<p>A splendid edifice in the district of St James’s in London is one of the many properties that are now being returned to their original purpose as homes for the unimaginably rich, discovers Richard Holledge </p>.<p>As addresses go, No 1 Carlton House Terrace is as majestic as anyone can aspire to without <br />actually living in a palace. The promotional material for this stately edifice unabashedly displays an <br />aerial view of London highlighting Buckingham Palace, the queen’s London home; Clarence House, which is the Prince of Wales’s pied-à-terre; and St James’s Palace, another royal mansion, built by Henry VIII in the 1530s. And there, just along the road, claiming prestige by association, is No 1.<br /><br />It is a splendid manor in a colonnaded, creamy white terrace, designed by John Nash and completed in the 1830s. He could hardly have chosen a smarter part of town, even if it was known as the Wilderness in the time of Charles II, who reigned from 1660 to 1685. The terrace is in the district of St James’s, the wealthiest corner of London’s West End, which was developed during the 19th century for the British aristocracy. To the north of the terrace is Pall Mall, with its gentlemen’s clubs, expensive tailors, the Fortnum & Mason department store.<br /><br />No 1 is the latest of many properties in the area, which were appropriated for use as offices during World War II as the Blitz ravaged the city, that are now being returned to their original purpose, as homes for the unimaginably rich. Two other properties in the terrace are being similarly restored: The Hinduja brothers, billionaire businessmen, own 3 houses converted into one vast mansion valued at 250 million pounds, or $365 million, and the British foreign secretary has his official “grace and favour” home across the road in Carlton Gardens.<br /><br />Historical address<br /><br />The asking price for No 1 is £55 million and for that the buyer acquires a 125-year lease on more than 26,000 square feet over 5 floors — and a hefty bill for renovation. Andrew Langton, chairman of the real estate company Aylesford International, estimates the work will cost a further £27 million. With stamp duty — a tax levied at increasing rates on all properties above £125,000 — costing about £12 million, add in fees and the value-added tax and the new owner is heading toward a bill of £100 million.<br />What does the Russian oligarch or Saudi prince about town get for his money? While Aylesford is marketing the property, the initial sale is organised by the Crown Estate, which handles land and properties that belong to the monarch and delivers the revenue to the government, which spends the money on behalf of public finances. Historical note: The hapless King George III (1760-1820), whose reign was characterised by the loss of the American colonies and his own descent into madness, traded in the management of many of his properties in St James’s in return for a fixed income from their rents. Today, the queen is entitled to 15% of the annual returns from the properties.<br /><br />No 1 is one of the relatively few buildings in England to be given an exceptional Grade 1 listing by Historic England, the trust that protects buildings of historic and architectural value. The Crown Estate has produced a slick brochure that suggests how the property could be configured without affecting the listed elements, such as marble fireplaces, cornices and the reliefs of dancing naiads in the main hall. <br /><br />The plans include 7 reception rooms, 5 bedrooms, 2 staff bedroom suites and, working from the basement, has parking for two cars and several bicycles, a pool 48-feet long by 23-feet wide, steam rooms, a gym, a kitchen for the caterers and a movie theatre. From this level there is access to the long, wide terrace that overlooks the Mall and St James’s Park.<br /><br />The first floor is dominated by the hallway, 56-feet long, and framed by a monumental staircase. It is easy to imagine the great of Victorian society sashaying up the stairs with its wrought-iron banisters and hefty columns to be greeted on the second floor, where there is another hallway, before being ushered to the dining and drawing rooms at either end, each more than 40-feet long. All the rooms have high ceilings which emphasise the grandeur of it all. The bedrooms are grouped around a third floor gallery, while on the fourth floor there could be a “garden room” and a terrace.<br /><br />Despite the publicity concentrating on its use as a home, the property could be used for a mix of residential and office space, and according to Andrew one possible buyer from North America is considering just that, using the first two floors for entertaining and work and the top two floors for <br />living. But what you can’t improve on is the building’s story. <br /><br />It begins with the distant days of Queen Victoria when it was home to Lord Palmerston, who pursued Britain’s gunboat diplomacy throughout much of the 19th century. Lord Curzon, the viceroy of India, resided there from 1899 to 1905, as did William Gladstone, the prime minister, on 4 occasions from 1868 to 1894. In 1936, it was lived in by the Nazi apparatchik and German ambassador Joachim von Ribbentrop, while during the war it was the base for the French leader in exile, Charles de Gaulle. From 1899 to 1905 it was used by Joseph H Choate, the American ambassador who later promoted the repeal of prohibition and who helped introduce the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, banning immigration by Chinese labourers. <br /><br />The view that many of the residents have shared is more or less unchanged — if you avert your gaze from the giant Ferris wheel that is the London Eye and the unsightly office blocks to the west. Beyond the Mall and St James’s Park are the classic London landmarks — Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey. As Andrew said: “It’s the grandest house, on the grandest street in the grandest part of London.” </p>
<p>A splendid edifice in the district of St James’s in London is one of the many properties that are now being returned to their original purpose as homes for the unimaginably rich, discovers Richard Holledge </p>.<p>As addresses go, No 1 Carlton House Terrace is as majestic as anyone can aspire to without <br />actually living in a palace. The promotional material for this stately edifice unabashedly displays an <br />aerial view of London highlighting Buckingham Palace, the queen’s London home; Clarence House, which is the Prince of Wales’s pied-à-terre; and St James’s Palace, another royal mansion, built by Henry VIII in the 1530s. And there, just along the road, claiming prestige by association, is No 1.<br /><br />It is a splendid manor in a colonnaded, creamy white terrace, designed by John Nash and completed in the 1830s. He could hardly have chosen a smarter part of town, even if it was known as the Wilderness in the time of Charles II, who reigned from 1660 to 1685. The terrace is in the district of St James’s, the wealthiest corner of London’s West End, which was developed during the 19th century for the British aristocracy. To the north of the terrace is Pall Mall, with its gentlemen’s clubs, expensive tailors, the Fortnum & Mason department store.<br /><br />No 1 is the latest of many properties in the area, which were appropriated for use as offices during World War II as the Blitz ravaged the city, that are now being returned to their original purpose, as homes for the unimaginably rich. Two other properties in the terrace are being similarly restored: The Hinduja brothers, billionaire businessmen, own 3 houses converted into one vast mansion valued at 250 million pounds, or $365 million, and the British foreign secretary has his official “grace and favour” home across the road in Carlton Gardens.<br /><br />Historical address<br /><br />The asking price for No 1 is £55 million and for that the buyer acquires a 125-year lease on more than 26,000 square feet over 5 floors — and a hefty bill for renovation. Andrew Langton, chairman of the real estate company Aylesford International, estimates the work will cost a further £27 million. With stamp duty — a tax levied at increasing rates on all properties above £125,000 — costing about £12 million, add in fees and the value-added tax and the new owner is heading toward a bill of £100 million.<br />What does the Russian oligarch or Saudi prince about town get for his money? While Aylesford is marketing the property, the initial sale is organised by the Crown Estate, which handles land and properties that belong to the monarch and delivers the revenue to the government, which spends the money on behalf of public finances. Historical note: The hapless King George III (1760-1820), whose reign was characterised by the loss of the American colonies and his own descent into madness, traded in the management of many of his properties in St James’s in return for a fixed income from their rents. Today, the queen is entitled to 15% of the annual returns from the properties.<br /><br />No 1 is one of the relatively few buildings in England to be given an exceptional Grade 1 listing by Historic England, the trust that protects buildings of historic and architectural value. The Crown Estate has produced a slick brochure that suggests how the property could be configured without affecting the listed elements, such as marble fireplaces, cornices and the reliefs of dancing naiads in the main hall. <br /><br />The plans include 7 reception rooms, 5 bedrooms, 2 staff bedroom suites and, working from the basement, has parking for two cars and several bicycles, a pool 48-feet long by 23-feet wide, steam rooms, a gym, a kitchen for the caterers and a movie theatre. From this level there is access to the long, wide terrace that overlooks the Mall and St James’s Park.<br /><br />The first floor is dominated by the hallway, 56-feet long, and framed by a monumental staircase. It is easy to imagine the great of Victorian society sashaying up the stairs with its wrought-iron banisters and hefty columns to be greeted on the second floor, where there is another hallway, before being ushered to the dining and drawing rooms at either end, each more than 40-feet long. All the rooms have high ceilings which emphasise the grandeur of it all. The bedrooms are grouped around a third floor gallery, while on the fourth floor there could be a “garden room” and a terrace.<br /><br />Despite the publicity concentrating on its use as a home, the property could be used for a mix of residential and office space, and according to Andrew one possible buyer from North America is considering just that, using the first two floors for entertaining and work and the top two floors for <br />living. But what you can’t improve on is the building’s story. <br /><br />It begins with the distant days of Queen Victoria when it was home to Lord Palmerston, who pursued Britain’s gunboat diplomacy throughout much of the 19th century. Lord Curzon, the viceroy of India, resided there from 1899 to 1905, as did William Gladstone, the prime minister, on 4 occasions from 1868 to 1894. In 1936, it was lived in by the Nazi apparatchik and German ambassador Joachim von Ribbentrop, while during the war it was the base for the French leader in exile, Charles de Gaulle. From 1899 to 1905 it was used by Joseph H Choate, the American ambassador who later promoted the repeal of prohibition and who helped introduce the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, banning immigration by Chinese labourers. <br /><br />The view that many of the residents have shared is more or less unchanged — if you avert your gaze from the giant Ferris wheel that is the London Eye and the unsightly office blocks to the west. Beyond the Mall and St James’s Park are the classic London landmarks — Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey. As Andrew said: “It’s the grandest house, on the grandest street in the grandest part of London.” </p>