Combining a mix of society's last word and both wit and wisdom, The Steeple Times covers food, drink and fine dining as well as luxury, travel, the arts, individuals of influence and current affairs in the United Kingdom, America and elsewhere. We are best described as being akin to "a cross between The Huffington Post and Private Eye".
The magazine's following is affluent, engaged and international. With 41% of readers coming from the UK and 38% from America, The Steeple Times also has strong presence within Canadian, Italian, German and Australian territories.
January 23, 2019
by Matthew Steeples
Grade II* listed Cumbrian mansion built by opium dealer and once marketed for £1.5 million for sale for just £460,000; it was also the scene of the UK’s biggest ever cannabis raid in 2012 A 23,000 square foot, 52 room, mid-19th century Palladian mansion in the Westmorland Dales National Park is to be sold … Continue reading “Falling Down Flass”
December 18, 2018
by Matthew Steeples
Repossessed Grade I listed Dorset mansion once worth circa £15 million for sale for £3 million; the catch? It’s burnt to the ground An “exceptionally important,” Grade I listed, 38,000 square foot, 16th century country house in Dorset with 131.6 acres for just £3 million is certainly something that sounds like a bargain. Sadly, … Continue reading “A Fire Sale”
December 3, 2018
by Matthew Steeples
Superb example of the “world’s ultimate limousine” to be auctioned; the Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman was the favourite of dictators across the globe Produced from 1963 to 1981 with a run of 2,677 units made, the Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman – also known as the ‘Grosser’ or ‘Grand Mercedes’ – is undoubtedly a star amongst cars. … Continue reading “A Dictator Rides”
November 28, 2018
by Matthew Steeples
Romantic island in Ireland complete with its own castle for sale for just £80,000; there is, of course, a catch A 0.54 acre island at the southeastern end of Lough Key, near Boyle in County Roscommon is to be sold this December. A castle was built there first in the 12th century and though … Continue reading “A Castle With A Catch”
November 11, 2018
by Matthew Steeples
A Lancashire country cottage with 1.4 acres is for sale for less than the price of a parking space in Knightsbridge; it could be yours for just £80,000 A country cottage with acreage: It sounds idyllic and with a price of just £80,000 ($104,000, €92,000 or درهم381,000), it’s cheaper than the price of a … Continue reading “A Cheap Country Cottage”
October 22, 2018
by Matthew Steeples
519 acre Gloucestershire estate complete with “challenging” high bird estate goes on sale for £16.5 million in spite of needing a further £1.5 million spent on it A ringfenced Cotswolds estate has gone on sale for £16.5 million ($21.6 million, €18.8 million or درهم78.9 million) in spite of being centred around an eight bedroom … Continue reading “Unfinished Business”
September 25, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
Knightsbridge townhouse for sale for sum 11% lower than it sold for in 2011; it comes with a rather large hole in the garden that has been described as “almost as deep as the Führerbunker” To the poet and wit Henry Luttrell (1765 – 1861) “eating pâté de foie gras to the sound of trumpets” … Continue reading “A Bastard of a Basement”
August 21, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
Grade I listed house in Richmond Old Deer Park, Surrey that is owned by the Crown Estate and was originally a royal observatory to rent for £450,000 per year A Grade I listed house set on 6.6 acres of World Heritage Site and Grade I listed land in the middle of the Royal Mid-Surrey … Continue reading “Rent Like A Royal”
August 17, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
Scottish castle on sale for just £130,000; it comes without a roof and is located near the Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeenshire A castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland is for sale for £130,000 ($168,000, €143,000 or درهم616,000) in spite of being nothing other than a roofless shell. Reduced in price from £150,000 ($193,000, … Continue reading “A Castle for £130k”
July 30, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
Billionaire founder of Netscape has failed to sell his Palm Beach mansion in a year; it remains on the market for £105 million (or 754% more than he paid for it in 1999) Four times married, a father of four and a collector of rather large gin palaces, Texan James H. Clark founded Netscape … Continue reading “Palming Off Il Palmetto”
by Matthew Steeples
Grosvenor Square apartment for sale; it comes with access to a private residents’ ballroom and will appeal to any fan of ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ Built circa 1958 on the site of an earlier house damaged during the war, a ground floor apartment within 17 Grosvenor Square in London’s Mayfair has gone on sale for … Continue reading “Strictly Come Mayfair”
June 10, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
Penthouse with tower in prominent Knightsbridge landmark for sale for £8.25 million A penthouse with a tower in a Grade II listed landmark triangular ‘flat-iron’ building on the border of South Kensington and Knightsbridge has gone on sale for £8.25 million ($10.51 million, €9.39 million or درهم38.62 million). Created in 1991 to designs … Continue reading “Empire State of Knightsbridge”
June 6, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
Grade II* listed Kent townhouse for sale for just £166 per square foot; a similarly sized property in Knightsbridge would set you back £2,000 per square foot A freehold 2,500 square foot detached 15th century timber framed house just 23 miles south of London has gone on sale for the lowly sum of £166 … Continue reading “A House of Hide”
May 29, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
EXCLUSIVE – “Nationally important” Grade II* listed Berkshire mansion in 130 acres for sale for £26 million; its interior is yet to be renovated A Grade II* listed building capable of being reinstated as one of Britain’s finest country houses has just been placed on the market for £26 million. Benham Park – … Continue reading “Best in Britain”
May 27, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
Renovated Pacific Heights, San Francisco residence with Danielle Steel as a neighbour for sale for sum 652% higher than it sold for in 1994 A buyer wishing to live just to the north of Danielle Steel’s architecturally striking ‘Spreckels Mansion’ home can now purchase 1994 Jackson Street in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights. For … Continue reading “Anything But A Steel”
by General
With such a name, this suave gent just had to design landmarks. University of Westminster educated and Hampshire based Robert Adam (born 1948) followed his more famous namesake (1728 – 1792) and became a designer of “progressive neo-classical style buildings” in 1975. He won “the richest prize in architecture” in January 2017 and counts the … Continue reading “Robert Adam”
May 25, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
Scottish sporting estate, once home to Sir Walter Scott, for sale; it comes with nearly two miles of fishing on the River Tweed, 863 acres of land and seven houses The Scottish estate where Sir Walter Scott, Bt. (1771 – 1732) wrote his narrative poems Lay of the Minstrel and The Lady of the … Continue reading “An Epic Estate”
May 22, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
Refurbished Surrey manor house with connections to Detmar Blow and Gertrude Jekyll for sale for £2.55 million Reduced in price by £200,000 since when it was previously on the market in June 2015, a Surrey manor house is again for sale – but this time for £2.55 million ($3.32 million, €2.96 million or درهم12.20 … Continue reading “Making a Manor”
May 20, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
Former Algerian Embassy in Holland Park for sale for £30 million; the detached stucco house needs complete renovation and counts David and Victoria Beckham as neighbours The former Embassy of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria in Holland Park, W11 has just been placed for sale for the sum of £30 million ($39.1 million, … Continue reading “Basement It Like Beckham”
by Matthew Steeples
Knightsbridge flat for sale for £3.75 million in spite of needing complete renovation and having a lease with just 9 years remaining A lateral flat – with an interior that could be described as ‘Miss Havisham-esque’ in terms of its faded grandeur – at 16/17 Ennismore Gardens, SW7 has gone on sale for £3.75 … Continue reading “Faded Grandeur”
May 4, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
17th century Buckinghamshire farmstead requiring complete renovation for sale for £5 million A 17th century farmhouse just 28 miles from Central London has gone on sale for £5 million ($6.5 million, €5.9 million or درهم23.7 million) in spite of being “in need of updating” through agents The Frost Partnership. Dean Farm at Jordans, … Continue reading “A £5 Million Fixer-Upper”
May 2, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
Asking price for America’s tallest single-family residence – a 124-foot tall tower in Phoenix, Arizona – slashed by 74%; it is somewhat dated but costs nearly nothing to heat and nearly nothing in property taxes either They say “the bigger, the better” but in the case of Falcon Nest at Prescott in Arizona, it … Continue reading “Tall Poppy Syndrome”
April 26, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
Cadogan Square flat for sale for a sum that, if achieved, could make it the most expensive subterranean home in London; it is offered at a price that equates to £2,130 per square foot Created from the merger of two flats, one of which was marketed for £3 million ($3.8 million, €3.5 million or … Continue reading “A Big Priced Basement”
April 16, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
Federal-style New York townhouse for sale for £3.982 million; the West Village was previously the Home of the Sons and Daughters of Israel A 2,212 square foot townhouse dating to 1833 on sale in New York comes with quite a history. Built in the Federal-style by a cartman named John C. Blauvelt, the property … Continue reading “A Federal Find”
April 15, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
Picturesque watermill used in ‘The Witchfinder General’ and ‘Dad’s Army’ for sale Witches and water don’t have an affinity – with dunking being a common form of punishment for suspects in the 16th and 17th centuries – and at The Watermill on the River Black Bourn at Ixworth in Suffolk, just such activity occurred … Continue reading “Witchfinders and Watermills”
April 6, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
Historic Battersea mansion for sale for the same sum it was marketed for in 2011; it has been mostly empty throughout the intervening period and was renovated by the late billionaire Malcolm Forbes Billionaire publisher Malcolm Forbes was a man who liked to live large. He had a huge yacht named The Highlander, threw … Continue reading “Billionaire Battersea”
April 2, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
New York’s “most impressive” Dutch colonial house for sale for £2.59 million in spite of needing updating Built in 1735 and listed as a designated New York landmark in 1966, 126 West Drive in Douglaston, Queens is considered to be New York’s “most impressive architectural remnant of the early Dutch Culture”. It has just … Continue reading “A Dutch Delight”
March 30, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
Tiny 2.5-foot deep Knightsbridge “corridor house” sells for £810,000 at auction Yesterday, at an auction in London, a 2.5-foot deep (at its minimum) and 3-foot deep (at its maximum) mews house sold for £810,000 ($1 million, €936,000 or درهم3.7 million) despite being nothing more than a very long corridor. Extending to 275 square … Continue reading “Narrow in Knightsbridge”
March 16, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
Small, single room in South Kensington to be sold for £150,000 at auction A single room in South Kensington is to be auctioned for the staggering sum of £150,000 ($184,000, €172,000 or درهم675,000). Curiously offered with a “reserve price not to exceed” that sum, the 205 square foot space is on the lower … Continue reading “Not So Roomy”
February 23, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
Belgravia flat offered for £4.95 million in spite of featuring collapsed ceilings, ripped out light fittings and holes in the walls Before putting a property on the market and having it photographed for a sales brochure, most would clean up and make the space look appealing. In Belgravia, however, the owners of a £4.95 … Continue reading “A £5m Fixer Upper”
January 25, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
‘Catwoman’ Jocelyn Wildenstein puts her Trump World Tower apartment on the market after recent court appearance for “clawing” her boyfriend’s face “No showings before 12pm” shouts the listing on realtor Douglas Elliman’s homepage and given how the owner of the property they’re currently selling no doubt looks of a morning, one need not wonder … Continue reading “Trumping Wildenstein”
September 11, 2016
by Matthew Steeples
Six storey Chelsea house for sale for 268% more than it sold for in 2007 Last sold for a total of £5,025,000 million ($6,668,000 or €5,936,000) in 2007, 37–39 Walton Street in Chelsea was formed by the merger of two townhouses that has created an 6,294 square foot home complete with the addition of … Continue reading “Raising Walton Street”
August 30, 2016
by General
A selection of five of the best follies for sale in Britain and elsewhere A folly is unlikely to make an ideal home for a family, but for someone a little more quirky – a writer or artist perhaps – they can easily make an ideal home. Our selection of five of the … Continue reading “Five of the Best – Follies for sale”
August 15, 2016
by Matthew Steeples
Unlucky mansion in Yorkshire with 13 bedrooms for sale for a lower sum than it was marketed for in 2007 – despite having been renovated internally in the time since Offered for sale for less than it was last marketed in a “dilapidated condition” in 2007, Whinburn Hall in the gritty West Yorkshire mill … Continue reading “An unlucky mansion”
May 1, 2016
by Matthew Steeples
House in The Boltons goes on the market for £27.5 million more than it was marketed for in 2012 complete with an extra four levels of accommodation
April 14, 2016
by Matthew Steeples
Former home of ‘Don who’s Donna at night’ for sale for £3 million – in spite of the fact it needs renovation
January 14, 2016
by Matthew Steeples
As the Berkshire bolthole of George Clooney is hit by the latest round of flooding, we imagine he’ll be turning to his favourite Nespresso phrase: “What else?”
November 23, 2015
by Matthew Steeples
Rare 1963 Aston Martin built with a view to be “equally suitable to drive or be driven in” to be auctioned with an estimate £377,000 higher than its 2006 £23,000 selling price
November 18, 2015
by Matthew Steeples
Bentley once owned by chocolate tycoon and flying ace Sir Egbert Cadbury to be auctioned with a guide lower than the cost of its most recent renovation
July 21, 2015
by Matthew Steeples
Despite a Málaga villa built by the musician Prince remaining on the market a year after it was put up for sale, bizarrely its asking price has been increased by £1 million
June 30, 2015
by Matthew Steeples
Most expensive house to be publicly offered for sale in the UK to be stripped of everything including the kitchen sink
June 24, 2015
by Matthew Steeples
Vivien Leigh’s retreat and final resting place for sale for £3.25 million
June 20, 2015
by Matthew Steeples
£3 million sought for a repossessed, roofless shell set in 1,530 acres of Cumbrian countryside
June 5, 2015
by Matthew Steeples
Former home of Ian Fleming that is currently owned by Sol Campbell for sale for £6.75 million
June 3, 2015
by Matthew Steeples
Calvin Klein is bored of living in the “resort” of Miami Beach and has placed his £10.4 million home on the market
May 27, 2015
by Matthew Steeples
A £25 million Westminster house that was the scene of all things scandalous
May 20, 2015
by Matthew Steeples
A £1.15 million ex-council flat sums up just how bonkers the Chelsea property market truly is
May 18, 2015
by Matthew Steeples
A £7.975 million apartment above Colbert on Sloane Square provides indication of the playground for the international super-rich that Chelsea has become
April 25, 2015
by Matthew Steeples
Suite at New York hotel The Plaza available for £2.6 million – the catch: you can only use it 120 days per year
April 5, 2015
by Matthew Steeples
Sir Christopher and Lady Meyer put their Chelsea townhouse up for sale for £2.3 million more than was asked when they bought it in 2013 – The catch? It’s next door to a kebab shop
January 15, 2015
by Matthew Steeples
Cairness House, “Scotland’s most important Greek Revival house”, heads into its fourth year on the market
October 8, 2014
by Matthew Steeples
Reconfigured Lancashire estate for sale for £4.25 million Businessman Martin Higginson and his wife Maggie have reversed what has happened to most English country estates in buying back properties and land around their Lancashire home, Hay Carr at Bay Horse, near Lancaster. They are now selling the whole property with a price of offers … Continue reading “Northern glory”
September 7, 2014
by Matthew Steeples
Daimler used by Churchill to star at RM Auctions Battersea sale Between 1940 and 1950, the Daimler Motor Company loaned a 1939 Daimler DB18 drophead coupé bodied by the Carlton Carriage Company for special occasions. Its most notable loan was to Winston Churchill in 1944 and 1949 and it heads to auction on Monday … Continue reading “Churchill’s ride”
August 11, 2014
by Matthew Steeples
An opportunity to buy an American equivalent of Downton Abbey Downton Abbey returns to our screens this autumn and one has to ask whether its writer Julian Fellowes was at all influenced by the story of the story of Peter Widener of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania whose son and grandson both died in the sinking of … Continue reading “America’s Downton”
August 9, 2014
by Matthew Steeples
Confused.com founder puts castle on market for £1.5 million less than she spent on it “Wild haired” Kate Armstrong, the Australian founder of Confused.com, bought the medieval Scottish castle Cassillis House in Ayrshire from the Kennedy clan in 2009 for £3 million. She spent four years and £3.5 million updating and improving it but is … Continue reading “Confusing a castle”
July 30, 2014
by Matthew Steeples
Lady Meyer takes a pay cheque from the City Bridge Trust Featured in The Telegraph in 2011 due to the curious way it allocated its income, the charity founded by the “Chanel-clad” wife of the former British ambassador to Washington, Lady Meyer, is back in the news after receiving a grant of £60,000 from … Continue reading “Charity begins next to a kebab shop”
July 21, 2014
by Matthew Steeples
House where items lay untouched for 100 years remains on the market for over a year The Hermitage in Hexham, Northumberland is a “small stately home” that truly is a time warp. Rented by the Morant family for nearly 100 years, this Grade II* listed, 14 bedroomed mansion was barely touched during that period.
July 11, 2014
by Matthew Steeples
A Cumbrian mansion built by opium traders and more recently used by cannabis growers comes to the market for just £1.5 million Built by the well-known Dent family, who made their fortune trading both tea and opium, Flass is a vast 23,000 square foot Palladian mansion on the outskirts of the village of Maulds … Continue reading “Drugs and Dents”
July 5, 2014
by Matthew Steeples
Petra Stunt flies in mature trees from Holland for the grounds of her new London mansion The daughter of billionaire F1 mogul Bernie Ecclestone, Petra Stunt, is never one to do things by halves and in her alterations to the £70 million Sloane House in Old Church Street, Chelsea she’s certainly pulled the stops … Continue reading “Flying trees”
June 24, 2014
by Matthew Steeples
Matthew Steeples reviews Toto’s in Knightsbridge, London It takes something for me to be impressed with a restaurant but after three visits to the newly reopened Toto’s in Knightsbridge, I will boldly declare that I believe it to be the best opening of 2014
June 21, 2014
by Matthew Steeples
Brooklyn’s largest and most expensive waterfront residence is anything but modest Built for a self-proclaimed “titan of the business world” named John Rosatti in 1989, 2458 National Drive in Brooklyn’s Mill Basin is a property with an equally large ego. Standing on a 60,000 square foot plot complete with two substantial residences with a … Continue reading “Living it large”
June 19, 2014
by Matthew Steeples
An English country house that sold for a £1 and a Scottish mansion with an asking price of just £1 Downton Abbey addicts take note: For the same price as a double cheeseburger on McDonald’s saver menu you could live like the Earl and Countess Grantham if you bought a Georgian mansion in Chirnside … Continue reading “Mansions for £1”
June 2, 2014
by Matthew Steeples
Former home of film director Richard Attenborough for sale for £12.75 million The Academy Award winning actor, producer and director Lord Attenborough is best known for his roles in such hits as The Great Escape, Gandhi and 10 Rillington Place but it was at Old Friars, his home of many years in Richmond, Surrey, … Continue reading “Cinematic bliss”
May 8, 2014
by Matthew Steeples
£8 million Morley Hall combines traditional style with a home fit for modern living Morley Hall is a Georgian country house to the east of Ware in Hertfordshire. This fine residence is worthy of note as it was remodeled in the Palladian style by the renowned classical architect Raymond Erith
December 12, 2013
by Matthew Steeples
‘Cotswold style’ mansion dramatically reduced in price after 14 years on the market Americans love all things British and they especially love to replicate our architecture. In the Northern Californian town of Hillsborough, a fine example is a 35,000 square foot mansion named The Tobin Clark Estate.
October 14, 2013
by Matthew Steeples
‘Harry Potter’ director Chris Columbus sells up in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights Harry Potter director Chris Columbus is selling his £8,128,000 ($12,995,000) Italianate style San Francisco home.
October 12, 2013
by Matthew Steeples
The sale of a £4.5 million Grade I listed house designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens Once described as “Britain’s smartest bed and breakfast” by the Financial Times, The Salutation in Sandwich, Kent has also appeared on Channel 4’s Four in a Bed and Gogglebox programmes. The Grade I listed house, designed by Sir Edwin … Continue reading “Salutations in Sandwich”
September 30, 2013
by Matthew Steeples
A home worthy of any ‘Downton’ devotee is marketed for £6,500,000 less than it was previously promoted for in 2008 With Downton Abbey back on our screens, Brits are waxing lyrical about life in country houses whilst our American cousins are already bemoaning that they won’t get to see the latest series until January. … Continue reading “Downturning”
