56 Old Church Street Explained

The Old Rectory is a grade II listed house in Old Church Street, Chelsea, London.

House and gardens

The current house mostly dates to about 1725, the early Georgian period, but the site itself was given by the Marquis of Winchester in 1566.[1] The Old Rectory has two acres of gardens, the largest private garden in London apart from Buckingham Palace and Witanhurst.[2]

Nineteenth century

It was formerly home to the rector of Chelsea parish church, which was Chelsea Old Church, which dates from 1157, until the larger St Luke's Church, Chelsea was consecrated in 1824, when the rector from 1805 to 1832 was George Valerian Wellesley, brother of the Duke of Wellington.[3]

From 1824 to 1830, Henry Blunt was George Wellesley's curate, then became the first rector of Trinity Church in Sloane Street, but turned down the post of rector of St Luke's offered to him by Lord Cadogan.[4]

Other notable rectors have included Charles Kingsley Sr (rector from 1836 to 1860), father of Charles Kingsley author of The Water Babies, and Henry Blunt's son[5] Gerald Blunt, father of Chelsea historian Reginald Blunt.[6] [3]

Twentieth century and later

From 1990 to 1994, it was refurbished under the supervision of the South African developers Collett and Champion (Anthony Collett and David Champion), with funding provided by the Japanese businessman, Norikazu Nemoto, with all three being directors of Toyoko Metropolitan Company (TMC).[2] [7] Two "huge wings" were added, with ten bedroom suites and a "massive ballroom".[8] It was being marketed at around £25 million, and they were also developing the next-door 58 Old Church Street.[2] In February 1995, it sold for £22 million to Greek shipping magnate Theodore Angelopoulos, and was for many years London's largest and most expensive property sale in the UK.[9]

In 2001, Norwegian shipping magnate John Fredriksen bought the property for £37 million.[8] [10] [11] In 2004, it was reported in The Evening Standard that Roman Abramovich had offered £100 million for the 30,000 square feet house even though it was not for sale.[8] In 2012, The Washington Post reported the property was "worth US$172 million".[11] In 2015, The Tatler included the Old Rectory in their list of "The best private ballrooms".[12] Country Life reported the house discreetly listed in 2020.[13]

List of rectors

The rectory has had the following rectors since it has been at its present location:[1]

References

51.4853°N -0.1724°W

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Rectory - British History Online. www.british-history.ac.uk. 14 March 2018.
  2. Web site: Property: In the hands of modern masters: Collett and Champion houses. https://web.archive.org/web/20180315145049/http://www.independent.co.uk/property/house-and-home/property-in-the-hands-of-modern-masters-collett-and-champion-houses-cost-a-large-fortune-but-says-1395134.html . 2018-03-15 . limited . live. 19 February 1994. independent.co.uk. 14 March 2018.
  3. Web site: St Luke's - St Lukes and Christ Church. www.chelseaparish.org. 14 March 2018.
  4. Blunt, Henry (1794–1843), Church of England clergyman and writer. 2004. 14 March 2018. 10.1093/ref:odnb/2719.
  5. Web site: The Rectory | British History Online .
  6. Web site: Chelsea Walk - Old Church Street. www.rbkc.gov.uk. 14 March 2018.
  7. Web site: The Old Rectory - Collett Zarzycki. 2020-10-08. www.collett-zarzycki.com.
  8. Web site: Chelsea chief eyes £100m house. standard.co.uk. 13 April 2012 . 14 March 2018.
  9. Web site: A place on Millionaires' Row. https://web.archive.org/web/20160707025044/http://www.independent.co.uk/property/house-and-home/a-place-on-millionaires-row-1527077.html . 2016-07-07 . limited . live. 23 December 1995. independent.co.uk. 14 March 2018.
  10. News: Billionaire Cashes In On Offshore Oil Rush. Guy. Chazan. Wall Street Journal. 2 April 2008 . 14 March 2018.
  11. News: Shipping magnate John Fredriksen sticks to his 'gut feeling': Invest. Edward. Robinson. Michelle Wiese. Bockmann. 22 September 2012. The Washington Post. 14 March 2018.
  12. Web site: The best private ballrooms. tatler.com. 5 November 2015 . 14 March 2018.
  13. Web site: Old Church Street, Chelsea SW3 8 bed detached house for sale. 2020-10-08. OnTheMarket. en.

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