot in spite of having been mostly renovated; it is situated within an area colonised by utopian Swedish Janssonists

A grand Greek Revival style, 4,860 square foot house in a “quaint” part of Illinois that was originally settled by Swedish colonists has gone on sale for just £173,000 or an astonishing £35 per square foot. In Chelsea Barracks, London, to give a contrast, a 713 square foot apartment is currently on the market for £3.5 million or a staggering £4,909 per square foot.

Featured on the Facebook group For The Love Of Old Houses on Monday and built in 1856 to house offices and apartments for the Bishop Hill Colony trustees, 109 West Main Street, Bishop Hill is currently used as a bed and breakfast named the The Gallery Inn, but could easily be “very simply turned into a private residence” according to realtor Justin Landwehr of Navigate Realty.

The L-shaped house, which is of stucco over brick construction, stands on an open plot of 0.26 acres and includes 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. There is also potential to create further accommodation on the “partially finished” third floor and at ground level there is a space that has been used both as a shop and apartment.

Presented in good condition but with a somewhat odd decorative style that might not appeal to all, the present business is described as “very successful.” It charges around £100 per room per night and of it, reviews are extremely positive on TripAdvisor. One suggests the property to be “peaceful with a calming effect” whilst another claims it to be “one of the best kept secrets in Illinois.”

Bishop Hill itself is listed on the US National Register of Historic Places and had an entirely white population of 128 according to the 2010 census. It is situated along the South Edwards River, a tributary of the Mississippi River, and finds itself with Chicago to the east, Des Moines to the west and St Louis to the south.

The settlement is described as having originally been “a utopian religious community which operated as a commune.” Its founder, Swedish pietist Eric Jansson (1808 – 1850), wanted to establish “the New Jerusalem” but was himself shot dead by another member in the local courthouse after prophesising about Jesus drinking in his father’s kingdom. Some followers expected him to rise on the third day, but, unsurprisingly, he did not.

The Numbers – The Gallery Inn, 109 West Main Street, Bishop Hill, Illinois, IL 61419, United States of America
- August 2020 – Relisted for sale for £173,000 ($225,000, €192,000 or درهم317,000) through Navigate Realty, an increase of +173% on the 2008 sale price.
- June 2019 – Listed for sale for £198,000 ($258,000, €219,000 or درهم948,000) through Sutton & Associates, an increase of +212.7% on the 2008 sale price.
- March 2008 – Sold for £63,400 ($82,500, €70,100 or درهم116,000).
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The entrance hallway of the Greek Revival style house features a staircase that features what a ‘For The Love Of Old Houses’ member described as a “craft store special feature wall.”

Also in the double entrance hall is an ‘Exit’ sign.’ Some noted this to be “bizarre.”

A sitting room is currently filled with Victorian furniture that would not look out of place in an episode of 1980s television series version of ‘Sherlock Holmes’ that starred the late Jeremy Brett.

An empty room with a corner fireplace in the Greek Revival style house.

Another room complete only with a single chair and a couple of lamps.

The kitchen is also decidedly basic.

Yet another empty space.

Member of ‘For The Love Of Old Houses,’ Doris Collier, pointedly remarked: “What’s with the sinks being outside the bathrooms?”

On The Gallery Inn’s website, this room is listed as ‘The Yellow Room.’ It is described as “cheery” and “overlooks the village park.”

On The Gallery Inn’s website, this room is listed as ‘The Yellow Room.’ It is described as “cheery” and “overlooks the village park.”

Another bedroom.

And another.

A modern shower room.

One Anna Lewis Joyner commented: “How stately! Reminds of a [sic] English estate.”

A view of the Greek Revival building from the side with an outbuilding behind.

The extent of the building is clear from this shot of the rear.

The setting of the Greek Revival house on the village street.

A map illustrating the location in Illinois.
August 4, 2020
A Mini White House in Mississippi
Colonial Revival ‘Mini White House’ on an 8-acre plot in Mississippi for sale for just £299,000 or just £56 per square foot; the mini mansion is listed on the National Register of Historic Places

Lauded as a “southern beauty” and a “most extravagant expression of Colonial Revival architecture,” neoclassical 240 South Extension Street in Hazlehurst, Mississippi was built between 1906 and 1907 to the designs of the architects Barber & Kluttz of Knoxville, Tennessee. It does have a slight look of the White House and it certainly seems a bargain at just £299,000 compared to the £15 million Texan mansion we featured in March.

The 5,376 square foot house stands on a plot of 7.79 acres and includes 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. It is described as having a “long history of family ownership” and is currently offered for sale through agents McIntosh & Associates LLC, Realtors.

Named ‘The Robert L. Covington House’ in honour of a gentleman of the same name (whom was born in 1875 and died in 1960), the house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984 and is noted as having “the popular French taste of the decade in its finishes and furnishings.” Mahogany abounds and especially noteworthy is the variety of fireplaces throughout.

Hazlehurst is situated 30 miles south of the Mississippi state capital, Jackson. Pulitzer Prize winning Crimes of the Heart playwright Beth Henley was born in the small city (population circa 4,000) and in the 1960s, there was much civil rights activity and “violence against blacks in this area” according to Wikipedia.

Pictured top: The grand front elevation of ‘The Robert L. Covington House’ could be mistaken for a miniature version of The White House.

The Numbers – The Robert L. Covington House, 240 South Extension Street, Hazlehurst, Copiah County, Mississippi, MS 39083, United States of America
- July 2020 – For sale for £299,000 ($378,000, €335,000 or درهم544,000) through McIntosh & Associates LLC, Realtors.
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A plaque was erected on the house in 1984 by the United States Department of the Interior stating that it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The South Portico of the White House is not hugely dissimilar from the front elevation of ‘The Robert Lowery Covington House.’

Agents McIntosh & Associates LLC Realtors describe the entrance porch as “amazing.” Of the house, they state: “If only the walls could talk they would tell us of history of long ago. You will fall head over heels with this beautiful one of a kind historic home. You would actually feel as if you owned a piece of history.” It does have a slight feel of Twelve Oaks, the plantation home of the Wilkes family in ‘Gone with the Wind.’

The entrance hall and staircase are notable for their grandeur.

They open directly to several reception spaces and feature Doric columns.

The current owner appears to have cleared out the majority of their furnishings.

Another entertaining space.

A sunroom with a view over the lawned gardens.

The kitchen is certainly basic in its current configuration.

One of four bedrooms.

Another bedroom.

There is one bathroom on the ground floor and two more on the first floor.

The house has a number of original fireplaces in a variety of styles.

The exterior is described by the agents as being a “most extravagant expression of Colonial Revival architecture.”

The building impresses from its principal angle.

It is less grand from the rear.

But more commanding from the street.

Looking from the porch into the neighbourhood.

The property includes a total of 7.79 acres of gardens and grounds.

Jackson, Mississippi is 30 miles to the north whilst New Orleans, Louisiana is 160 miles to the south.

This YouTube video tour of Hazlehurst, Mississippi gives an impression of the city and its citizens in 1947.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qchP6dk88dY
A video tour of the town (with its name incorrectly spelt as ‘Hazelhurst’). One comment left below it remarks: “Nicely kept, clean, tidy, old, open town” and adds: “I liked it, but it just looks so dead.”
July 12, 2020
Cheaper Than Fiction – A Bargain in The Boltons
Cheapest, smallest house on the best side of one of London’s most sought after streets, The Boltons, comes up for sale; the tardis like building was home to novelist-politician Jeffrey Archer and his scientist wife Mary in the 1970s
- No. 24a The Boltons is one of the smallest houses on “the fourth most expensive street in Britain,” but it is still anything but insubstantial at 3,123 square feet.
- The tardis-like Victorian townhouse is wedged between two mansions and was converted from a coach house for Aston Martin racing team driver Noël Cunningham-Reid in 1960.
- Novelist-politician Lord Archer and his scientist wife Dame Mary owned the property between 1972 and 1976.
- The couple were forced to sell the house after Jeffrey Archer supposedly “lost over £400,000 in a bad investment” in the summer of 1974.
- Jeffrey Archer subsequently made a fortune as a novelist and then after a glittering career in politics, was jailed in 2001 for perjury and perverting the course of justice.
- The house was sold again subsequently for £3.8 million in 2007 and is now for sale for £6.5 million; the average price of houses on the street is £32.5 million according to Zoopla.
- Other residents of The Boltons have variously included Arab royals, Madonna and Sir William Gilbert, one half of Gilbert and Sullivan.
In May 2017, we featured 6 The Boltons after its asking price was slashed from £39.5 million to ‘just’ £30 million, whilst in April 2015, a more modern house at the upper end of the street named One Boltons Place sold for £51 million on an asking price of £55 million. More recently in January 2018, when 22 The Boltons was sold to a British family for £40 million that sale was described as “one of the biggest deals in the last 12 months… a notable one.” Its asking price had been an even more punchy £57.5 million.

The Boltons was developed in the 19^th century by the architect George Godwin (1813 – 1888) on 11.5 acres of land previously used as market gardens. The oval shaped street consists of 13 Italianate style houses on the “favoured” western crescent and 15 more in addition on the “less sought after” eastern side. In the centre, there is a communal garden and the church of St Mary The Boltons and whilst many residents employ private security, a number of the mansions are locked up, unloved and unoccupied also.

Now, an opportunity has arisen for someone to not “buy the worst house on the best street,” but instead “buy the cheapest house on the best side of the best street” in the form of what initially appears as a narrow townhouse wedged between two very much larger semi-detached villas. No. 24a The Boltons is actually deceptive as it not only widens as it goes backwards, but also provides a very surprising 3,123 square foot of usable accommodation over four floors.

The entrance hall opens into a library area and a feeling of space is provided by a glass enclosure around the upward staircase.

The drawing room space beyond has a vast window looking out westwards onto the gardens of the houses of The Little Boltons beyond.

The lower ground floor dining kitchen is surprisingly bright and has a double height ceiling in part.

Laid out currently to give 3 reception rooms, 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms, the “highly unusual house with off-street parking” includes a 50-foot long interconnecting entrance hall, library and reception space on the ground floor. At the rear, that opens to a partially double height dining kitchen below measuring 36-feet in length.

Originally used as a coach house to No. 24, in 1960, a year after the main house was converted into five flats, No. 24a was extended and turned into a house in its own right. Two storeys were added to the designs of architects Knapton & Deane on the instructions of an Aston Martin racing team driver named Noël Cunningham-Reid (1930 – 2017) and what resulted was a three-storey, two bay residence.

No. 24a was home to Jeffrey and Mary Archer in the 1970s and the street features in the spectacularly successful novelist’s 2008 bestselling work A Prisoner of Birth and his 2015 ‘Clifton Chronicles’ series novel Mightier than the Sword. It was whilst living here that the couple’s two sons were born and they supposedly only sold what Dame Mary later described to a court in 2001 as their “lovely” home after “hugely incautious” investments almost bankrupted them. “We’ve explored the further reaches of ‘for better and for worse’ than most couples,” the solar power conversion expert subsequently added.

Agents Knight Frank seek £6.5 million or £2,081 per square foot for 24a The Boltons and whomever buys it will certainly be able to laud that they live in one of the best addresses in London without it being a work of fiction. In Hyacinth Bucket-esque fashion, however, they won’t, of course, bring up that they actually live in the cheapest and smallest house there.

The Names & Numbers – 24a The Boltons, London, SW10 9SU, Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, United Kingdom
- July 2020 – For sale for an asking price of £6.5 million ($8.2 million, €7.3 million or درهم30 million) through estate agents Knight Frank, a figure 71.1% higher than the 2007 sale price.
- March 2007 – Sold for £3.8 million ($4.9 million, €4.2 million or درهم17.6 million).
- 1972 to 1976 – Home to Lord Archer and Dame Mary Archer DBE, then known as Mr Jeffrey and Dr Mary Archer. Their sons, James and William, were born during this period in 1972 and 1974.
Other Notable Residents of The Boltons

Between 1999 and 2006, Madonna owned a house in The Boltons and other well-known residents have included Sir Julian and Dame Paddy Ridsdale.
- 8 The Boltons – Douglas Fairbanks Jr. KBE (1909 – 2000), actor, lived there in the 1950s with his wife Mary Lee Hartford, former wife Huntington Hartford, the A&P supermarket heir.
- 14 The Boltons – Otho Stuart (1863 – 1930), Shakespearean actor-manager, lived there, exact dates unknown.
- 19 The Boltons – The Rt. Hon. Anthony Crosland (1918 – 1977), Labour Party politician, author and one-time lover of Roy Jenkins, lived there, exact dates unknown.
- 20 The Boltons (also known as ‘The Grove’) – Colin MacInnes (1914 – 1976), author, lived there, exact dates unknown. For a time in the 20^th century, the building also served as Our Lady’s Convent along with 21 The Boltons.
- 24 The Boltons – Sir William Gilbert (1836 – 1911), playwright and one half of Gilbert and Sullivan, lived in the house between 1877 and 1884 and wrote six of his best known comic operas there beginning with The Sorcerer in 1877, HMS Pinafore in 1878, The Pirates of Penzance in 1879, Patience in 1881, Iolanthe in 1882 and Princess Ida in 1884. Gilbert moved from No. 24 The Boltons in 1884 to a newly built house nearby at No. 39 Harrington Gardens.
- 29 The Boltons – Used as an infant school for fifteen years after the Second World War.
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The kitchen itself is dominated by a central island unit.

A lower ground floor room described as a “snug” is used presently as a space to watch television.

The first floor consists of a master bedroom suite with a bedroom with an undemised balcony, a dressing room and a shower room.

The dressing room itself.

One of two bedrooms on the second floor.

The other second floor bedroom.

There are two bathrooms and two shower rooms in the house.

The floor plan shows how the tardis like building gets bigger as you go further back into it.

The situation of 24a The Boltons is on the “favoured” western crescent of this ritzy street.
July 10, 2020
Moving On – July 2020 – Capone, Conran & Kennedy

Moving on homes owned by the newsworthy – including a country house apartment in a castle currently owned by Jasper Conran and the childhood homes of Al Capone and Jackie Kennedy

Soppy Savills Fail to Salivate

https://vimeo.com/227878828

Jasper Conran OBE paid just £2.75 million ($3.43 million, €3.04 million or درهم12.61 million) for New Wardour Castle in Tisbury, Wiltshire in August 2010. The catch? He didn’t get the whole James Paine and Giacomo Quarenghi designed Palladian mansion, but as the Daily Mail’s Alexis Parr reported at that time he “captured” 23,185 square foot of a repossessed building divided into a total of ten flats. ‘Apartment 1,’ as the space the designer son of Sir Terence Conran currently owns is known as, includes 8 reception rooms, 6 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms.

Agents Savills could have enthused gushingly about the Grade I listed building and its spectacular 60-foot central rotunda, but instead they are simply seeking £3.95 million ($4.93 million, €4.36 million or درهم18.12 million) for what they underwhelmingly market as the “largest [apartment] in Wiltshire.” Conran would have done better to have appointed someone more akin to the late Roy Brooks we’d say – at least he’d have showed some flowery enthusiasm for this capacious crib.

From Electric to Insta

‘The James Seymour Mansion,’ the £37,000 ($50,000, €45,000 or درهم184,000) Gothic revival mansion in New York State The Steeple Times featured in December 2019, has finally got itself new owners after 204 submissions from across the world to buy it.

Creatively marketed by Michael DeRosa on behalf of the local authority after a property tax foreclosure, the 10-bedroom house on a 0.9-acre plot is situated in Auburn, Cayuga County – a place best known for being the gruesome location of the world’s first legal execution using an electric chair in August 1890.

Whilst the process of the death of “vegetable peddler and known alcoholic” William Kemmler (whom murdered his common-law wife in March 1888) was regarded as a “historic bungle,” all worked out well James and Katie Joynt and their seven children. The family – whom currently manage an Amish co-op in Pennsylvania – will spend around £123,000 ($155,000, €136,000 or درهم565,000) restoring the house according to New York Upstate and are going to take the crumbling house into the 21^st century whilst documenting their journey on Instagram.

Going Gangsta

Of a New York “multi-family townhouse” at 21 Garfield Place, North Slope in June 2017, the New York Post quipped: “A Brooklyn homeowner hopes a mob of buyers will take a shot at this town house.” That property was sold for £1.94 million ($2.42 million, €2.14 million or درهم8.89 million) in early 2018 to an Emmy award winning television producer named Steven Kalifowitz and is now again for sale, this time for £2.3 million ($2.9 million, €2.6 million or درهم10.7 million).

Agents Douglas Elliman neglect to mention that the 2,980 square foot building – which is “currently configured as an owner’s duplex with two spacious one bedroom apartments above” – was a childhood home of the gangster Al Capone (1899 – 1947) in the early 1900s. 21 Garfield Place previously sold for a “little more than £800,000 ($1 million, €885,000 or درهم3.7 million)” according to The New York Times in July 2006 and now looks anything but like a bootlegger’s workplace; there’s even a child’s playroom in the basement.

Anything But A Discount Holiday

Those looking to escape to the Hamptons post-lockdown could do worse than purchase the childhood summer home of the late Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (1929 – 1994) – if they’ve got £6 million ($7.5 million, €6.6 million or درهم27.5 million) going spare.

Built in 1895, Wildmoor at East Hampton extends to 4,291 square foot and has 6 bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms. It’s on the market through Paula S. Bulter of Sotheby’s International Realty and also noteworthy is that an art studio on the property was used for many years by the Abstract Expressionist artist Adolph Gottlieb (1903 – 1974).

Gottlieb purchased the shingled house on a 0.92-acre plot in 1960, but interested buyers should note that the current décor scheme is definitely a bit passé. As Kennedy herself once said: “It looks like it’s been furnished by discount stores.”

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July 7, 2020