Property of the Month: A former Rolls-Royce HQ overlooking Green Park
This apartment has many things going for it: a heritage intertwined with luxury cars, a design based on the Savoy Hotel, and capacity to entertain 100 people, to name a few
Of all the iconic London addresses, there are a handful that stand out – those that everybody, Londoner or otherwise, recognises. One of these is Park Lane (not least because it’s the second most valuable property in Monopoly), the thoroughfare that runs from Hyde Park Corner to Marble Arch, and separates the park from Mayfair.
Therefore, precisely no one will be surprised to discover that property here comes at quite the premium. And that this premium only gets bigger when you factor in a 5,222 square foot floor plan, a stunning Art Nouveau exterior, and a distinguished automotive history – all attributes of our Property of the Month.
On the market for £26.25 million, this residence is situated just off Park Lane, on the corner of Old Park Lane and Piccadilly – arguably a better location, considering Park Lane is a major traffic thoroughfare. This property also looks out over Green Park.
The site originally hosted a Georgian mansion built in the 1760s – the London home of the Bruce family. It is here that Thomas Bruce, the 7th Earl of Elgin, best known for procuring the Elgin marbles from the Parthenon in Athens, displayed his trophies in the early 1800s. In fact, he planned on turning the property into a private museum before the marbles and their ownership were transferred to the British Museum in 1816.
Between 1816 and 1904, 149 Old Park Lane served as a private palace for members of the Royal family, including Prince William, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh and his wife Princess Mary (the daughter of King George III), and Prince George, Duke of Cambridge – a cousin of Queen Victoria and the commander-in-chief of the British Army.
After the Duke’s death in 1904, a seven-storey Art Nouveau apartment building was built in place of the palace, designed by Savoy Hotel architect Thomas Edward Colcutt. He and his partner used The Savoy as inspiration: 149 Old Park Lane is a stone-fronted building studded with bay windows. On the pediment there is the coat-of-arms of the Ducal City of Gloucester – a reminder of its royal heritage. The glass-canopied entrance, meanwhile, gives way to a marble-floored lobby with a trompe l’oeil ceiling, a cupola skylight and a passenger lift. There is one Parisian-style apartment per floor, each with palatial interiors.
In 1906, the building was taken over by Rolls-Royce, serving as the company’s Mayfair headquarters until 1971. There was a showroom on the ground floor, while the apartments above became entertaining rooms and pieds-à-terre for the company directors.
Now a luxury apartment block, this fourth-floor lateral apartment, which spans the entire floor, is for sale. Ceiling heights soar to 4.3 metres, and period features include ceiling cornicing, crystal chandeliers, original marble fireplaces, panelled walls, and doors with architraves.
The main reception room is a show-stopper, with marble flooring and a grand piano. The three adjoining reception rooms, meanwhile, have parquet flooring with a marquetry border. The main drawing room is double volume (i.e. two living spaces designed as one), with a huge bay window overlooking Green Park. But if it’s space you’re after, wait until you hear this: the drawing room interconnects with an adjoining formal dining/reception room, creating an entertaining area that can accommodate up to 100 people.
The family kitchen and informal dining/breakfast room once again overlooks Green Park; there is also a professional chef’s kitchen (you’ll need it for all those guests). None of this is at the expense of privacy, however: the four bedrooms (all en suite) are located in their own private wing. The principal bedroom boasts a day area with a sofa, a walk-in dressing room, and a marble bathroom with a freestanding tub. There is also a separate staff apartment with independent access.
It’s easy to be blinded by the space and splendour of this home. But, of course, purchasing property shouldn’t be impulsive. It’s worth noting, therefore, that lateral apartments (apartments that are set across one level but have as much space as a multi-storey home) are exceedingly popular in Mayfair: last year, more than 70 per cent of the homes valued above £10 million sold here fitted that description.
Beautiful, historical and a savvy investment. Not unlike a Rolls-Royce, then.
The apartment at 149 Old Park Lane is for sale for £26,250,000. Visit sothebysrealty.co.uk.
