An apartment in central London inside a building where essayist T.S. Eliot once lived, is on the market for £995,000 (US$1.3 million). The building, 18 Crawford Mansions, is located in the City of Westminster's Marylebone district and is only a five-minute walk from Oxford Street, the main shopping attraction in the city.
T.S. Eliot moved into Crawford Mansions with his wife Vivienne "Vivien" Haigh-Wood in March 1916, and lived in the apartment next door to the one being listed. The couple moved there after Eliot wrote one of his most famous pieces, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," according to a statement from Kay & Co, the firm handling the sale of the apartment.
At the time neither the area nor the apartment were desirable, and Haigh-Wood spoke about the home as, "the tiniest place imaginable," surrounded by "slums and low streets and poor shops," according a news release from Kay & Co.
More:Read About Dickensian Poorhouse Being Turned Into Luxury Apartments
Despite Haigh-Wood's dissatisfaction with her home, the newly built five-story residence, Crawford Mansions, had many modern conveniences for that time, like constant hot water which was then a luxury, according to the news release.
Eliot and his wife moved out to a home in Buckinghamshire in 1918 but maintained the flat as a pied-à-terre for the writer. Eliot then sold the apartment in 1920s after buying another unit at Clarence Gardens, near Regent’s Park, according to the statement from Kay & Co.
The two-bedroom, one-bathroom home is "a nice little unit and it’s good value," said Paul Sulkin, of Kay & Co; it also has a balcony and a large reception room. The listing came onto the market in June.
The average price for a home in 2017 in Marylebone is around £1.62 million (US$ 2.11 million) according to HM Land Registry’s statistics.
The flat has modern finishes throughout and 714-square-feet of living space. However it is the residence’s association with the poet that may sell it to a buyer, Mr. Sulkin explained.
More:E.B. White's Historic Farm Lists for $3.7 Million
"Historic buildings, particularly those with commemorative plaques, are very desirable as people love the fact that their home has a fascinating past and famous notable residents," said Martin Bikhit, managing director of Kay & Co, in the statement.
Westminster City Council awarded the five-story residence with a green plaque, for its association with T.S. Eliot. As part of the green plaque scheme, each one is individually sponsored by a group with a "particular interest in its subject," according to the Westminster City Council site.
It is unclear as to why the owners are selling, but Mr. Sulkin said they wanted a "change of scenery" from the hustle and bustle of the city.