Fresh on the heels of the successful sale of an adjoining townhouse-mansion on Old Queen Street in London, the owners of a historic eight-level home on the same street have listed their property for sale for £17.75 million (US$21.9 million).
An eight-story house on Old Queen Street sold for £15.45 million on Friday, May 15, and the Benisti Family Office of Canada, which owns both homes, listed the property next door the following Monday.
What do you get when you buy Thorpe Hall? 12 bedrooms, 45 acres, and 300 years of English history.https://t.co/HA0fj1VBnD
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“Benisti Family Office is one of the largest retailers in Canada and they’ve also got a global reach,” said Jeremy Gee, managing director of Beauchamp Estates, which is handling both sales.
The Benisti family declined to speak to Mansion Global directly, but through a statement, said that they expect homes like these to outperform others in the £10 million-plus marketplace, “due to the changing consumer behavior triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Buyers are wanting more space, a private garden and direct access to a park.”
According to Beauchamp Estates, the Benisti family bought the properties in 2015. Mansion Global could not determine how much they paid.
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The 6,573-square-foot, five-bedroom townhouse that was sold “had been on the market at the asking price of £16.5 million for just over three months,” Mr. Gee said.
The sale is the largest residential sale during the U.K. Covid-19 lockdown, according to Beauchamp Estates. Because the sale has not yet hit land registry records, Mansion Global could not independently confirm that.
The buyer is a Russian billionaire who owns a leading energy group, according to Beauchamp Estates.
The 6,808-square-foot house that’s now for sale has a storied history and is best known as the one-time home of Harriet Beauclerk, the Coutts & Co. banking heiress who was the richest woman in London at one time, according to Beauchamp Estates.
The No.10 Downing Street-style black-brick Georgian townhouse-mansion was built in 1770 under the auspices of the Beauclerk family, according to Beauchamp Estates. It was designed by Sir Robert Taylor, one of England’s foremost architects who was the architect for the Bank of England until his death in 1788.
“Houses of this period are particularly elegant, with very high ceilings and large rooms,” Mr. Gee said. “This one has eight floors, which is typical for this period, but this one has a lift.”
In 1827, William Beauclerk, the 9 Earl of Burford, caused a stir in high society when he married the wealthy Harriet Coutts nee Mellon, according to Beauchamp Estates. Twenty-three years his senior, she was the controller of the Coutts & Co. banking fortune and the richest woman in London at the time.
Harriet Mellon was an actress working at the Duke Street Theatre when she captured the attention of Thomas Coutts, the elderly widowed founder of the bank.
Despite opposition from his family, Coutts married Harriet and then left her, instead of his children, his entire fortune when he died, according to Beauchamp Estates.
From about 1919 until 2015, the Old Queen Street home currently for sale was used as an office building and then rental apartments.
The house, which now has five bedrooms and seven bathrooms, was completely refurbished from 2015 to 2019, and no one has lived in it since, according to Mr. Gee.
“We consider them both brand-new houses,” Mr. Gee said. All of the systems are new, and the townhouse, like the one next door, is being sold furnished.
The mansion, which overlooks St. James’s Park and Palace, is Grade II-listed, meaning that permission would be needed to make any changes to the property.
“This house for me has the perfect balance of a charming period house with all of the features you expect with a new house,” Mr. Gee said.
“Location is the most important thing about this house,” he added. It “backs up onto St. James’s Park, and it’s walking distance to Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament.”
“The open-plan lower ground floor holds the family kitchen, the family room, and a multi-temperature wine cellar. Sliding glass doors open onto the 36-foot-long private rear garden.
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The main entrance hall is on the ground floor, with access to the main white limestone staircase and the elevator that serves all floors.
The second floor has a double reception room. The duplex master bedroom suite, which has dual bathrooms and dressing rooms, occupies the third and fourth levels.
There are more bedrooms on the fifth and sixth floors, with a lounge/media room and private rooftop terrace on the top floor.
Finishes throughout the home include book-matched slab marble, walnut and oak flooring, handmade wallpapers, polished plasterwork, and mother-of-pearl detailing.
Reinstated or restored items include cornices, ceiling roses, window paneling, and marble and Portland stone fireplaces. Centrally controlled technology runs the home cinema, TV, music and lighting.