London ‘palace’ Doughty House, with protected view of the Thames, hits market at US$132m

Nov 5 , 2017

One of the state rooms at Doughty House in Richmond, London, which is being completely refurbished.

Price for run-down historic 10-bedroom Doughty House, on hill overlooking River Thames in exclusive suburb of Richmond, includes total overhaul

The cost of a priceless view? About US$132 million. A historic London mansion that looks out on the only view in England protected by an Act of Parliament was put on the market on Monday for £100 million (US$132 million) – more than six times what part of the property listed for five years ago.

The views from Doughty House, in Richmond, London, overlooking the River Thames are protected by law.

Still, for that price you get more than an iconic Thames vista, a half-hectare of gardens, and a couple of upgraded bedrooms.

“This is a castle in central London,” says Kam Babaee, chief executive of K10 Group, the estate’s developers. “This is a palace.”

Doughty House is in Richmond, a serene, supremely wealthy part of West London where The Who’s Pete Townshend, naturalist David Attenborough, and actress-model Jerry Hall live, or have lived.

The main, four-storey brick mansion of Doughty House, London, was built in 1769.

Once owned by Britain’s’s third-richest man, 19th century clothing merchant Francis Cook, the mansion has a two-storey, skylit, 38-metre-long neoclassical gallery, which Cook adorned with Roman-era mosaic floors and swirling pillars brought from Pompeii.

This is a castle in central London. This is a palace ... it was already run-down

Kam Babaee, chief executive of developers K10 Group

The estate totals 3,530 square metres, with 10 bedrooms, 48 chandeliers, a dining room that fits 200 guests, a spa, a car museum, and a bowling alley – that is, when it’s complete.

Doughty House needs a complete overhaul, which is scheduled to start at the beginning of 2018. The listed price includes all necessary work, which K10 estimates as a US$39.6 million investment in itself.

The main, four-storey brick mansion was built in 1769 for Sir William Richardson and later bought by heiress Elizabeth Doughty.

Renderings show the two-story gallery wing and garden with a new, Palladian-style double staircase emerging from the main house. A 15-meter-long reflection pool, inspired by the one at Chatsworth House, will be the centerpiece of the main lawn.

Cook purchased it in 1849, adding that gallery wing to show off his astounding collection of art, which included works by Rubens, Van Dyck, Rembrandt, and Velázquez.

In the early 20th century, Doughty House played a small part in Britain’s abdication crisis. The story goes that the Cook family discussed offering it to King Edward VIII as a place to live in after he relinquished the crown. But Cook’s heirs fell on hard times, and in 1949 the estate was sold to a developer who hoped to turn it into a hotel and apartments. That scheme failed, and it changed hands again.