An 18th century English estate that’s being transformed into a £100 million (US$132.04 million) private residence complete with an underground bowling alley and car elevator, went up for sale Monday.
The Grade II-listed Doughty House, in the southwest London borough of Richmond upon Thames, was built in 1769 and received its eponymous title when heiress Elizabeth Doughty purchased the manor in 1786, according to a news release.
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In 1849, Doughty House was bought by wealthy industrialist Francis Cook. Later, in 1885, Cook—who became known as the Viscount of Monserrate—added a two-story long galley to house his art collection which reportedly held pieces by Rubens, Rembrandt, Velázquez, Van Eyck and had mosaic flooring brought from the ruins of Pompeii.
Flash forward a few hundred years, and developers K10 Group acquired Doughty House in segments between 2013 and 2014. The manor house, the gallery wing and the Dower House, a house traditionally reserved for the widow of an estate-owner, will be transformed into a 38,000-square-foot, 10-bedroom, 48 chandelier-holding estate.
Under the current plans, the main house will have eight bedrooms, a grand staircase, a formal dining room and a music room, while the Victorian-era conservatory will be restored into a split-level family kitchen, breakfast and informal-living area, according to the news release. Staff quarters will be on the lower ground floor and the basement will house a bowling alley and a car "museum," the release said, with space for seven cars, a car turntable and elevator.
The long gallery will hold a spa with a swimming pool, a sauna, massage room and plunge pool. There will also be a winter garden room, providing entertaining space for guests, a cocktail bar, wine storage and a cinema, according to the release. The two-story Dower House will hold two additional guest or staff suites.
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"We worked closely with a team of world class consultants and heritage experts on our designs to rescue, restore and return Doughty House to its original stately home origins," said Kam Babaee, chief executive of K10 Group, in the release, adding that the home is "an important piece of British history."
The building’s Grade II-listed designation means that it’s been included in the U.K.’s Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. (There are three statuses: Grade I, Grade II* and Grade II.) A listed building may not be demolished, extended, or altered without special permission.
Construction costs for the project are anticipated to total £30 million (US$39.61 million), the release said. Restoration specialists will be hired from England, Scotland, Italy, France and California.
The estate will be completed in late 2019, but if a buyer purchases now, "they will have the advantage of working with us over the next two years to totally customize and refine the current plans and design scheme to their personal tastes and lifestyle," Mr. Babaee said.