In the 1920s, Matrix Island was a steel-construction coal barge chugging down the River Seine; now, with a hull painted pale grey and sporting a natty orange stripe, she’s possibly the most luxurious houseboat on the Thames, floating next to her private pontoon (a rented mooring) at St Katharine’s Docks.
The unique vessel is currently on the market with joint agents Dexters and River Homes for £3 million.
More than 5,000sq ft of accommodation over two levels includes five spacious bedrooms, a walk-in wardrobe, four bathrooms, sauna and a vast open-plan kitchen/dining/living room, plus another sitting room with an unusual hanging log-burner, an office with a view of Tower Bridge and lots of storage areas, not to mention a 50ft fore deck with a retractable glass enclosure, open deck area and a jet ski/tender platform.
Matrix Island was originally converted by a French film producer.
Matrix Island is currently on the market via joint agents Dexters and River Homes for £3 million — see more pictures, or enquire with the agent for further details.
St Katharine Docks: What you need to know
Location: In Central London, just east of the city. Tower Hill Underground offers Circle and District lines, Tower Gateway offers DLR services and London Fenchurch Street offers National Rail services.
Atmosphere: As central London's only marina — and with Tower Bridge and the Tower of London as neighbours, the diverse marina enjoys a thriving waterside community and welcomes vessels from all over the world, and crowds often gather to watch them dock.
Things to do: Every Friday the dock hosts the World Food Market and there are coffee shops, restaurants and supermarkets within the vicinity.
Schools: Hermitage Primary School and St Peter's London Docks C of E Primary School are two local options. For secondary there is Wapping High School, Mulberry School for Girls and The City of London School.
See more property for sale in the area.
Credit: Strutt and Parker
Best country houses for sale this week
An irresistible West Country cottage and a magnificent Cumbrian country house make our pick of the finest country houses for
-
Suit yourself: I’m a 49 year-old man-about-town and I’ve never owned a suitWhen Hugh Smithson-Wright turned up to Country Life's annual Gentleman's Life party sans suit, it sparked a passionate conversation about why the formal fashion just isn't for everyone.
-
'The ugliness and craziness is a part of its charm': The Country Life guide to BangkokWhere to stay, where to eat and what to do in the Thai capital.
-
The wave of downsizing about to hit the property market in the UKThe Chancellor of the Exchequer's Budget — and specifically the 'Mansion Tax' — has fired a starting pistol for downsizers, and the waves will wash across the entire property market. Annabel Dixon spoke to property experts across the country to gauge how it will play out.
-
A Georgian farmhouse that's an 'absolute gem' in an ancient village on Salisbury PlainJulie Harding takes a look at the beautiful West Farm in a gorgeous Wiltshire village.
-
It'd be crazy to buy this 500-year-old farmhouse just because of its utterly gorgeous Aga — so thank goodness that the rest of this place is also really nicePerry Mill Farm is an immaculate yet characterful four-bedroom dream home in the country at a price that will make city dwellers immediately start Googling 'working from Worcestershire'.
-
'A masterpiece of timeless elegance' for sale on the charmed Surrey estate once owned by Henry VIII and the Guinness familyThe Manor House in Burwood Park is a grand, enormous and undeniably impressive. Annabel Dixon takes a look.
-
A grand hall in Yorkshire with 400 years of historyCarlton Hall is a wonderful family home amid glorious gardens in a quaint village location. Penny Churchill looks inside.
-
Why don't more of us live in brightly coloured homes?It's not often that you see a home sporting the colour palette that you'd get if you hired a four-year old as your interior designer. But why not? The Blue House in Bethnal Green asks this and many more questions.
-
Five magnificent mansions, from a former monastery to an Art Deco wonder in the South Downs, as seen in Country LifeWonderful homes, including a superb beach home in Cornwall, all fresh on the market via Country Life.
-
A 14-bedroom 'miniature Downton Abbey' to call your own — and there's not a penny of Mansion Tax to be paidNorton Manor is an incredible period home that's on the market for £1.3 million.
