A £16 million 'miniature Kensington Palace' on the Thames in central London that was (probably) designed by Christopher Wren
Once part of a 200-acre estate, this seven-bedroom manor house overlooking Chelsea Embankment has hosted royalty and A-listers.
Toby Keel
Estate agents have a long and storied history of rebranding areas to elevate their profile. The most famous example for this is in New York, where the neighbourhood once known as Greenwich Village was later divided by salesmen into East and West. Why so? Because the area known as Alphabet City, stretching from Avenues A to D and Houston to 14th Streets, was once impossible to sell a house in due to a notorious crime rate. The solution, agents found, was to squash the eastern stretch of Greenwich Village and Alphabet City together and rename it. Thus, the East Village was born. The median sale price per square foot in the district now stands at $1,520 (£1,153 at the time of writing).
London agents have more recently begun referring to Battersea as South Chelsea. They’re only half-joking (irony, after all, is a covetable currency this side of the pond), for Battersea has had a major glow-up these past few years, catering to a market that enjoys proximity to the King’s Road without wanting to face the onslaught of crowds from the minute they leave the house — or, indeed, find themselves too close to Chelsea Stadium. In good news for fans of the area with £16 million to spare, the neighbourhood’s finest home is now for sale via Savills: Old Battersea House, a wonderfully private old manor house with seven bedrooms and a lawned garden, looking every bit the country seat despite its central London location.
The house is believed to have been completed in 1699 for naval administrator Samuel Pett, and it's rumoured to have been designed by Sir Christopher Wren. Such undocumented claims are always tricky to assess, but it does look remarkably like a smaller version of building that definitely was by Wren: Kensington Palace.
The house served as ended up serving as a teacher training college between 1840 and 1926, and was known as Terrace House up until 1931, when it was rechristened Old Battersea House by then-custodian Wilhelmina Stirling.
Stirling is perhaps better known under the pseudonym she used as a writer and collector, Percival Pickering, and for being the sister of Evelyn de Morgan, pre-Raphaelite artist and wife of William de Morgan. The latter was himself a celebrated potter and close friend of William Morris, and Stirling later founded the De Morgan Foundation, to date the largest collection of works by the couple. This was after using the Battersea home as a monument to their work: every wall or surface was decorated with an original De Morgan for more than 30 years — until her tenure ended.
Country Life published an article in in 1932, taking photographs which preserve what it looked like at the time. The writer of the piece? Anna Marie Diana Wilhelmina Stirling herself. In the article, she also tackles the Wren connection, discussing similarities both internal and external between Old Battersea House and Kensington Palace, as well as the Royal Hospital Chelsea, another Wren masterpiece.
Today, more modern (though no less glamorous) inflections adorn the walls of the historic home. Among its attributes are Loro Piana curtains, panelled drawing rooms and operational fireplaces. The master bathroom boasts a lantern pendant while the study is dotted here and there with elegant antiques. Its classic appeal speaks volumes of the restoration projects undertaken by the architecturally sensitive owners who followed Stirling’s stewardship.
After her death in 1965, the house was left to while away for years before American businessman Malcolm Forbes — founder of the eponymous magazine — acquired it in 1970. His family’s own art collection, grown and housed in Battersea over four decades, made headlines of its own when the family attempted to sell £5 million worth of art in 2012.
Fittingly, much of their collection harked back to the Pre-Raphaelites, with paintings by Edward Burne-Jones part of the sale. With 10,000 square feet of space across the property, this home will no doubt appeal to similarly lofty patrons. During his time there, Forbes greeted many visitors, including members of the Royal family and his close friend Elizabeth Taylor.
American publisher and politician Malcolm Forbes beside British-American actress Elizabeth Taylor, circa 1983.
Original baroque interiors and sweeping staircases have been preserved, while London’s only licensed heliport is handily close by. After all, anyone dropping £16 million on a home is more likely to use this method of transportation than most. Another transport option is found at nearby Cadogan Pier, at the foot of the Albert Bridge, from whence passengers can take the riverbus to London Bridge in just under 30 minutes. No traffic to contend with here — unless, of course, you take the vintage convertible Mercedes instead (it's not listed as part of the sale, but you can always ask if it could be popped in to sweeten the deal...)
Of course there’s a private gym, a cinema room, a modernised kitchen, and all the hallmarks of a modern superhome. The gym in particular is fascinating, with its collection of art sitting alongside the various bits of equipment.
As in all good homes, however, it is the bedrooms that take the biscuit. Four poster beds, high ceilings and elegant floorboards give an impression not only of continuity and serenity, but of living in a country home.
The country house feeling extends to the setting. Shrouded in foliage from the lawn garden that surrounds the property, the views here are Arcadian: a far cry from the grit of nearby Zone 1.
Old Battersea House is for sale via Savills — see more details.
