Tag: wealth

Boujis in the basement?

Matthew Steeples explores the story of an empty Kensington mansion

A multi-million pound 8-bedroomed house in Kensington isn’t anything unusual. In fact, rather, they’re ten a penny. In this, one of the wealthiest boroughs in the land, large, expensive homes are just the norm.

An image of the existing exterior of No. 1 Campden Hill, London, W8 7AD

A rendered image of how the exterior of the renovated property might look

The plans show a vast subterranean development that will vastly increase the size of No. 1 Campden Hill

No. 1 Campden Hill, which is being marketed for an undisclosed eight-figure sum, is in a quite different league. Here is a detached Edwardian house in an acre of grounds just to the north of Kensington High Street. It’s an unrenovated property but it attracted much press attention in October 2011 because it was place on the market in October 2011 at a price of £75,000,000. Yes, you heard it right: £75 million for a fixer-upper. Last week, Radio 4 made a hell of a fuss about a derelict semi-detached house in Newcastle selling for just £14,000 so this truly must be something special.

Architect Edward P. Warren (1856 – 1937), far right, in the offices of Bodley & Garner, 14 South Square, Gray’s Inn, London

The architect of the house Edward Prioleau Warren (1856 – 1937), a Bristol born architect and archaeologist, was best known for “Oxford colleges and minor country houses” but also designed the War Cemetery at Basra. He was a friend and adviser to the American novelist Henry James and in addition to building No. 1 Campden Hill in 1915, he also designed a house at 5 Palace Green in 1906 and another, Estcort House in Kensington Palace Gardens, in 1904. Warren’s guiding style is described as having been to recreate an “understated revival of English late 17th century” architecture and at No. 1 Campden Hill he created just that.

Colonel Edmond Grove-Hills (1864 – 1922), born Edmond Hills, and his wife, Juliet Spencer-Bell, were the architect’s clients. A plaque on the building bares their names and the following dedication:

This House I built for Me & Mine

May it be of Peace A Shrine

And no Enmity or Sin

Ever find its way therein

AD 1915

Sadly for the Grove-Hills, the following year, their son, Second Lieutenant Charles Herbert-Hills (1895 – 1916) was killed on the Somme aged just 21. His father, meanwhile, was awarded a CBE in 1918 after having served as the Assistant Chief Engineer of Eastern Command during the war.

Aside from his military exploits, Edmond Grove-Hills is best known for his role as president of the Royal Astronomical Society. He took part in observations of eclipse of the sun in Japan in 1896, India in 1898 and Russia in 1914 and contributed papers analysing both this and the causes of the irregular movements of the earth’s axis of rotation.

In 1951, No. 1 Campden Hill was purchased by the government of Uruguay and it became the residence of their ambassador to the United Kingdom. For the next fifty years the building was barely altered but when the lease from the Phillimore Kensington Estate came to an end, there were legal problems as the 1951 transfer had never been stamped. Of this, Sharon Mulroney of Forsters, the legal representatives of Phillimore, commented:

“It is highly unusual to be faced with complications of this kind when dealing with a registered London title, but this made the transaction all the more fascinating. Even the decision to allow ambassadorial staff to return to the property for security purposes after completion was fraught with potential problems about security of tenure, employment and tax.”

The proposed site plan shows the addition of a garden pavilion, staff/security cottage and a tennis court

Eventually, without issue, the Phillimore Estate sold on the house in 2001 for a price of approximately £17,000,000. In the years since, the property was effectively mothballed as all the purchasers have done is to have obtained planning permission to redevelop the building into a mammoth mansion of epic proportions.

A computer rendered image of how the drawing room might look

The “leisure area” is reminiscent of the entrance to The Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park Hotel

The private home cinema would be the envy of any movie buff

The swimming pool

The wine cellar is rather like a contemporary take on Berry Bros. & Rudd’s flagship store in St. James’s Street

And to complete it all… The plans include your own version of Boujis in the basement

The approved plans show designs for something quite remarkable. Warren’s “understated” residence will be replaced with 8 vast bedroom suites, grand entertaining spaces, a lift and even bedrooms for 5 staff. In addition to a full-scale renovation of the original freehold house, there is scope to provide a total of 30,000 square feet of accommodation by adding a huge subterranean complex that will include a 25-metre swimming pool, court, squash court, gym, sauna, steam room, function room, entertainment room, home cinema, wine tasting room and even a nightclub to rival any of Kensington’s trendiest haunts.

On that basis alone, No. 1 Campden Hill is surely the ideal residence for Prince Harry: “Who needs Boujis?” we hear him cry.

No. 1 Campden Hill, London, W8 7AD is for sale through Knight Frank. For more details contact Roddy Craggs on +44 (0) 20 7938 4311 or go to: http://search.knightfrank.com/ken100161 to download a brochure.

For more information about The Phillimore Estate, go to: http://www.phillimore-kensington-estate.co.uk

November 5, 2012
Adele Adkins

“I don’t know what’s going to happen if my music career goes wrong,” states this Tottenham born singer. Having been named “one of the most influential people in the world” by TIME Magazine and broken the record for the longest number-1 album by a woman in Billboard history, she really need not worry. Adele’s still “Someone Like You,” except she’s now worth in excess of £23 million and is guaranteed a place amongst the music greats. Gordon Brown wrote to this Labour supporter to tell her that she’s a “light end of the tunnel” but we prefer the view of former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash. Of her, he proclaims: “She’s great. She’s a shot in the arm for this industry.”

November 4, 2012
Windows on the WAGs

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 fair few of their number though, I can only imagine their antics would result in television of comparable car crash proportions.

Wayne and Coleen Rooney and their home on Collar House Drive in Prestbury, East Cheshire

Warrington born Kerry Katona isn’t considered one of the “Cheshire set’s” finest exports

Cheshire itself is a county of contrasts: there’s the farming and hunting set and then there’s the new money. From the 1950s onwards an invasion of nouveau riche footballers and self-made business people came to Alderley Edge and Wilmslow and it is said that there are more Rolls-Royces per square mile here than anywhere else in the UK.

Though today’s Coronation Street actresses and Man United players generally favour brand new homes in Prestbury, the new wealth have not just consigned themselves to such. The likes of Take That’s Gary Barlow, for a time, owned Delamere Manor at Cuddington but sold it in 2005 due to his ever-growing commitments elsewhere. Equally, Neil Hamilton, whilst MP for Tatton, lived at The Old Rectory at Nether Alderley with his formidable wife Christine but when their days in politics came to an end, they too moved on. For a time, David and Victoria Beckham were the undoubted glitterati of this manor, but of those footballers still resident Wayne and Coleen Rooney are definitely now the best known.

Swettenham Hall, Swettenham, Congleton, Cheshire, CW12 2JZ

Double glazing tycoon Brian Kennedy

In a “grey area between old and new” sits Swettenham Hall at Swettenham near Congleton. This 12,590 square foot Georgian mansion dates to 1795 but since it was acquired by Brian Kennedy, a double glazing, home improvements and mobile telephone entrepreneur, the house has been given a total makeover. The colourful style he’s given the house can best be described as being akin to: “Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen meets Austin Powers.”

Swettenham Hall’s drawing room is decorated and furnished in a cacophony of colours

The kitchen is painted in an equally vivid shade of lime green

A bedroom boasts a carpet that would make Austin Powers shout: “Yeah, baby, yeah!”

The same carpeting continues into the wood paneled “gentleman’s study”

At Swettenham Hall, bathrooms, equally, are far from neutral in their styling

Mr Kennedy and his wife Christine employed Julian Bicknell Associates to design an impressive leisure wing in 2004

Swettenham Hall is most definitely a party palace and along with the addition of a leisure wing consisting of a swimming pool, Jacuzzi®, plunge pool, steam room and gymnasium in 2004, Kennedy has also constructed a 47ft by 44ft helicopter hangar complete with a retractable helicopter pad.

Standing in 100 acres of grounds, the house does seem a tad expensive at £15 million especially since that the adjoining former farm buildings were sold off and converted into eight homes in 1999. The driveway is partly shared with these homes and for those seeking the ultimate in privacy, this could indeed be an issue. It is perhaps why Swettenham Hall has yet to sell.

The former farm buildings next to Swettenham Hall were sold off and converted into eight homes by Egerton Estates and Watts Developments in 1999

The proximity of Swettenham Hall to the neighbouring barn conversions is illustrated in this Google Earth map

Brian Kennedy is someone I hadn’t heard of until I came across Swettenham Hall but here is a fascinating man whose meteoric rise is frankly very clearly linked to windows. The son of a window cleaner from Edinburgh, this self-made tycoon started his career as a trainee manager at the Royal Bank of Scotland. He subsequently briefly worked as a trainee accountant but left when offered the chance to become youngest branch manager of Moben Kitchens at the age of 20.

At around this time, Kennedy acquired a stake in Farouche Kitchens and with a Rochdale born property entrepreneur named David Russell, he was transformed from a door-to-door salesman to a pioneer in direct sales. In 1988, when Farouche was sold, Kennedy netted circa £1 million. From here, this entrepreneur returned to his family’s roots by venturing into double glazing with Weatherseal Windows and then home improvements with Space Kitchens & Bedrooms.

In 1999, with the help of funds raised by private equity investors 3i, Kennedy paid £42 million for the well known brand Everest but sold part of his stake to the management for £63 million in 2003. In due course he added to his shareholding and then sold 21.5% of the company to Hutton Collins in a deal which valued the company at £150 million in 2007.

Ever the empire builder, Kennedy paid £29 million for a conservatory manufacturer named Ultrafame in 2006 and then also added another double glazing brand, Zenith Staybrite, to his portfolio in 2008. Many other business ventures followed but not being afraid to diversify, Kennedy formed Patrick Properties, whose portfolio is now valued in excess of £100 million, in 2002 and Kennedy Renewables, which specialises in wind energy, in 2009.

In the technology sector, a chance conversation in a Knutsford wine bar in 1995 led to him venturing into the mobile telephone market with a company named Genesis Communications. The business was sold to Dixons in 2002 for £31 million.

In January 2012, Kennedy merged his main Latium Holdings business with Jim Rawson’s Epwin Group to form Epwin Holdings. The merger resulted in a company with more than 2,500 employees and brands numbering Spectus, Swish, CET and Kestrel.

Of his success, Kennedy states:

“Business is common sense [and] dealing with people is common sense. I don’t think I have any particular flair. I think it is about common sense, taking the opportunity when it comes and hard work.”

Brian Kennedy’s wealth has allowed him to indulge many of his passions. A period of semi-retirement “drove [him] and [his] kids nuts,” but this Scotsman’s love of rugby resulted in him acquiring the Sale Sharks Rugby Club in 1999. He is said to have set the “club on a sound financial footing” and turned it into “one of the leading rugby clubs in Britain.”

Philanthropy is something that Kennedy, a Jehovah’s Witness, has also dedicated his wealth to. Through his Brian Kennedy Trust, he has supported a number of charities and organisations but it is for his role as the main backer of Find Madeleine Fund that he has come to public attention. Of his reasoning for backing the missing child’s parents financially, he stated:

“In light of the quite literally incredible accusations against Gerry and Kate McCann, which are clearly exacerbating their emotional torture, I felt compelled to offer, along with other like-minded businessmen, financial support and the full logistical support of the Latium team. That support is principally our in-house lawyer Ed Smethurst and [official spokesman] Clarence Mitchell.”

Brian Kennedy was involved in the funding of a team that included Clarence Mitchell for the Find Madeleine Fund until 2009. Here Mitchell (standing) is pictured with Gerry and Kate McCann.

An ex-lawyer and campaigner Anthony “Tony” Bennett is the former secretary of The Madeleine Foundation who has been involved in various legal disputes with Brian Kennedy and Gerry and Kate McCann

Kennedy’s donation attracted much press attention in 2007 in the weeks following Madeleine McCann’s disappearance and he continues to support them to this day. A very public spat involving him, Gerry and Kate McCann and a campaigner named Tony Bennett, who also was involved in The Madeleine Foundation, has been the subject of various legal actions. In October 2011, Mr Bennett was forced to publicly apologise to Mr Kennedy and separately an August 2009 Evening Standard article by Mark Hollingsworth “investigat[ing] the investigators,” was pulled because for “legal and editorial reasons.” In it, “someone who worked closely with [Kennedy]” was quoted as saying:

“He was appalled by the Portuguese police, but he also had visions of flying in by helicopter to rescue Madeleine.”

Angelina Jolie, another avid aviator, once commented: “Wherever I am I find myself looking out of the window wishing I was somewhere else.” We do not know why Brian Kennedy is selling Swettenham Hall, but Jolie is indeed one of the few with the resources to take these particular windows off his hands.

For more information about Swettenham Hall, Swettenham, Congleton, Cheshire, CW12 2JZ, contact Edward Welton of Knight Frank on +44 (0) 20 7861 1114.

For more details about Brian Kennedy, go to: http://www.brian-kennedy.co.uk

For more details about the Find Madeleine Fund go to: http://www.findmadeleine.com and for information on The Madeleine Foundation: http://www.madeleinefoundation.org.uk/

November 2, 2012
Angela Epstein

The Daily Mail is renowned for enthusiastically bashing benefit scroungers but in November 2012, they gave Angela Epstein, whose household income is in excess of £100,000 a year, a platform to bleat that she wasn’t getting enough. This Manchester based mum of four has also penned articles speaking of her pride about driving her brats five minutes down the road to school and boasts that “being in the media puts a girl on the radar.” Epstein makes Samantha Brick seem positively sane and we really hope that someone will just turn this ridiculous woman’s antenna off.

November 1, 2012
Urs Schwarzenbach

This Swiss born son of a printer has spent over £85 million buying up properties in the Henley-on-Thames area of Oxfordshire. Schwarzenbach also owns 123,000 acres in Australia, 26,000 acres in Scotland and has his own polo team, the Black Bears. This financier’s foreign exchange dealership, Interexchange, is the biggest in Switzerland and betting against the dollar has brought much success. He supposedly even named his Gulfstream G650 “George” as “ultimately it was Bush who paid for it.” Whilst Schwarzenbach’s Grand Hotel Dolder in Zurich wins plaudits galore. an investment in Mayfair’s Café Grand Prix was less successful. It is, however, for philanthropy and discretion that Schwarzenbach and his wife, a former Miss Australia, are known best.

November 1, 2012
A manageable mansion

The sale of the £20 million Bletchingdon Park, Oxfordshire

Bletchingdon Park House in Oxfordshire is one of those classic Palladian villas that would make the perfect setting for a period drama. Unlike vast Jacobean mansions like Highclere Castle, better known as Julian Fellowes’ Downton Abbey, however, Bletchingdon is of a far more manageable size.

The facade of Bletchingdon Park, Bletchingdon, Kidlington, Oxfordshire, OX5 3DW

The staircase hall

A formal reception room

The grounds of Bletchingdon Park

This Grade II* listed Georgian house, built for Lord Valentina in 1782, may be some 24,600 square foot in size, but it has a layout that makes it both practical for living and suitable for entertaining on a grand scale. The accommodation, which has been renovated by the renowned building company Symm, includes 9 bedrooms and suites, well-proportioned formal reception rooms and a garden floor with further reception rooms, a billiards room and a fitness room with spa.

Whilst the original stable block has been sold off and converted to residential accommodation, Bletchingdon Park includes 2 staff flats, a 2-bedroomed lodge cottage and a further 3-bedroomed cottage. With parkland and grounds extending to 127 acres, maintaining Bletchingdon’s plot is large, but easily maintained.

Dr Michael Peagram with Albert II, Prince of Monaco and Prince Andrew, The Duke of York

The former stables of Bletchingdon Park were sold off some years ago and have been converted into a number of homes

In the 20^th century Bletchingdon was owned by Lord Astor and then Lord Rotherwick. The current owner, Dr Michael Peagram, purchased the estate in 1993. Peagram made his fortune in the chemicals industry after having led a management buyout of Huddersfield based Holliday Chemicals Holdings (HCH) in 1987. He revitalised the business, expanded into new markets and floated the company in 1993. The business was ultimately sold to Yule Catto for £225 million in 1997 and in 2001 Peagram sold another company for a reported £44 million.

At this point, this scientist turned tycoon moved to Monaco and saved himself, according to a 2009 Daily Mail article by Piers Morgan, some £13 million in capital gains tax. A wise businessman and a supporter of David Cameron, Peagram’s modus operandi is:

“Winning with honour and playing by the rules… And not cheating.”

In an interview with Monaco’s NeXt Generation Entrepreneur Forum, he states that he “did lots of work” to achieve his success but admits to “being a romantic at heart.” He has used much of his fortune to fund the philanthropic activities of Outward Bound Monaco with Prince Andrew, The Duke of York and Albert II, Prince of Moanco.

Peagram placed Bletchingdon Park on the market in May 2012 at a price of £20 million. Of why it hasn’t sold, one blogger commented that a footpath runs close to the house and that there is a lack of leisure facilities and outbuildings. Somehow neither seem insurmountable and whoever purchases this fine residence will be a very lucky man. If I were Dr Peagram, though, I’d keep it.

Bletchingdon Park, Bletchingdon, Kidlington, Oxfordshire, OX5 3DW is for sale through Knight Frank. For further details contact Damian Gray on +44 (0) 20 7629 8171 and to download a brochure go to: http://search.knightfrank.com/cho090098

October 27, 2012
Oliver Estreich: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”

The Steeple Times asks contemporary artist and founder of theNativeSociety Oliver Estreich: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”

The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom.” Oliver Estreich, what’s your guiding force?

Creativity and sex.

“Don’t get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion, a great motto. What’s yours?

“Think rich, look poor” and “Nothing exceeds like excess.”

Kerry Katona was considered unacceptable in 2007. Who or what is unacceptable in 2012?

Who is Kerry Katona? … For me, it has to be the amount of hype over Facebook and other social media ventures.

Tony Blair misses being Prime Minister. What do you miss most in your life?

I live in the moment so I have no regrets but I think about my Snoopy stuffed animal I had when I was a kid… He spurred my imagination.

What might you swap all your wealth for?

One night in Bangkok… Wait, I’ve already done that. My definition of “wealth” is: “One who is rich in friends, family and passion. “

Donald Trump was once a case of: “If you owe the bank a thousand, they close you down; but if you owe the bank a billion, you own the bank.” What’s your view on the banking crisis?

Trump caused it.

What phrase or word do you most loathe?

“Same shit, different day.” You might as well be a zombie or in a grave if you say or believe that.

In the UK, some people consider charity to “begin at home.” What’s your view and what causes do you personally support?

Charity is vital to society – if you actually get your hands dirty. Simply donating to a cause to look like a “charitable” person is hogwash. I am a huge advocate of Humane Society and Special Olympics.

The judge in “Law Abiding Citizen” states: “I can pretty do whatever I want” before being blown up whilst answering her mobile phone. What’s your view on the appropriate use of such devices?

Can’t live with it, can’t live without it.

If you could fill a carriage on The Orient Express, who would be your fellow passengers?

Ernest Hemingway, Sir Richard Branson, Hugh Hefner and Andy Warhol.

Oliver Estreich

If you were unfortunate enough to end up on death row, what would be your last meal and where would you eat it?

Hudut caught with friends and cooked off the coast of Caye Caulker, Belize. It would be served with Marie Sharp’s Hot Sauce and a refreshing Belikin beer.

What time is it acceptable to consume the first drink of the day?

It’s always 12 pm somewhere in the world.

A Negroni, a martini or a cup of tea?

A martini straight up with two blue cheese olives and a French blond model on the side.

Whose parties do you enjoy the most and why?

Saturday parties at Le Bilboquet in New York’s Upper East Side. It has a great atmosphere and great staff. It’s like home.

Who is the most positive person you know?

Everyone I surround myself with is positive. Attitude is contagious.

What’s your most guilty pleasure?

Too many to count.

If a tattoo were to sum you up, what would it be of?

I have one – Asian symbol for love and pleasure.

If you were a car, what marque would you be?

A Ferrari Testarossa.

Cilla Black presented “Surprise, Surprise.” Tell us the most surprising thing about you.

I sleep naked.

Finally, Oliver Estreich: What’s currently sitting on your mantelpiece?

A picture of my family next to a hundred other random items that serve some purpose.

Oliver Estreich is the founder of theNativeSociety and a contemporary artist specialising in pop art. Follow Oliver Estreich on Twitter at @OliverEstreich.

October 25, 2012
Video of the Week: The Queen morphs

The Queen’s life in 3 minutes and 24 seconds

This week we must thank Dan Large for having alerted us to an amazing YouTube video showing Her Majesty The Queen’s life in 3 minutes and 24 seconds.

Elizabeth II

Created by “an old retired guy who likes to play with computers” named “HerBunk” and using the technological wizardy of FantaMorph, the video has attracted nearly 6,000 likes and 300 dislikes. We look forward to hearing what readers of The Steeple Times make of it.

Watch the video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8nJhG1xE5o&feature=share

October 25, 2012
Wafic Saïd

This billionaire was born in Damascus in 1939 and declares his loves to be music, architecture, art and horse racing. His home is the £50 million neo-Georgian mansion Tusmore Park near Bicester in Oxfordshire and he supposedly paid Robbie Williams in excess of a million to perform at his daughter’s May 2012 wedding to PR Khaled Khawaja at The Palace of Versailles. Saïd was one of Margaret Thatcher’s biggest supporters but is also said to have been a confidant of Peter Mandelson. As chairman of Saïd Holdings Limited, he presides over an empire with investments in hedge funds and real estates but he’s better known for the £23 million endowment he provided to establish the Saïd Business School in Oxford in 1996.

October 24, 2012
Sir Benjamin Slade Bt.: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”

The Steeple Times asks the right-wing businessman and owner of Maunsel House and Woodlands Castle, Sir Benjamin Slade: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”

The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom.” What’s your guiding force?

Money, power, sex, success, land, trees, books and fine wine.

“Don’t get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion, a great motto. What’s yours?

“If it f**ks, floats or flies: Rent it, don’t buy it and don’t marry it!”

Kerry Katona was considered unacceptable in 2007. Who or what is unacceptable in 2012?

David Cameron and Sir Mervyn King.

Tony Blair misses being Prime Minister. What do you miss most in your life?

Being in London full-time.

What might you swap all your wealth for?

Good health and two healthy sons.

Donald Trump was once a case of: “If you owe the bank a thousand, they close you down; but if you owe the bank a billion, you own the bank.” What’s your view on the banking crisis?

It’s like putting bartenders on commission and allowing them to give credit to alcoholics who die and go bankrupt.

What phrase or word do you most loathe?

I’ve got three: 1. “Sustainability.” 2. “Stakeholder.” 3. “Human rights.”

In the UK, some people consider charity to “begin at home.” What’s your view and what causes do you personally support?

UKIP and Help for Heroes.

The judge in “Law Abiding Citizen” states: “I can pretty do whatever I want” before being blown up whilst answering her mobile phone. What’s your view on the appropriate use of such devices?

They are useful for ringing up if late, doing deals and arranging dinners with girls.

If you could fill a carriage on The Orient Express, who would be your fellow passengers?

Warren Buffett, Bobby Faber, Philip Gibbs, Bettany Hughes, Brian Kingham, Lady Kitchener-Fellowes, Francis Fulford, Robert Lyle, Sir John Madejski, David Ord, General Sir Michael Rose, Roger Seelig, Alexander Stockton, Jonathan Sumption PC, Norman Tebbit, Lord Westbury, the Duke of Westminster and Mrs William Worsley. Adrian de Ferranti can sit in the luggage car and serve wine.

Sir Benjamin Slade Bt.

If you were unfortunate enough to end up on death row, what would be your last meal and where would you eat it?

It’d have to be at La Tour d’Argent in Paris.

What time is it acceptable to consume the first drink of the day?

1pm and 6pm.

A Negroni, a martini or a cup of tea?

Green tea.

Whose parties do you enjoy the most and why?

Sotheby’s and Christie’s and those hosted by Liz Floyd and Philip Gibbs.

Who is the most positive person you know?

My friend Bobby Faber.

What’s your most guilty pleasure?

Drinking claret at £100 per bottle.

If a tattoo were to sum you up, what would it be of?

A big castle with lots of walnut trees, good books and bottles of wine. And girls’ hips.

If you were a car, what marque would you be?

A Ford Fiesta.

Cilla Black presented “Surprise, Surprise.” Tell us the most surprising thing about you.

I’m self-made, have a great knowledge of history and am a seriously good doctor with over 120 patients. And, you’ll be surprised to learn that I was a spy in the Middle East for Britain.

What’s currently sitting on your mantelpiece?

Tankards, invites, various Mouser and Walther pistols, cows horns, Roman artifacts, decanters, pewter cups, silver, an 18th century bottle of port and a Russian machine gun.

Maunsel House, North Newton, Near Taunton, Somerset, TA7 0BU. Telephone: +44 (0) 1278 661076. Website: http://www.maunselhouse.co.uk

Woodlands Castle, Ruishton, Taunton, Somerset, TA3 5LU. Telephone: +44 (0) 1823 444955. Website: http://www.woodlandscastle.co.uk

Read Sir Benjamin Slade’s blog at: http://sirbenslade.blogspot.co.uk/ and follow him on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/sirbenslade

October 22, 2012