Tell me you wouldn’t want to spend isolation here.
Do bear in mind when reading this that moving house during lockdown is still permitted. And now, onto the matter at hand, for this insane, overly lavish converted church in Knightsbridge is currently on the market, and I reckon it’d make the perfect lockdown hideout. If you’ve got an eye-watering £44 million to spare, that is.
Yes, if you’ve been sat green-eyed with envy whilst certain celebrities go stir crazy inside their fully-equipped mansions, fret no more, because this is your answer. The Grade II-listed conversion has all the creature comforts you’ll need to survive a global pandemic, and sprawls across four floors, two annexes, and a mezzanine.
Seven bedrooms mean you can shelter plenty of relatives, but with 12,000 square feet of space to play with, you can also easily hide from them if needed. Meanwhile, seven bathrooms will ensure that proper hand-washing protocol won’t lead to long queues.
All well and good, but where this place really comes into its own is with the breathtaking period features. The original stone pillars have been preserved, as have the oak beams – and 12-metre vaulted ceilings in the drawing room really give it the wow factor that your current pad is sorely lacking.
Bedrooms benefit from intricately moulded windows, and since you can’t really be expected to handle stairs at a time like this, there’s a glass lift to whisk you to the upper levels whilst surveying your realm. A bespoke, modern design scheme, meanwhile, brings the Victorian church neatly up to date.
Oh, and that’s before I even mention the lower ground floor, which has been given over entirely to the pursuit of leisure. Which translates as a swimming pool, steam room, sauna, home gym, treatment room (for gym or swim-related injuries, one supposes), and a media room. There’s even a dedicated plant room to store all the houseplants you’ve accumulated over the years. Honestly, this place is straight-up dreamy.
The location couldn’t be much better, either. Stand outside the front door, cast a stone, and you genuinely will hit Harrod’s – meanwhile, there’s a branch of Chanel down the street, and if you’re dropping £44 million on a house, I presume you’ve got you’ve got the cash to make liberal use of it.
Virtual tours of the property are currently available – although I assume they’ll be verifying that you’re seriously thinking about buying it before they let you on one – and I like to think there’ll be less competition at the rarefied upper end of the property market. One final note: if you’d like to add a live-in city guide to the vaulted ceilings, pool rooms, and media room, then I humbly volunteer my services in exchange for a rent-free existence. Just something to consider!
Check it out and request more information on the Knight Frank website.