Built in 1876 for a Crimean War colonel, who financed its construction by selling his famous collection of arms and armour piecemeal, Six Palace Gate is one of those classic London properties that rarely go on the market.
A.W.H Meyrick, the colonel in question, never actually moved in. As his new home was completed, Meyrick sold it to the Honourable (and rather marvellously named) John Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 17th baron Saye and Sele (and yes, ancestor of Joseph and Ralph) who had already lived in four other nearby homes.
Twelve years later, the peripatetic peer moved again, selling his home to a Mr. William Gillian, who brought in architect/interior decorator Sir William Emerson to have the interior refreshed.
Almost 90 years later – Gillian lived in the house until his death in 1925 – 6, Palace Gate has been given another new look, this one in keeping with the times.
Enter this vaguely Continental-looking townhouse and while you will find yourself, in places, gazing up at Emerson’s elaborately moulded ceilings, gilded and dotted with celestial windows, filled with cherubim and clouds or admiring wrought-iron balustrades and period fireplaces, the feel is definitely more 21st century.
Thanks for the property’s sensitive contemporary-meets-classic look, a predominant palette of greys and off-whites, with a little gold and purple thrown in, goes to Fiona Barratt Interiors. The London-based practice also rediscovered the murals, which had been hidden during previous ‘modernisations’ during renovation.
The townhouse includes four spacious duplex flats and a three-bedroom penthouse, accessed by lift, with a private roof terrace that extends across most of the building.
Perfectly centrally-located, the penthouse commands views over the Royal Albert Hall and surrounding neighbourhood of Hyde Park Gate. That former residents include Sir Winston Churchill and Virginia Woolf tells you just how prime this address is.
For captions: The duplex flats on the first two floors have already been sold last year. The three-bedroom flat on the ground floor is priced at USD 9.6 million and the two-bedroom flat on the first floor is priced at USD 8.4 million. The penthouse is on the market for USD 9.14 million.
