Listing of the day
Location: London, EnglandPrice: £14.9 million ($19.4 million)
Sir Winston Churchill takes the crown for dream dinner party guests. During the first half of the 20th Century he amused the world with his words of wisdom, providing one-liners for motivational speakers for years to come. Of the end he said, "I am prepared to meet my maker. Whether my maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter."
We’re all about five decades too late for the chance to clink glasses with the famous Brit, but the future owners of this historic townhouse on London’s Green Street will have the unparalleled opportunity to claim that they dine in the very spot Churchill once regaled his dinner party compatriots.
More:A Country Home With Manicured Gardens on the Outskirts of London
Sir Frederick Mills, who made his fortune at the helm of Ebbw Vale Steelworks in the early 1900s, commissioned the home in 1915 by architect Edmund Wimperis of Wimperis & Simpson. (Dinner party fact: Wimperis also served as the chief architect and surveyor to the second Duke of Westminster.)
"Frederick’s wife, Lady Edith Mills, brought in designer Geoffrey Lucas to give the house some righteously lavish interiors," explains listing agent Simon Burgoyne of Knight Frank, "with heavy decorative plasterwork, carved step ends and, let’s say, bold damask wallpaper."
Settled in in London’s tony Mayfair neighborhood, the pair would entertain the likes of Churchill, politician David Lloyd George and newspaper proprietor Lord Beaverbrook inside the storied walls.
The Stats
The 5,638-square-foot home is spread out among six stories, each serviced with an elevator, with six bedrooms on the upper three floors. Each of the landings have been converted into a library, complete with ladders to reach the high shelves. Six full bathrooms, a lower ground level guest bedroom with a full staff kitchen complete the sprawling floorplan.
Design Pedigree
Working with the Westminster Planning Department, the current owners renovated the home to reflect their love of Scandinavian design. "They took out the fussy plasterwork and ornate fire surrounds, replacing them with simple, clean lines," Mr. Burgoyne says. But instead of removing all of the original features and losing the home’s charm, "emphasized the period beauty of the old features, mainly the spiral fire escape and original lift, which was one of the first to be installed in Mayfair."
More:A Renovated Victorian Home Set on Prestigious Carlyle Square in Chelsea
Amenities
One of the most coveted features of the home is the direct access to a communal garden. Wimperis drew plans for three new city gardens in 1910. The first completed was the garden at Green Street, a secluded and quiet respite surrounded by handsome 19th-century homes, like this one. The rear of the home opens up to another communal garden, accessible by surrounding residents only.
Agent: Simon Burgoyne, Knight Frank
Write to Listing of the Day