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A ROYAL GIFT -
ALBERT HALL DUPLEX WITH LINKS TO QUEEN VICTORIA
Adjacent to the iconic Royal Albert Hall and with views overlooking Hyde Park is an impressive three-bedroom duplex apartment with one of the grandest entrance halls for an apartment of its calibre and a grander heritage hidden in its history. New to the market with Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea specialists, Maskells, at a guide price of £7 million, the home at Albert Hall Mansions has Royal links that could add a priceless value.
The c.3,500 sq. ft. apartment, situated on Kensington Gore, a U-shaped throughfare that was redeveloped in the late 19th Century to commemorate Prince Albert, was, according to legend, one of a number of park facing apartments within Albert Hall Mansions that were purchased by the Queen and gifted to her cousins.
Gore House, the residence of William Wilberforce – a key figure in the abolishment of the Atlantic slave trade -, once stood on the site where Albert Hall Mansions now resides. The house was acquired by Prince Albert’s Great Exhibition Royal Commission as part of plans to create a cultural quarter known as Albertopolis.
Originally destined to be called the Central Hall of Arts and Sciences, part of Albertopolis, the name was changed to the Royal Albert Hall of Arts and Sciences by Queen Victoria in memory of her husband, Prince Albert, who died in 1861, with the mansion block also taking the Prince’s name.
Designed in 1878 by the renowned architect Richard Norman Shaw, Albert Hall Mansions were considered the first of their kind and the beginning of a new era in city living. Purpose built for the highest echelons of society, the apartments within in the sought-after mansion block were designed to reflect the size of large houses to attract those that required space and luxury in the heart of the city.
Set within a wonderful red-brick building, the apartment is entered via a sprawling corridor with a sweeping staircase that has the look and feel of a country manor.
On the ground floor are two stunning reception rooms, both with impressive ceiling heights of 3.5 metres, as well as open fire places and views onto Hyde Park. There are numerous original period features retained throughout the apartment that tie in the history and heritage of the home.
There is also an open-plan kitchen with sliding doors opening to a more informal reception / family room, whilst there is also a bedroom with its own entrance door that could be utilised as independent accommodation for older children and relatives or for staff.
The principal bedroom suite, complete with a walk-in wardrobe, occupies the majority of the first floor, whilst there is also a guest bedroom suite and a further bedroom and bathroom on this level.
Albert Hall Mansions is ideally situated directly adjacent to the Royal Albert Hall and Hyde Park, as well as a short walk to some of London’s finest museums, shops, bars and restaurants.
This impressive three-bedroom duplex apartment in South Kensington is available for £7 million, with viewings strictly by appointment only.
For further sales information contact Maskells on 0207 581 2216 or visit: www.maskells.com
