A rare double-fronted home that's fit for a film star — on the street made famous by 'The Parent Trap'
Numbers 39 and 41, Egerton Terrace is a standout on the London property market.
You don’t need to have seen The Parent Trap to appreciate the Mary Poppins-esque beauty of Egerton Terrace — but it helps. The 1998 movie, starring a young Lindsay Lohan as twins Annie and Hallie, selects this as the site of Elizabeth’s home (the twins’ mother, played by Natasha Richardson), and of the family butler Martin’s. It is, fittingly, the sort of street where one imagines some of the houses still do have a butler.
A tributary of Chelsea’s Egerton Crescent, frequently named the most expensive street in the country, Egerton Terrace is, in fact, a cul-de-sac, with handsome stuccoed houses lined up opposite one another until they reach a wall with a green lamppost.
The land on which this all sits was originally occupied by a mansion named Brompton Grange. By 1843, its proprietor — the opera singer John Braham — was facing financial difficulties. The trustees of the Smith’s Charity, which owned the land itself, decided to demolish the building to free up six acres. There, they built crescents, gardens and terraces in the contemporary style.
Egerton Terrace is named after one of the trustees: 19th-century statesman and arts patron, Francis Egerton, 1st Earl of Ellesmere. The road appears to be tree-lined until you notice that these are all contained within front gardens. Several are topiaried by the families who live here, and conceal far greater gardens to the rear of the properties.
No doubt the grandest of all is hidden behind Numbers 39 and 41: the two end-of-terrace homes that have been knocked together to form one, double-fronted house. In London’s current property market, this has to be the standout. It is for sale with Knight Frank for £35 million.
The garden is over 10,000 square feet — one of the largest in Zone One, with scope for further landscaping — and the internal floor area of the house is not far behind, at roughly 7,300 square feet: a paean to its manor house past. The interiors whisper more than they shout, imparting classic shibboleths of wealth. Vast proportions do most of the talking. A gym and a study accompany the seven en-suites.
Large windows frame views of the garden, while a yellow awning shelters the south-facing living room from the glare of the summer sun. Parking abounds, and Knightsbridge and South Kensington stations are both within easy reach.
Right on the doorstep are some of the city’s most celebrated sites: the V&A Museum, Natural History Museum, and Brompton Oratory. Hyde Park is a ten-minute walk away. It doesn’t get much grander than this.
Egerton Terrace is for sale with Knight Frank for £35 million. For more information and images, click here.
