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 14, 2020
by Matthew Steeples
It’s no longer “Who Sloanes Wins” in Chelsea; welcome to the 2020s in SW3 – and the arrival of an age of vulgarity and coarseness Chelsea used to be the land of Peter York’s Sloane Rangers, girls in pearls and the at-that-time soon to be Princess Diana getting merry in ‘The Ad Cod.’ As … Continue reading “Chelsea’s Chicken McNugget Girls”
July 31, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
Matthew Steeples suggests respected actor George Clooney and publicity desperado Karen Danczuk provide contrasting examples about the ethics of paparazzi intrusion and media manipulation Paparazzi intrusion and media manipulation are interlinked hot potatoes that look unlikely to be resolved anytime soon. Two very different examples emerged in recent days of very different behavior by … Continue reading “Public vs. Private”
April 21, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
Loudmouth champagne swiller Dawn Ward once again fails to get permission to turn her vulgar home into a wedding venue Marketing material for Dawn Ward’s tastelessly decorated home, Warford Hall, near Alderley Edge in Cheshire, boldly describes it as “the finest entertaining house ever conceived”. She’s failed to generate any interest in it since … Continue reading “(Not) Wedded by Ward”
February 22, 2017
by Matthew Steeples
Outrageously over-the-top Beverly Hills pad complete with gold accessories galore goes on sale for £80 million; buyers will get a gold Lamborghini, a gold Rolls-Royce and 170 gold coloured bottles of Cristal Sold last for £7.7 million ($9.8 million, €9.3 million or درهم36 million) in 2012 when it was a 5,926 square foot house, … Continue reading “Take Me To The Gold Park”
September 29, 2016
by Matthew Steeples
The most vulgar numberplate in Britain arrives in SW3 Yesterday, in Walton Street, a Rolls-Royce parked opposite Scalini restaurant. There was nothing unusual about that but it’s point of difference was its numberplate. The owner of the car had chosen ‘SH10W OF’ and in doing so simply illustrated his or herself for what … Continue reading “The No. 1 Showoff”
March 17, 2016
by Matthew Steeples
Gold Rolls-Royce Phantom convertible hits the streets of London and illustrates a new level of vulgarity
February 24, 2015
by Matthew Steeples
‘The Real Housewives of Cheshire’s’ Dawn Ward attempts to sell her tastelessly decorated “Footballers’ Wives-style” home for £12 million
December 28, 2014
by Matthew Steeples
Marinka Smirnova illustrates that stereotypes sometimes can be spot on
August 30, 2014
by General
This thrice married daughter of the novelist Dame Barbara Cartland was allegedly fathered by Prince George, Duke of Kent and has worked her way through five titles. Upwardly mobile, she’s been described as “larger than life” but was so unpopular with her step-children that they nicknamed her “Acid Raine”. During Mohamed Fayed’s ownership of Harrods, … Continue reading “Raine Spencer; Raine, Countess Spencer (AKA “Acid Raine”)”
August 15, 2014
by General
A true player, this Floridian professional gambler and venture capitalist suffered three heart attacks by the age of 30. Thrown out of the US navy for swearing at an officer, Dan Bilzerian is a badboy who now wants to rebrand himself as “the gentleman of poker”. He has a colossal 4 million followers on Instagram and … Continue reading “Dan Bilzerian (AKA “Blitz”)”
April 9, 2014
by Matthew Steeples
Lamborghini LM 002 4×4 heads to auction The Lamborghini loving Arabs who frequent Sloane Street could save themselves from having to purchase a Range Rover for their entourage by bidding on a baby blue Lamborghini LM 002 at Bonhams’ 28th April sale at London’s RAF Museum at Hendon.
August 16, 2013
by Matthew Steeples
21st century gauche replaces 20th century elegance A hidden enclave opposite the V&A museum in South Kensington was home to two of the twentieth century’s most fascinating individuals. London club owner and arbiter of good taste Mark Birley lived at Thurloe Lodge for nearly thirty years until his death in 2007 and for a … Continue reading “All hail vulgarity”
June 20, 2013
by Matthew Steeples
Website of the Week: Rich Kids of Instagram The Rich Kids of Instagram website is an Internet phenomenon that has come to illustrate the gulf between the haves and the have nots.
June 8, 2013
by Matthew Steeples
Katie Price is hardly a person in a position to give advice to Madonna on cosmetic surgery Katie Price has racked up six names and three marriages since being born in 1978. Described as “football-boobed” by The Mirror, the glamour model used her weekly column in The Sun today to attack Madonna.
April 27, 2013
by Matthew Steeples
Her billionaire husband, David, calls this former Miss Florida a “psycho, but a lovable psycho” and adds that she is a “big-busted shopaholic”. Her main desire in life is to be famous and a documentary film about her was made in 2012 by Lauren Greenfield. When her current neighbour, Tiger Woods, crashed his car, she … Continue reading “Jackie Siegel”
March 24, 2013
by Matthew Steeples
A self-made mogul and former champion boxer who cannot read or write fluently. He thinks “differently” and built a £400 million fortune by creating and then selling a buy-to-let empire of almost 6,000 rental properties. Panayiotou takes the view that it is “moral[ly]” right to pay taxes in Britain and of those who call Heath … Continue reading “Andreas Panayiotou”
November 28, 2012
by Matthew Steeples
Amy Childs: A brash young lady with questionable taste Our last picture of the week featuring a Range Rover Sport was of one that had been driven by a couple described in the comments section of a Mail Online article as a “pair of pillocks in a puddle.” We subsequently received a Tweet from … Continue reading “Picture of the Week: White fleece”
November 11, 2012
by Matthew Steeples
Could the number 13 be the reason Halcyon Hall has failed to sell? Several over the top Californian residences we’ve featured on The Steeple Times, namely the $40,000,000 Chateau d’Or in Bel Air and the $87,000,000 Villa del Lago on the Newport coast, were properties that have seen huge price reductions. Though $15,000,000 has … Continue reading “Which bear will take the 13th seat?”
November 2, 2012
by Matthew Steeples
A £15 million mansion fit for a self-made tycoon or an upwardly mobile WAG While the youth of the Kings Road and Loughton have featured in the reality shows Made in Chelsea and The Only Way is Essex, their counterparts in Cheshire have yet to undergo the same social experiment. Having come across a … Continue reading “Windows on the WAGs”
October 29, 2012
by Matthew Steeples
Matthew Steeples compares two comparable examples of motoring excess: the “Golden Zebra” and the Fulda Maybach Exelero In recent weeks I’ve received a number of messages about an $8,000,000 car named a Fulda Maybach Exelero. One of them referred to it as “one of the most over the top cars on the planet” and … Continue reading “Docked excess”
October 16, 2012
by Matthew Steeples
The bonfire sale of a monster of a mansion that has had a $15 million price reduction A property was first built at 10425 West Sunset Boulevard in Lower Bel Air, Los Angeles in 1936. Here, in this most exclusive of districts, the homes of the prosperous residents are hidden from view and this … Continue reading “Tarred by Paparazzi”
October 13, 2012
by Matthew Steeples
Matthew Steeples discovers a penthouse that even the most ambitious estate agent may struggle to flog Estate agents are a tough breed and there are very few properties that they might admit could verge on being impossible to sell. We believe, however, that we might have found one that could be in the same … Continue reading “Now who’d want to live in a house like this?”
by Matthew Steeples
Matthew Steeples reacts to the BBC quietly dropping the “Sir” This morning when I turned on Radio 4’s Today programme, as has become customary in the last weeks, the first item on the news was about a man who will forever be associated with abuse and paedophilia, Jimmy Savile. In recent days, as … Continue reading “Bravo the Beeb”
October 4, 2012
by Matthew Steeples
Living life to the full Donald G. Abbey style “Why pay less when you can pay more?” is a mantra that some strangely choose to live by. In my time, I have encountered a couple with a different Ferrari for each day of the week, someone who proudly declared their home had a window … Continue reading “Why pay less?”
September 28, 2012
by Matthew Steeples
The case of a Ferrari FF driver with more money than sense Last November, on my way to a lunch at The Stafford Hotel with The Steeple Times restaurant critic, Anthony Brown, I took a photograph of one of my favourite vehicles, a Ferrari FF, in Curzon Street, W1. Emblazoned with a Westminster … Continue reading “Ferrari’s ‘F’lipping ‘F’ool”
May 23, 2012
by Matthew Steeples
This property developer tried to sell Britain’s ugliest crib, Updown Court at Windlesham in Surrey, for £70 million in 2008. It languished on the market for years and looked like a cross between a Tesco store and Center Parcs. The mansion included five swimming pools, a heated marble driveway and 103 rooms. Nobody loved it … Continue reading “Leslie “Les” Allen-Vercoe (also known as Les Vercoe)”
