Belgravia Residents' Journal February 2015 by Runwild Media Group

BELGRAVIA Resident’s Journal

FEBRUARY 2015

I SSU E 031

The Belgravia Residents’ Journal is published independently by Runwild Media Group with regular editorial contributions from The Belgravia Residents’ Association. To become a member of the BRA, visit www.belgraviaresidents.org.uk. We would highly value any feedback you wish to email us with: belgravia@residentsjournal.co.uk; or telephone us on 020 7987 4320.

w w w. R e s i d e n t s J o u r n a l . c o . u k (020) 7987 4320

Dear Resident

True luxury is evident in the small details; the carefully crafted touches that elevate an object or place into something truly special. In a quest to experience the very best Belgravia has to offer, Henry Hopwood-Phillips meets Luigi de Simone Niquesa. They talk about creating bespoke gems and services for a discerning clientele on page 16. From one local stalwart to another, the Journal pops into Peggy Porschen's parlour for a slice of cake and a chat with the pioneering baker herself. From celebrity wedding cakes to cookbooks boasting a readership of more than half a million, we meet the woman behind the sugar-laced empire on page six. Anyone looking to impress this Valentineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day might want to consider dinner at Canvas or Kouzu; see how the two restaurants compare on page 12. Or, if you want to push the boat out, read about our romantic Great British Escape to the Bailiffscourt Hotel & Spa on page 18. The beautiful manor house has everything going for it, except the cutlery, it turns out. Please do not hesitate to get in contact with all your news and updates by emailing belgravia@residentsjournal.co.uk. We hope you enjoy the issue.

Managing Editor Francesca Lee

Editor-in-Chief Lesley Ellwood

Publishing Director Giles Ellwood

Assistant Editor Lauren Romano

Managing Director Eren Ellwood

General Manager Fiona Fenwick

Main Editorial Contributor Henry Hopwood-Phillips

Senior Designer Sophie Blain

Executive Director Sophie Roberts

Editorial Assistant Jennifer Mason

Production Hugo Wheatley Alex Powell Oscar Viney Alice Ford & Amy Roberts

Client Relationship Director Felicity Morgan-Harvey

Editorial Interns Tom Hagues & Tamir Davies

Business Development Manager Nicola Bloomfield

Above / A trio of Peggy Porschen cakes (peggyporschen.com). Photo by Georgia Glynn Smith. Read our interview with Peggy on page six.

Proudly published & printed in the UK by

RUNWILD MEDIA GROUP

Member of the Professional Publishers Association / ppa.co.uk

The Notebook

Who and what have been moving and shaking in Belgravia recently? We bring you up-to-date

Edible cabochons Ex oriente lux

A new modern Chinese restaurant, Chai Wu, has opened on the fifth floor of Harrods. Its menu has been designed by chef Jason Seeming Wa (overseen by Ian Pengelley, group executive chef and one of the UK’s experts on Asian cuisine) and it boasts an exciting new range of dishes, including Beijing duck and Alaskan king crab. The interior, with seating for 90 guests, is inspired by the five elements in Chinese philosophy – wood, fire, earth, metal and water – a medley successfully integrated by Harrison, the design firm in charge.

Launching this spring, Fat Free is the fourth fine-jewellery collection by Tessa Packard London. Inspired by the jeweller’s love of pop art and the traditional penny sweet, the assortment of jewels juxtaposes popular culture and art in a playful and, more importantly, beautiful manner.

87-135 Brompton Road, SWIX 7XL, 020 3819 8888 (chaiwu.co.uk) (tessapackard.com)

More than real

The first show of the year at the Plus One Gallery is a celebration of hyperrealism. One of the most challenging types of contemporary art, it requires a huge amount of skill and attention to capture reality and still frame it as an artwork. Although all are bracketed together, the stamp of each artist here is phenomenal, particularly former BP Portrait Award winner Craig Wylie’s EW (hood); an oil on linen painting that was shortlisted for last year’s renowned Institute of Contemporary Arts prize. 4 February to 7 March, 89-91 Pimlico Road, SW1W 8PH, 020 7730 7656 (plusonegallery.com) Francesco Stile, Nobody is Perfec t, oil on canvas, 60x60cm

Javier Banegas, Colours VII, oil on board, 85x190cm

Craig Wylie, EW (hood), oil on linen, 183x134.5cm

Brunch o’clock

This February, the award-winning bistro Bar Boulud at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel will be making a mockery of your resolutions by opening a little earlier than usual to serve brunch from 11am to 3.30pm with a menu designed by the American executive chef Dean Yasharian. The price is fixed at £39 and this gets you all the traditional brunch dishes alongside croque monsieurs, a new brunch burger (think beef, bacon, cheddar and an egg) and an obscenely large dessert station. Bar Boulud, Mandarin Oriental, 66 Knightsbridge, SW1X 7LA, 020 7201 3899 (barboulud.com)

Open all hours

London Art Studies has unveiled an exclusive collaboration with the Bulgari Hotel. Experts on the arts will host a series of classes comprising ‘power hours’ over a cocktail and morning discussions with coffee in the hotel’s private screening room. These new morning and evening classes sit neatly alongside the current lunch lectures at Koffmann’s at The Berkeley Hotel. Founder Kate Gordon explains: ‘London is the capital of the arts world and I want to provide lectures for people who want access to the best teaching in a fun and sociable format.’ Look out for a February line-up that includes Richard Stemp talking about Rubens, Dumas and Perry, and a crowdfavourite, Ben Street, discussing ‘The Big, Beautiful Art Market.’ (londonartstudies.com)

The dark arts

William Curley’s chocolate classes sell out quicker than candles in a power cut. Every Saturday the Belgravia boutique teaches various skills in a range of lessons designed to help participants master everything from truffles and seasalt caramels to Venezuelan chocolate cadeaux. There are even sessions for children. Be sure to reserve a spot well in advance; spaces are usually limited to around eight and are already being booked up to late April.

A Hebrew farce

Children’s classes from £50; adult’s classes from £85, William Curley, 198 Ebury Street, SW1W 8UN, 020 8538 9650 (williamcurley.co.uk)

Affaire d’amour

The Jumeirah Lowndes Hotel and The Jumeirah Carlton Tower are stretching out the Valentine’s mood to cover the entire month of February. In partnership with Neill Strain (who’ll be parting with a dozen of his long-stem red roses), a bottle of Champagne and truffles will be left on the bed of any couple who wants to add a little pizzazz to the usual offering, not to mention a full English breakfast for two if anybody needs to recover any energy the morning after.

Florist Neill Strain

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From £385 at The Jumeirah Lowndes Hotel and from £465 at The Jumeirah Carlton Tower (jumeirah.com)

Bad Jews, a sell-out in Bath where it earned itself huge critical acclaim from the likes of the New York Times as ‘the comedy of the season’, is coming to the St James Theatre this month. Following the aftermath of a grandfather’s death, the plot centres on who deserves to inherit a treasured family heirloom. Set in a cramped Manhattan apartment, vicious but hilarious consequences ensue. The original Bath cast reprise their roles, so Jenna Augen (nominated as Best Supporting Performance at the UK Theatre Awards) will play the role of Daphna, in what promises to inject some fun into one of the dreariest months of the year. Until 28 February, £5 to £30, St James Theatre, 12 Palace Street, SW1E 5JA, 0844 264 2140 (stjamestheatre.co.uk)

Ilan Goodman and Jenna Augen in Bad Jews at the St James Theatre

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Sending

Love

Peggy Porschen talks to Henry Hopwood-Phillips about the genesis of her cake business and why itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s so emotionally intense

All photos courtesy of Georgia Glynn Smith

t’s the sort of pink that’s used to enforce gender norms. To errant taxi drivers, the pastel beacon serves as the most obvious locus of Belgravia. Peggy Porschen’s shop, on the corner of Elizabeth Street, is on the map in every sense. Several heads turn in the parlour when I ask for ‘Peggy’ – perhaps they think I’m important and want a 40ft cake with a band like One Direction inside or, more likely, they think I’m a candidate for a job interview. Peggy is more demure than I had imagined, but more appealing too. I had supposed only some sort of monstrous Hyacinth Bucket could possibly construct the rose fortress whose defences I’d breached. ‘Germany has a huge cake culture,’ she lisps endearingly while setting down a large slab with three shades of chocolatey brown inside and a cupcake with a banana nose beside me. ‘It’s a little like your afternoon tea, but we have coffee and even more gossip.’ She knows this because she is German. I tell her that I had thought she was only half German because of the ‘Peggy’ part. ‘No,’ she laughs, ‘it was the fashion in 1970s Germany. I think my parents thought it was a really cool and arty name’. It was a cake baked at the age of 14 that set her off in a blaze of glory. ‘I cooked it for my first boyfriend’s birth---’. With comedy timing, Peggy’s husband and business partner, Bryn, walks in. ‘What are you talking about, guys?’ he enquires. ‘Just the background to all this,’ she says with all the cunning of Odysseus. ‘Oh we met at a catering company,’ Bryn tells me, unaware that we’ve skipped a few years. A chef himself, who’s worked alongside names such as Gordon Ramsay, the two worked at Rhubarb Food Design; Peggy as the pastry chef, Bryn as the master of all things savoury. Fortunately, he’s jumped to the juiciest part of the story. ‘The annual Elton John AIDS Foundation dinner wanted Fabergé-style eggs for dessert,’ he reminisces. ‘And you said “oh Peggy can do it!”’ Peggy interjects with a smile. It sounds like no small undertaking. There were almost 600 guests, and each dish had 20 components. Altogether it took them nearly eight weeks to prepare. But the effort paid off, and the elliptical wonders were all over morning TV. ‘The reporters were talking about how the Beckhams wanted to take their eggs home,’ Peggy beams. It proved to be the first domino of many commissions. Stella McCartney remembered the eggs, and when she needed a cake for her wedding in Scotland it was Peggy she approached. ‘You should have seen her,’ Bryn titters. ‘She was so nervous! You made two cakes in the end, didn’t you?’ She nods with a playful roll of the eyes. ‘Well I’m glad I did − the first one got a crack.’ The A-list guests ate Peggy’s cake, and they in turn remembered it as something special. The dominoes began to set each other off. ‘That’s the core of our business: bespoke wedding cakes. I suppose you could call them our haute couture,’

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Bryn explains. They both laugh at the fact that they almost never had a parlour to speak of. Originally, they were in Battersea as an invitation-only business, but having found the Thames was a massive barrier to some of their best clients, they chose to up sticks to north of the river. ‘Even when we moved to Belgravia in 2010 we only had a showroom in mind. Pretty soon, however, we had kids and parents knocking on the door and every window,’ Peggy recalls. Bryn admits it seemed crazy when they had a coffee machine anyway not to open up to potential customers as a parlour. It was the first of two major concessions. A riot almost ensued when cupcakes were not on the menu. ‘I felt everybody was doing them. My stamp would be missing,’ Peggy declares. But she gave in to the trend in the end. ‘Only with the best ingredients though,’ Bryn reminds me. Another element of the business that caught them both off guard was the Peggy Porschen Academy down the road at 30 Elizabeth Street. Peggy admits that they both put all their attention into the wedding cake side of things, yet it was the academy, where students can also master the business side of baking, that took off. ‘Don’t forget your books too,’ interrupts Bryn. Indeed, few authors can claim a readership of more than half a million when they touch on subjects as niche as cake decoration. I broach the sensitive topic of whether the pink palace has upset the competition. Bryn laughs. ‘In the early days, we’d both broodingly stare over the canyon of Elizabeth Street, but Tom (from Tomtom) only really ever had one concern and that was “what’s your coffee?” And when he heard it was merely Illy, he rested easy!’ The couple make it clear that they inhabit different spheres of the market. ‘We are about cakes for kids and parents in the afternoon, whereas Tomtom is all about the morning business for professionals, specialising in savoury foods and coffee.’ I touch on what Peggy couldn’t do without in the kitchen, expecting a brilliant new gadget that I need to acquire. Instead, she answers ‘oven.’ A grin breaks out across my face – is this dark humour? Either way as she begins to explain that ‘we have a rare one where you can adjust the fan speed,’ I am guffawing. As I begin to draw the interview to a close, I learn Peggy’s favourite cake is her mother’s apple creation, her least favourite is coffee cake (‘sugar and coffee are a nono’), and that if she could have been anything else in life it would have been an interior designer. The parts of the job that make her tick haven’t been covered yet though, she objects. So before I leave, Peggy summons up a recent memory of being so busy that she’d had to deliver some of the cakes herself. ‘I dropped off a cake at an office with a girl who went all red and flustered when she saw the label. Everybody came over and she started crying. On the top of the cake the decoration said something along the lines of “you’re my everything.” Her colleagues were saying “you told us he never gives you anything.” It almost made me cry! That’s the best part of the job. Of course we are selling a product, but we’re also sending love.’ 116 Ebury Street, SW1W 9QQ, 020 7730 1316 (peggyporschen.com)

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PROOF NO: 03

B RU N C H HAS ARRIVED

BAR BOULUD IS DEBUTING SUNDAY FAMILY BRUNCH PRICED AT £39 PER PERSON, BETWEEN 11AM – 3:30PM

mandarin oriental hyde park, london 66 knightsbridge, london sw1x 7la +44 (0)20 7201 3899 barboulud@mohg.com www.barboulud.com

The

Belgravian Restaurant royalty

Joel Cadbury, entrepreneur and local philanthropist, talks to Henry HopwoodPhillips about how he built a culinary empire from scratch

’m on a barge in Reading, Berkshire, talking to one of the mega-chocolatier George Cadbury’s descendants. It’s not a normal Monday night by any means. But then I wouldn’t call Joel Cadbury an average man. We should be in Belgravia, of course, where his credentials are even more impeccable than his entrepreneurial ones. ‘I first moved into the area when I was 13,’ he recalls, before listing four or five addresses, ‘and my wife lived on Lowndes Street, too, before we met.’ But we are not anywhere near SW1 right now because Joel is launching his latest restaurant. As we scuffle off the boat out into temperatures that threaten to put a frost on my fist-sized cigar, Joel – his anecdote enhanced by a flat-cap – remembers the first time he got his hands dirty. The ‘silver spoon’ one might expect looked far more like a large, industrialsized tuning fork, in reality, at the steelworks in Elephant and Castle where he operated the fork-lift trucks for three months in his first job. ‘It’s not as easy as it looks,’ he warns, ‘you turn left and it goes right.’ Before long, however, he was chasing the money floating about the nightclub scene. ‘At the time it was quite novel to take the weeknights and make them into “club nights”. In just under five years, we had 20 venues at our disposal and had saved up enough money for our first bar,’ Joel explains at the pace of a man who has a lot to say but little time to say it. The money from this first venture gave Joel and his business partner Oliver enough firepower to fund a number of different watering holes, one of which was my long-term local, the Goat & Boots on Fulham Road, which was eventually sold for 19 times its original value. Similar success followed with the opening of VQ (Vingt-Quatre). ‘We were the first 24-hour restaurant in London with that project; in fact, I still find it hard to believe the second one didn’t come for another 18 years,’ he admits. Then came The Admiral Codrington, which was an exercise in turning a pub into a neighbourhood restaurant – something Joel describes as ‘quite a normal thing now but novel at the time’. Not that the winds always filled Joel’s sails. ‘We bought a restaurant in Battersea years ago and just about everything that could go wrong, did,’ he remembers with a wry smile. That wasn’t how it looked at the time, however, when presented with £85k of assets for a price tag of £30k. ‘We thought it was a win-win situation,’ he confesses, listing the main causes of the venue’s downfall, ripe with hindsight. ‘First, parking was almost non-existent. Second,

the chef assaulted someone after they’d insulted his girlfriend. And finally, we managed to hire waitresses who, for cultural reasons, preferred not to serve men.’ The tragicomic saga continued even in its demise with Joel flogging everything in the restrooms to prisons; all the floorboards to a Dorset farmer called Palmer; and the site itself to All Bar One. ‘A friend, another Belgravian, Rupert Hambro, entered as we were offloading all the pots and pans and told me to come to his office the next day.’ Joel thought he was going to get a lesson in hubris, but instead was told ‘“Everybody can deal with success, it’s in failure that people come into their own,” and I turned it around into the most valuable life lessons I had because I’d learnt the hardest lessons.’ By 2007, Joel had wrapped up several of his businesses, including The Groucho Club in Soho, and sold them all on for a profit. It was two years before he felt ready to take the next big project on. ‘Bel & The Dragon passed through several financiers before it came into our hands,’ he tells me, and at each stage its price dropped. Marketed at £12.5m, it later fell to £6m and by the time Joel was prepared to buy, it was sitting around the £3.5m mark. ‘That was because it was losing £1,000 a day,’ he adds. With six sites planted around the Home Counties and a seventh one planned, something must have gone terribly right since. Joel paints a simple picture. ‘We wanted to reanimate the idea of the country inn: a place of great wine and food and a beautiful retreat to plant your head.’ I pick up on the wine, asking what’s special about it. ‘The standard multiple is four when it comes to mark-ups on a bottle; at Bel & The Dragon it’s more like 1.5. This means people can afford to be more adventurous.’ Joel must be one of the few people to commute from Belgravia out into the sticks rather than vice versa. He is reluctant to stray far; indeed many of the ceremonies that have punctuated his recent family history have occurred under the roof of St Paul’s Church. ‘The Reverend Alan Gyle is a great friend of ours and we work very closely with him.’ The entrepreneur is referring to the fact that he had a large hand in establishing the Knightsbridge Foundation at the church, a great local cause dedicated to getting the funds Lambeth Palace doesn’t grant to churches in wealthy areas. ‘2014 was our seventh year; we’ve raised £250,000 so far for the Foundation,’ he adds but I can’t keep hold of him for much longer, he’s got a boat to launch – let’s hope Belgravia can.

I first moved into the area when I was 13

(belandthedragon.co.uk)

Illustration / Russ Tudor

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Unleash

the menus

FILLING THE BLANKS

anvas made the headlines at the end of last year when the wife of Britain’s former ambassador to the United States, Sir Christopher Meyer, dismissed the restaurant as ‘pretentious’, ‘robotic’, ‘cold’, ‘impersonal’ and ‘overpriced’. She had just visited the larger second incarnation of Michael Riemenschneider’s 20-cover Marylebone place: this sits at subterranean level next to Cadogan Hall, a solid 25-second Boris-bike ride from Sloane Square. When opened in September, it failed to impress her on account of the wine and overall price. This back story ups the stakes as I descend into the hole Le Cercle left when it departed last summer. Superficially, the two restaurants seem similar: Euro-French cuisine haloed by a mix of traditional and contemporary environs (exposed

This place has more wine than a library has books brick meets dark red leather chairs; contemporary art offset by a long oak bar). The big twist here, however, is that there are up to 18 dishes to be served à la carte and they can be mixed and matched, scaled up or down in anything from a three course to a 12-course meal – hence the name, Canvas.

THE VERDICT Atmosphere: 6/10 Food: 9/10 Service: 7/10 Value for money: 6/10

TOTAL: 28/40

What is telling is that Mrs Meyer did not criticise the food. The standard is very high, which shouldn’t be a surprise given Michael has managed to squeeze in shifts at Pierre Gagnaire and The Fat Duck in just a few years. The highlights of the five courses include first, smoked salmon with wildflowers, sprigs of dill and cauliflower purée (hardly a subversive dish but well-executed). Second, a pumpkin and star anise soup, with a dimly lit orange face (it contains ‘shards’ of the stuff), marooning two dark-lacquered scallop eyes – the result is a very clever mixture of smooth and rough, rich and light flavours. Third, the coconut panna cotta – a pretty assemblage bound by a tumbler – is sensationally savoury. Most of the wine is well-matched too, paired by the charming Alis Jusic. And what a choice he has at his fingertips! This place has more wine than a library has books. Out of five glasses, only the Chardonnay misses the mark completely, tasting a little like the musty over-strength beers one is obliged to gulp and grimace with over the festive period. The price cripples the fun a little. The mark-up on the wine is steep by any measure (most restaurants have begun to back away from the multiple of four that was once universal) and two twenties are exchanged for shrapnel after a G&T and a Martini. The food (which refuses to be overwrought) and the service (which is more than capable) make up for this, but both fail to deflect from the fact that the atmosphere is a tad off. This leads the mind down avenues it might otherwise have ignored – is everything so subtle it veers into pretension? Perhaps. Is there a certain arrogance about it all? Possibly. Are these qualities unique to SW1? Hardly. More likely, it’s an absence of mirth, gaiety and comedy – a self-consciousness that’s taking the edge off a restaurant with one.

1 Wilbraham Place, SW1X 9AE, 020 7823 4463 (canvaschelsea.com)

Two newcomers to Belgravia’s doorstep, Canvas and Kouzu, are rethinking their menus. Henry Hopwood-Phillips goes to see if it’s gimmickry or a revolution

THAT FISHY FEELING

he name is an abstract one. Kouzu means ‘pattern’ – it’s the sort of word you’d use when discussing the composition of a painting in Japan. Perhaps its academic title is a way of distinguishing itself from the competition, although Belgravia isn’t particularly well served – only Salmontini on Pont Street and UNI on Ebury Street (both relative newcomers) really compete with its Japanese fusion. I come from chomping my way through Marylebone’s soho-ified streets where Ohisama has been making a name for itself as a place where quality and price collide in happy fishbased combinations. Above the door, here on Grosvenor Square flutters a frosty butterfly etched into the glass – no, I’ve no idea why either. Perhaps it’s because butterflies eat nectar, the ambrosia of the gods, and sushi is the Japanese equivalent? Perhaps it is the chef Kyoichi Kai’s (ex-Zuma, Roka and Kyubi) familiar? It may just be a branding exercise. Perhaps there was an ugly bank logo there before. We mustn’t read too much into it. The first floor is a floating mezzanine, with an open-plan omakase sushi bar where chefs shout something every so often. I want to shout back but then it’s not time for bawdy ballads, ale and bosoms – it’s not a Hogarth sketch. No, it’s time for a weak smile and a nod that tacitly acknowledges this brief moment of exuberance – I’m in a 21st-century Japanese restaurant. It’s all dark, understated greys, funny light fixtures and ‘irrashaimase!’ in your face. There’s a lot of ‘Can I get you some “new stream” sushi?’ as if I knew what old stream was. New stream is kind of whacky by sushi standards. Here’s an example of its delights: pan-fried foie gras with spinach, fruit coulis, wasabi and teriyaki sauce. It’s where Europe meets the rising sun on a menu. And what a funny menu this is. There is a great variety and no particular order to my untrained eye. The aburi nigiri – pre-seasoned and torched, rendering soy sauce unnecessary looks good.

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I go for the yellow tail aburi which is brushed with truffle oil, lending a depth and variety of flavours not anticipated, and the duck breast with sansho. The accompanying rice is sticky enough to remain intact despite chopstick skills

Equally impressive is the fact that the cocktail list hovers below the £10 mark which are as refined as bowling balls on ice. Equally impressive is the fact that the cocktail list hovers below the £10 mark. And there’s a large selection of malts, shochu and sake for the more discerning drinker. The desserts are a little less inspiring; they stray too far into Western terrain when there is nothing wrong with peachy hakuto jellies, sata andagi (doughnuts) and daifuku (aggressive-sounding sweet rice cakes), but overall Kouzu is on to something, and it’s not a difficult business model: topnotch sushi without silly prices will always sell. 21 Grosvenor Gardens, SW1 0JW, 020 7730 7043 (kouzu.co.uk)

THE VERDICT Atmosphere: 9/10 Food: 9/10 Service: 8/10 Value for money: 7/10

TOTAL: 33/40

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Boiling

Point

The Belgravia Residents’ Journal visits Jane Pettigrew, a woman who has won world acclaim as a tea sommelier, for a brew

ane Pettigrew is wearing a white Hervé Léger dress. It’s not the first item of clothing one might associate with tea expertise. Then again she hasn’t always been in the business. ‘I was actually a language and communications trainer for 12 years,’ she recalls. That doesn’t help; the arc of a career rarely starts in communications and ends in tea. ‘No, well to be honest, I got bored. Friends told me there was a shop in Clapham up for sale, so we decided to buy it and turn it into a tea shop.’ Again, Jane says this as if it were an ordinary gradient. I protest that she knew nothing about tea. ‘None of us did,’ she replies, nonplussed. ‘Or about catering or running a business, for that matter.’ And yet it ran for six years, during which time she was approached to write books and give talks – people clearly presumed only an expert would run a tea shop. And so the illusion turned into a reality as Jane swotted up. ‘I guess I fell in love with tea’s ability to bring people together on a world scale,’ she shrugs. I probe her new-found knowledge. Answers come thick and fast: ‘Tea travelled by sea, while coffee usually arrived by land, so whereas coffee stayed the premier drink on the continent, it was quite the reverse here’; ‘In Georgian times, servants were paid with tea’; ‘It changed our tax laws’; ‘It started wars’; ‘It’s a drink that suits any occasion.’ I ask what sort of leaves I need to boast about swilling back if I am to gain any sort of kudos with an expert

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hiding within my social midst. ‘The Pu-erh tea’ is her immediate answer. ‘It can cost hundreds of dollars but, more importantly, is impossible to get unless you read and speak Mandarin and have a Chinese friend who is an expert and can guide you to the best.’ This dark beverage is a bit like wine, I learn, different varieties age well in contrasting ways. ‘When brewing, different teas need different temperatures and various steeping times,’ Jane counters, as I cheekily imply that behind the pomp and ceremony, it’s just a bag of herbs in water. The example she gives is that of white and green teas, which become horribly bitter when submerged in boiling water. Jane’s lore does not just come from books. In fact, her travel itinerary would put any globetrotter to shame: Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China, India, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Georgia, Italy, Argentina, Guatemala and Nepal are just some of the places she’s visited. Much of the information garnered there is deployed closer to home at Jane’s masterclasses in Mayfair where amateurs, connoisseurs and consultants of all ages and types come to soak it up. This work has not gone unnoticed. She recently won ‘Best Tea Educator’ at the World Tea Awards in California. I give her room to dig up her own compliments, asking her why she was awarded it. But she modestly desists: ‘It’s a complicated subject. I found it hard to understand when I first started, so I try to make my books as simple and clear as possible, and pass on my passion.’ A Social History of Tea is out now, £18.99 (janepettigrew.com)

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Luigi de Simone Niquesa (right) with socialite Heather Kerzner

Family business Surrounded by Niquesa’s latest jewellery collection, the firm’s founder, Luigi de Simone Niquesa, tells Henry Hopwood-Phillips why the gems are just the start of a vast vision

ike many making a beeline for Belgravia from Sloane Square, you may amble past The Antelope pub on the way to West Eaton Place without noticing anything amiss. I have for years, happy in my ignorance of an operation gaining momentum in the right angle where the Place meets the Terrace. But today I am forced to seek out this local hive of industry: Niquesa. And, spotting a bright purple arch and a gate covered in gold leaf, I smile in the same bitter way that one does when noticing at noon half a tube of toothpaste is being worn on the face. It’s even got guards outside. Inside, I meet an Italian who talks of having mozzarella and tomatoes for lunch with his father and of the big figures he’s juggling here and there. This isn’t the Godfather, however, but Luigi de Simone Niquesa, the founder of Niquesa, a firm that holds an idea at its core which, when described in the most simple manner, sounds like a club. This one doesn’t require a membership fee, connections or a bribe, however. Instead it enables those who buy into it to be surrounded by a certain standard of people, service, product and place. ‘In a world dominated by a divergence of incomes, the fewer are becoming richer – and this group tends to lack the time to create their own micro-cultures in the way most of us do. Put simply, they lack time,’ Luigi notes, trying to explain what gap in the market Niquesa is trying to fill. ‘Their riches came fast, but due to technology they can be lost as quickly as they can be gained.’ Luigi reckons that in such a climate there are not enough moments in the day to prioritise the habits surrounding fashion that we all do almost without thinking, such as ‘gaining points of

reference, assessing what to assimilate, what to buck’. Niquesa hopes to take on specific, demand-led projects for anyone willing to pay for Amore Pink Sapphire them. It’s such a large task that to and Diamond Margherita illustrate his proposal Luigi urges Earrings £POA me to envisage ‘a department store that curates a certain number of things it can fit under its roof. Now imagine a place that curates the entire world’s best instead – that’s Niquesa’. Luigi reckons the wealthy don’t want to be treated as if money doesn’t matter; they don’t want to be taken for a ride. Accordingly, his Niquesa marketplace will be a virtual one, built on intelligence gathered by networking. This guarantees a certain benchmark when it comes to pre-and postsales assistance, concierge service, information and quality control in general. Luigi gives his customers confidence where they might usually never be able to secure any without huge investments in time. This all sounds very ethereal, so I ask why I’m sat in an atelier in Belgravia surrounded by jewels if his pipedream is so virtual. ‘Jewellery and fashion are at the top of the pyramid, so the atelier is for these staples,’ Luigi clarifies. ‘Hospitality is physiological, so that’s an obvious one to include,’ he adds, ‘and the rest are entrepreneurs with services to offer, who have bought into

Niquesa is not a fan of industrial production or at least its ethos; it knows most of its clients want unique things that are created

From top right: Aurora Pear-Shaped Diamond Ring; Amore 18ct white gold Sapphire and Diamond Petali d’Amore Necklace; Amore 18ct white gold Emerald and Diamond Petali d’Amore Earrings, £POA for all pieces

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the Niquesa culture.’ This culture harks back to old standards. Luigi appreciates vintage and so do most of his clients. This is because different values sat at the heart of creation in the old days. ‘Take a luxury car built 50 years ago. The metal, the leather, the wood – it was built to last. Look at them now, they are built to use and be used up, ready for the next model.’ Niquesa is not a fan of industrial production or at least its ethos; it knows most of its clients want bespoke pieces. Fondling the latest collection of reptile jewellery in front of me, the craftsmanship is exceptional – the aesthetic contains a strong whiff of Italian. There’s a book next to it, a copy of a woman’s journey from entering the atelier with an idea, through to the finished item. The dazzling ring that catches my eye comes with a story and doubtless a happy customer. The grand plans Luigi has may seem a little fantastic on first hearing, but he’s a man to take seriously. Having been on the lecture circuit as an economics professor for 16 years (with a team of 35 researchers) and finding fortune as an entrepreneur in various industries, he has a habit of making hot air materialise into great business models. And here in Belgravia he has his wife Elisabetta to help too. ‘She picks up the lastest trends and directions of the world while I crunch numbers, she is the soul of the company,’ Luigi beams. 19 West Eaton Place, SW1X 8LT, 020 7259 4640 (niquesafinejewellery.com)

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Great British Escape

Going to

Court

Henry Hopwood-Phillips visits a medieval hamlet in Sussex, as imagined by a pair of Belgravians a century ago

’ve encountered jelly with more of an edge to it than this. In fact, this blade couldn’t cut its way through hot water. The dagger in my hand at the dinner table is in want of a point; this little rapier couldn’t slash its way out of a cage of ribbon. What a silly knife. There, that’s it. That is the worst thing about Bailiffscourt Hotel & Spa: knives made by knaves. The Belgravians who built this place, Lord Moyne (Walter Guinness of the brewing family) and his wife Evelyn (daughter of the 14th Earl of Buchan), were never to know that this tiny hamlet they built would come a cropper on the silverware. But, then again, they never planned to build the site in the first place. As you approach Bailiffscourt, you suspect this is what T.S. Eliot felt like when he did homage to Little Gidding in Huntingdonshire in the 1930s: history, condensed by seclusion, imbues this little settlement with a sense of J. R. R. Tolkien too – that unmistakeable stamp of Saxon and fairy. And yet as you clomp about, enunciating paeans to its doubtless antiquity, some of the members of staff may drop hints at how off-the-beaten track some of the eulogies are.

A quick glance at the history shows why. The whole place is a jumble of the old, the new – and the old in new places. The little manor is the result of Lord Moyne’s holiday spot on the coast at Climping, West Sussex, (a convenient space for yachts and Goodwood) being threatened by a housing estate. Walter moved quickly to buy 750 acres (almost the exact size of the parish of Little Gidding, incidentally), which included a 12th-century chapel and a house. The former had been given to the Abbey of Séez in Normandy after the Conquest and the Abbess had sent over a monk to act as bailiff, hence the name. Lord Moynes had the old Georgian farmhouse demolished, but the buildings we see today are built from the original stone and old parts of churches, houses and other buildings of the period from around the Home Counties: a remarkable exercise in architectural salvage. One can be forgiven for not realising this restoration medley thanks to Amyas Phillips, who gave up architecture at Christ Church, Oxford to help run his father’s antiques business. It seems his brief was to do homage to the site’s medieval roots: high-back Jacobean

chairs, oak chests, tapestries, fireplaces, mullioned windows, treacle-dark wood, thatched buildings and knole sofas with their head-height sides, complete a look that Chaucer would doubtless have appreciated if he’d ever got lost on one of his pilgrimages. But it’s not all musty cushions and dust; in fact, though the spa is a huge barn, it’s a very clean and smart flagstone affair with a Nordic vibe. Housing heated pools and hot tubs, inside and out, along with a gym, sauna and steam room, my only company on visits here are birds and distant sea wind whistling through neighbouring woodland. In all honesty I had not expected much from the food, such is the arrogance of a spoilt Londoner. It’s not just that; too many hotel restaurants have the lingering smell of that morning’s breakfast buffet – an odour

Bailiffscourt is quite obviously pitched at those who like their hotels to be about the home rather than bells and ostentation – and it works. Dogs are allowed everywhere but the spa; kids are permitted in all parts; there’s plenty to do in the area (including foraging on the South Downs or hitting Henry I’s old stomping ground, Arundel Castle, down the road) and the beach is a 10-minute gambol from the front door. In fact, as I mentioned, the only rubbish thing about Bailiffscourt is the knives.

Bailiffscourt is quite obviously pitched at those who like their hotels to be about the home rather than bells and ostentation

Bailiffscourt Hotel & Spa, Climping Street, Climping, West Sussex, BN17 5RW, 01903 723511 (hshotels.co.uk)

Need to know A night’s half-board accommodation in a superior room costs from £149.50pp (two sharing), including use of the spa. Contact Pride of Britain Hotels (0800 089 3929; prideofbritainhotels.com) to book.

remarkably similar to despair. However, I should have done my homework; the head chef here is Russell Williams who trained under triple Michelin-starred Nico Ladenis (who owned an eponymous Pimlico restaurant back in the 90s). I tuck into squares of duck that blush under a dark carpet of smoky-sweet honey with braised chicory. A prune faggot, port jus and sautéed foie gras provide the heavy cavalry. It’s just a shame I can’t cut them with this knife. Banana tart follows – a banana tart which, for once, retains the flavour and consistency of the fruit and does not reduce the dish to a caramelised apotheosis. This is all washed down with an Israeli Harel Collection Syrah (2010) by Clos de Gat. An intense wine, spicy and full-bodied, the finish is long and smooth with a strong but balanced acidity. The mark-up isn’t bad either at £60 on a bottle that’s usually around £30 wholesale.

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60 seconds with

Delaval Knight Founder of The Art Hangar, a new outfit hoping to solve the age-old problem of whether the art one loves will look great in situ

What is The Art Hangar? The Art Hangar is an online gallery where you can buy and visualise emerging contemporary artists in the context of your interior. Why did you start it? We were established in 2014 as an affordable alternative to the expensive prices that largely dominate the art world. United by our passion for interior design and collecting original works of art, The Art Hangar provides art buyers with creative visualisation of what beautiful paintings will look like in a home or place of work, be it traditional or contemporary.

Do you have any competitors? Although there are other places to buy affordable art (such as the Affordable Art Fair), The Art Hangar is offering a more frequent and convenient platform to acquire compositions. We are, moreover, the only company to give buyers an idea of what each work will look like in its desired hanging space. What have been the greatest challenges/mistakes so far? The greatest challenge has been building our View in Room feature, or should I say our web team’s greatest challenge! The complexity of the function meant that many web designers initially turned down the job when we were starting out.

How was the launch party? What’s been the most rewarding aspect? We were fortunate enough to have 250 young collectors Finding artwork for a range of different artistic tastes and through the door of the Conrad Hotel in St James’s for seeing the end product in situ. our launch party and opening view. The evening was a great success as we were able What does the to find many homes for some future hold? fresh-to-the-market paintings View in room: The Art Hangar’s unique function that shows art collectors what each artwork looks like on the desired interior We are currently from 10 of The Art Hangar’s growing The Art contemporary, modern and Hangar into a more traditional artists. international platform with artists from What is your background? Russia, Africa, the I have worked for Sotheby’s Middle East, India auction house and throughout and South America, to the art world for five years. name a few, coming very soon. How does it work? You can view The Art Hangar’s artists in your (thearthangar.com) interior using our View in The Art Hangar’s launch Room feature by simply party and private view at The uploading a photograph of Conrad Hotel, St James’s your wall. Be sure to take the photograph when directly facing the wall for the greatest effect. You can then drag the selected painting across the surface of each wall to identify the best hanging position and to find the artwork that is in tune to your preferred decorative style. How do you monetise your function? The Art Hangar handpicks a range of up-and-coming UK artists, who are exclusive to the company, so each original artwork cannot be purchased elsewhere.

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Suppliers of quality bespoke doors and ironmongery to some of the UKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s finest homes. Showrooms: Esher, Surrey & Chelsea Harbour 01932 851 081 or 0207 376 7000 info@solidwoodendoors.com www.solidwoodendoors.com

Beauty &Grooming Beauty from the outside in and TLC on our doorstep

A-list

beauty

Briana Handte Lesesne meets sought-after beauty professional Arezoo

ucked away discreetly in a red brick townhouse in Knightsbridge is a hidden gem, known to many celebrities, tastemakers, business titans and even royalty. No, it’s not an exclusive club or a fine-dining establishment, but the offices and treatment room of Arezoo. Beauty editors name her as one of London’s top specialists, whose facials, waxes and eyebrow shaping have won her a loyal following. Of Persian descent, Arezoo made her home in London 40 years ago and has built up a rolodex of clients who come from the Middle East, Europe and America to seek out her treatments. Her services are by appointment only and her discretion is what keeps daughters, mothers and grandmothers coming back for treatments time after time. Regardless of the client’s pedigree she treats everyone the same and values all who seek her out equally. ‘I don’t differentiate between my clients,’ she tells me. ‘Whether it’s their first session or they have been coming to me for 30 years, I see it as an honour when someone makes an appointment for my services.’ Accordingly, Arezoo listens to her clients and gives them her undivided attention. ‘I love beauty and I take great pleasure in making people feel beautiful.’ Meeting Arezoo for the first time, her petite frame belies the strength of the savvy business woman whose professionalism and expertise have gained her an impressive reputation within certain circles as the go-to girl for the ultimate in body and facial treatments. Her experience is extensive; working for more than 10 years at Harrods as a senior therapist, Arezoo then joined renowned hairstylist Nicky Clarke for five years before opening her own salon. A typical day begins at 4.30am and it is soon evident that Arezoo is on duty for her clients around the clock. During awards season − from the Golden Globes and the Oscars to BAFTA and London Fashion Week − her

schedule is set at a particularly high-octane pace. A client flying in from LA needs to see her en route to checking into her hotel, and if that means Arezoo must be at her office at 6am to prepare for the treatment, she will happily do so. She fits around her clients’ schedules and therefore usually gets a maximum of five hours’ sleep a night. As we discuss her popular treatments, Arezoo is quick to point out that you can’t have the same facial at 48 as you did at 18. The skin and hair change as we age, and that’s way she is a proponent of plastic surgery and supports both dermatologists and plastic surgeons alike. She sees clients both before and after cosmetic surgery, as her speciality is prepping the face prior and post undergoing the knife. In her treatment room, she uses the Ayur.medic range of cleansers and toners as well as Shinso Skin Care, known for its precious natural ingredients, Japanese herbs and botanical extracts. This year will be another busy one as Arezoo prepares to launch her own line of beauty products, which will be made in the UK. She plans to stock them at exclusive department stores as well as at her salon and online. I realise there is little that Arezoo can’t accomplish when she puts her mind to it. Her entrepreneurial spirit, dedication to her clients’ wellbeing, expertise in skincare treatments for the face and body and engaging personality mean it’s no wonder her name is on speed-dial for women (and men) who want to look and feel beautiful. For appointments, email arezookaviani@hotmail.com or call 020 7584 6868 (arezoo.co.uk)

Never far from

Luxury Tom Hagues is faced with a challenge: how much pampering can he take?

he Dorchester Spa launched its latest treatment for male clients towards the end of last year; called the Journey to the Mont-Fort Facial, it is offered as three different packages: Express, Complete and Intensive. I sampled the Intensive package, which was anything but a hardship. The changing rooms are well-equipped with fluffy robes and towels and a smart-looking steam room. There’s a soft, peach-toned area for clients to wait in, and it’s this part of the spa that highlights the lavishness of the whole operation. The marble floors double as mirrors,

I soon forgot that the beautician was there and sank into the chair like a relaxed stone sinking to the seabed such is their polished finish, and the basement location means you can’t get distracted by the outside world. Your only duty is to be pampered. I was led to the treatment rooms and left to de-robe and slip between the heated mattress and feather duvet. As I breathed in the relaxing aromas of the room, the sedate spa music enveloped me in a cocoon of calm and the beautician began by massaging my feet and legs. Curious as to why we

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had started at the opposite end to where my face was, I let her massage her way up to my neck and shoulders. After a thorough, full-body de-tensing, the facial treatment began. A cleanser was applied, followed by a wrap in a hot towel which opened up my London-beaten skin and allowed it to breathe. A combination of massages and reflexology followed, along with more hot-towel wraps. I soon forgot that the beautician was there and sank into the chair like a relaxed stone sinking to the seabed. As the treatment progressed, the music changed and evolved; some sort of Chinese-inspired tune was a recurring favourite with its gentle plink-plonking competing to be heard over the blowing of a dizi. I was entirely grateful for the fact that I was spared any sounds from a rainforest or communicating whales. Afterwards, I was shown to the relaxation lounge where opulence is at a premium. The intense, blue-toned room provides the perfect atmosphere to readjust posttreatment where I hydrated with water flavoured with rose petals. I was also brought a small vial of coconut water, which I don’t usually much care for, but I felt its nourishing qualities would best be enjoyed when I was as relaxed as I was. After some time in the steam room, I left the spa feeling like a new, considerably shinier man. Express £75 (32 mins), Complete £165 (62 mins), Intensive £187(90 mins), The Dorchester Spa, 53 Park Lane, W1K, 020 7319 7109 (dorchestercollection.com)

023

Christopher Pelling

Back to the

Future

Maria Wyke

Henry Hopwood-Phillips wonders whether the authors of Twelve Voices from Greece & Rome: Ancient Ideas for Modern Times have been daring enough in their brief

wo of the top authorities on the classical world, Christopher Pelling (Regius Professor of Greek, Oxford) and Maria Wyke (Professor of Latin, University College London), toss 12 of the most enigmatic figures antiquity has to offer under the spotlight in this remarkably slim volume. The aim is to encourage readers to act as sounding boards to the voices in the title. The introduction doesn’t add much to this, other than offer a backside-covering attempt at noting the dozen ‘voices’ chosen represent a sample of greats, not the greats. This immediately makes

things tricky, however, as the selection: Homer, Sappho, Herodotus, Thucydides, Euripides, Caesar, Cicero, Virgil, Horace, Tacitus, Juvenal and Lucian, is quite clearly not a random sample. In fact, the collection is almost too canonical. Virgil is often included in these things more out of a historically conditioned sense of respect than any impression of merit; Caesar is integrated because of his political status, not on his literary worth; and Cicero

rises to the podium, despite the fact (and I do accept his contribution to rhetoric and the West’s philosophical lexicon) he is a bore. Overall the selection is hit and miss too. Homer (good as a foundation); Sappho (boring; half of the questions prompted here are attributable less to the curiosity of her verse than the dubious context bestowed by a lack of source material); Herodotus (a fascinating explorer); Thucydides (a geopolitical genius); Euripides (a master of the emotions); Horace (OK – Ovid is usually more popular though; Tacitus (what a mind); Juvenal (what a heart) and Lucian (a lazy textbook choice within The Second Sophistic). The sample refuses to extend past the conventional cut-off point of Marcus Aurelius, and so fails to acknowledge the period in which antiquity shook hands with Byzantium: the time that haloes the likes of Ammianus, Olympiodorus, Evagrius, Zosimus, Eusebius, Zosimus, Eunapius et al. Even within its bookends, the pantheon cannot be very haphazard if it contains zero entries from

The book’s tone is spot on, steering a steady course between concision and garrulousness the ‘Silver Age’ – men such as Persius, Lucan, Italicus, Quintilian, Statius and Flaccus. In fact, this assortment is about as slapdash as an election manifesto if it contains no Christians (Paul of Tarsus is big fry and rarely read by modern youth) or Neoplatonists (Plotinus, born in 204AD, could have bracketed the end of the book) and so, despite its contemporary content, the frame it all hangs off represents a very conservative handling of chronology. The sample is therefore anything but random, so why was there not a bit more playfulness – why were the categories not tinkered with? Perhaps the Latins could have kicked things off: imagine the ribald playwrights Plautus, Ennius and Terence as the initial trio. If you want an epic, Livius Andronicus did one and Cato the Elder on agriculture is far more interesting than Sappho moaning that she’s getting old; all washed down by a bunch of mellifluous Greeks flourishing in the imperial period. Although it’s almost scuppered my word count, the arse-covering introduction shouldn’t put the reader off the main meal. The book’s tone is spot on, steering a steady course between concision and garrulousness. Its form (each chapter contains a mini biography, an examination of key excerpts, followed by contextualisation, extrapolation and speculation) makes for light reading. And the choice of passages, though sometimes straying into safe territory, rarely fail to stir the soul. Take Turnus’ death in the Aeneid – easily avoided before the protagonist spots the man’s belt, a trophy plundered from the corpse of Pallas, a young warrior whose welfare Aeneas had promised to protect:

Worn by this man as trophy. Blazing up And terrible in his anger, he called out: ‘You in your plunder, torn from one of mine, Shall I be robbed of you? This wound will come From Pallas: Pallas makes this offering And from your criminal blood exacts his due.’ He sank his blade in fury in Turnus’ chest. Then all the body slackened in death’s chill, And with a groan for that indignity His spirit fled into the gloom below. (Aen. 12.944-52; trans. R. Fitzgerald) Touching on the fickleness of it all, how justice and men so quickly switch grooves, it is hard not to be affected by these ancient words. The scrutiny applied, however, can mediate the raw experience a little too much. Analysis is pat at points – it risks ‘Classics as therapy’ too often for comfort. A worse sin, perhaps, is that sometimes the accurate commentary and the gaffes are consecutive, for example the last lines of C. P. Cavafy’s Ithaka: If then you find her poor, Ithaca has not deceived you. As wise as you’ve become, with such experience, by now You will have come to know what Ithacas really mean. (C. P. Cavafy, Ithaka) This almost concludes Pelling’s chapter on Homer, but actually forms a coda before the fact homesickness afflicts us all (with no greater digging on such a massive theme) is tacked on the end. The result is that instead of piquing interest, these dead-ends make the reader feel patronised. Niggles aside, it’s a book that provides − if not the heavy artillery, at least a heroic charge from the light cavalry – into the no man’s land of modern indifference, to rescue a slice of humanity that first broached the troubles of existence that still plague us today. Twelve Voices from Greece & Rome: Ancient Ideas for Modern Times, Christopher Pelling & Maria Wyke, £18.99 (Oxford University Press, 2014)

For when the sight came home to him Aeneas raged at the relic of his anguish

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Residents’ Culture Exploring the minutiae of residents’ concerns and encounters

February roundup

by Head of Social & Communications Sue Liberman

n the light of December’s hive of activity you may be wondering what each month in 2015 has to offer.

February highlights After the success of the Mayfair Market in 2014, the decking of Brown Hart Gardens will now be hosting fortnightly market stalls, the first of which took place on 14 January 2015. The hustle and bustle of the market will include tasty treats from around the world for you to indulge in or take away and it will be open fortnightly from 11am to 4pm. It’s still exceptionally chilly in London but you can enjoy the early signs of the milder weather to come at the annual Snowdrop Days at Chelsea Physic Garden until 8 February. (Chelsea Physic Garden, 66 Royal Hospital Road, SW3 4HS). On 15 February you can enjoy a fun, free family day out at the Maslenitsa Russian Folk Festival in Trafalgar Square. This festival marks the end of winter, combining a Russian Orthodox religious celebration with an older pagan festival to welcome the arrival of spring. During the festival, Trafalgar Square is transformed into a large entertainment zone with live music, children’s shows and dancing. Folk musicians and entertainers perform traditional songs and dances, with plenty of audience interaction. You can also sample delicious Russian food, such as beef stroganoff, borscht (beetroot soup) and blini (pancakes) from the range of stalls. In addition there’s a bustling bazaar plus craft activities. This mini festival offers all the best in Russian culture in one handy London location. There will also be events taking place across London during the festival from 8 February until 15 February. More calendar updates to follow next month….

Victoria Animal Hospital

In 1906, the Blue Cross opened its first animal hospital in Victoria (thought to be the first of its kind in the world) to help the pets of London residents who were unable to afford veterinary fees. It also supported the welfare of the many working horses who were vital for haulage in the capital at that time. In the first year, nearly 11,000 “patients” were treated at the hospital. Now the charity’s four animal hospitals treat sick and injured animals, and free treatment is available to pets whose owners are on means-tested benefits or low incomes, including those living in SW1. In order to help those who are unable to travel to the hospital there is also a mobile clinic. The Blue Cross is focused on changing attitudes to pets and runs pet-care sessions for more than 50,000 children in inner city schools and communities each year. These cover a wide variety of issues, including dangerous dogs, to help the next generation understand the responsibilities involved and to encourage them to be good pet owners. Other services include the Pet Bereavement Support Service; the free helpline is available 365 days a year to help people who are struggling to cope with the loss of a pet. The Blue Cross is supported by 2,200 volunteers each year who generously give more than 320,000 hours of their time. These volunteers offer invaluable support to the Victoria Hospital and, in return, the Blue Cross offers work experience and skills to them. Each year 34,000 sick or injured pets are treated, and last year the hospital rehomed nearly 7,500 pets. The Blue Cross is influential at both local and national levels in collaboration with other animal charities to improve pet welfare through wider changes in legislation. 2015 is a particularly important year for the Blue Cross as it has launched a strategy to meet the growing needs of pets in the UK today. It aims to double the number of pets helped each year by 2020 through refurbishment, new builds and advances in working practices. This suite of work and improvements will be key to the efficiency of the charity going forward and is vital in enabling the hospital to help more pets, which is at the heart of everything it does.

Until next month... belgraviaresidents.org.uk

If you would like to help protect and/or shape the future of Belgravia, please join us by becoming a member. Simply go online and click on the appropriate membership box. In addition, if there’s anything you would like to let us know about, I can be contacted on sue@belgraviaresidents.org.uk

Planning &Development Keeping you in the know about important street plans affecting Belgravia

PLANNING APPLICATIONS DATE RECEIVED

ADDRESS

PROPOSAL

17 December

Halkin Street

Measures to protect the trees

19 December

Wilton Crescent

Erection of closet wing to accommodate a lift

19 December

Grosvenor Gardens

To clean front and return facade of the building

24 December

Chester Square

Excavation to create new basement level under rear mews

24 December

Beeston Place

Reduce crowns of five weeping pear trees

29 December

Belgrave Square

Use of two mews houses as a single family dwelling

planned road works STREET

PLANNED WORK

DATES

WORKS OWNER

Eaton Terrace

Lay new domestic service

1-2 February

National Grid 0845 605 6677

Chester Square

Connections

1-5 February

UKPN 0800 028 4587

Palace Place

Connections projects

1-10 February

UKPN

Grosvenor Crescent

Disconnections in carriageway

2- 5 February

UKPN

Grosvenor Place

Reprofile carriageway

2-6 February

Transport For London 0845 305 1234

Harriet Walk

New sewer connection

2-16 February

Thames Water 0845 9200 800

Crossing the line Crossrail 2, previously known as the Chelsea-Hackney line, is a proposed railway that will pass through central London, including Victoria. To protect the route, a process called ‘safeguarding’ was initiated last year which affected several buildings in Belgravia. The procedure allowed certain statutory bodies to protect the planned route from any development that might have an impact on the proposed scheme. However, this ‘safeguarding’ often resulted in the blighting of properties within 200 metres of the route. A consultation period, which runs until the end of January, was put in place to offer a forum in which property owners could discuss their potential problems. Crossrail will now review the results and finalise its options. The Journal will keep you posted on its findings in future issues. (gov.uk/government/consultations/ crossrail-2)

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The Belgravia

Directory

A compendium of the area’s key establishments

Estate Agents Ayrton Wylie 16 Lower Belgrave Street 020 7730 4628

Harrods Estates 82 Brompton Road 020 7225 6506

Knight Frank Sales 47 Lower Belgrave Street 020 7881 7722

Strutt & Parker 66 Sloane Street 020 7235 9959

Best Gapp & Cassells 81 Elizabeth Street 020 7730 9253

Henry & James 1 Motcomb Street 020 7235 8861

Marler & Marler 6 Sloane Street 020 7235 9641

W A Ellis 174 Brompton Road 020 7306 1600

Cluttons 84 Bourne Street 020 7730 0303

John D Wood 48 Elizabeth Street 020 7824 7900

Rokstone 5 Dorset Street 020 7580 2030

Wellbelove Quested 160 Ebury Street

Douglas Lyons & Lyons 33 Kinnerton Street 020 7235 7933

Knight Frank Lettings 82-83 Chester Square 020 7881 7730

Savills 139 Sloane Street 020 7730 0822

020 7881 0880

Food & Drink BARS Amaya Halkin Arcade, Motcomb Street 020 7823 1166 The Garden Room (cigar) The Lanesborough Hyde Park Corner 020 7259 5599 The Library Bar (wine) The Lanesborough Hyde Park Corner 020 7259 5599 Tiles Restaurant and Wine Bar 36 Buckingham Palace Road 020 7834 7761

CAFÉS Bella Maria 4 Lower Grosvenor Place 020 7976 6280 Caffe Reale 23 Grosvenor Gardens 020 7592 9322

The Green Café 16 Eccleston Street 020 7730 5304 ll Corriere 6 Elizabeth Street 020 7730 2087 The Old English Coffee House 1 Montrose Place 020 7235 3643 Patisserie Valerie 17 Motcomb Street 020 7245 6161 Tomtom Coffee House 114 Ebury Street 020 7730 1771 Valerie Victoria 38 Buckingham Palace Road 020 7630 9781

PUBLIC HOUSES/ DINING ROOMS The Antelope 22-24 Eaton Terrace 020 7824 8512

The Orange 37 Pimlico Road 020 7881 9844 theorange.co.uk

The Pantechnicon 10 Motcomb Street 020 7730 6074 thepantechnicon.com

The Thomas Cubitt 44 Elizabeth Street 020 7730 6060 thethomascubitt.co.uk

RESTAURANTS Como Lario 18-22 Holbein Place 020 7730 9046 Il Convivio 143 Ebury Street 020 7730 4099

Olivo (Italian & Sardinian) 21 Eccleston Street 020 7730 2505 Zafferano (Italian) 15 Lowndes Street 020 7235 5800

Motcombs 26 Motcomb Street 020 7235 6382 motcombs.co.uk

Mango Tree 46 Grosvenor Place 020 7823 1888 Pétrus 1 Kinnerton Street 020 7592 1609

Uni 18a Ebury Street 020 7730 9267 restaurantuni.com

Health & Beauty BARBER

DOCTORS

Giuseppe D’Amico 20 Eccleston Street 020 7730 2968

The Belgrave Medical Centre 13 Pimlico Road 020 7730 5171

DENTISTS

The Belgravia Surgery 26 Eccleston Street 020 7590 8000

The Beresford Clinic 2 Lower Grosvenor Place 020 7821 9411 Motcomb Street Dentist 3 Motcomb Street 020 7235 6531 The Wilton Place Practice 31 Wilton Place 020 7235 3824

Dr Kalina 109 Ebury Street 020 7730 4805

GYM/ FITNESS

Yogoji (Yoga) 54a Ebury Street 020 7730 7473

Stephen Casali 161 Ebury Street 020 7730 2196

HAIR SALONS

MEDISPA

Colin & Karen Hair Design 39 Lower Belgrave Street 020 7730 7440

Bijoux Medi-Spa 149 Ebury Street 020 7730 0765

The Daniel Galvin Jr. Salon 4a West Halkin Street 020 3416 3116

The Light Centre Belgravia 9 Eccleston Street 020 7881 0728

Motcomb Green 61 Ebury Street 020 7235 2228

CLEANING

FURNITURE

SPA Grace Belgravia 11c West Halkin Street 020 7235 8900 gracebelgravia.com

Home ANTIQUES Bennison 16 Holbein Place 020 7730 8076 Turkmen Gallery 8 Eccleston Street 020 7730 8848 Patrick Jefferson 69 Pimlico Road 020 7730 6161

ARCHITECTS/ DESIGN Marston & Langinger 194 Ebury Street 020 7881 5700 Paul Davis + Partners 178 Ebury Street 020 7730 1178

Weldon Walshe 20 Grosvenor Place 020 7235 4100

ARTEFACTS Odyssey Fine Arts 24 Holbein Place 020 7730 9942

Kudu Services Discreet, confidential cleaning services for offices and homes of distinction 27 Mortimer Street 020 8704 5988 kuduservices.co.uk

FINISHING TOUCHES Paint Services Company 19 Eccleston Street 020 7730 6408 Rachel Vosper (candles) 69 Kinnerton Street 020 7235 9666 Ramsay (prints) 69 Pimlico Road 020 7730 6776 Sebastian D’Orsai (framer) 77 Elizabeth Street 020 7730 8366 Zuber 42 Pimlico Road 020 7824 8265

B E L G R AV I A R E S I D E N T S ’ J O U R N A L

Ciancimino 85 Pimlico Place 020 7730 9959 The Dining Chair Company 4 St Barnabas Street 020 7259 0422 Hemisphere 97 Lower Sloane Street 020 7730 9810 Humphrey-Carrasco 43 Pimlico Road 020 7730 9911 Jamb 107a Pimlico Road 020 7730 2122 Lamberty 46 Pimlico Road 020 7823 5115 Linley 60 Pimlico Road 020 7730 7300 Mark Wilkinson Kitchens 10 West Halkin Street 020 7235 1845 Ossowski 83 Pimlico Road 020 7730 3256

Promemoria UK 99 Pimlico Road 020 7730 2514 Soane 50-52 Pimlico Road 020 7730 6400 Talisman 190-192 Ebury Street 020 7730 7800 Westenholz 80-82 Pimlico Road 020 7824 8090

GALLERIES 88 Gallery 86-88 Pimlico Road 020 7730 2728 Ahuan Gallery 17 Eccleston Street 020 7730 9382 Gallery 25 26 Pimlico Road 020 7730 7516 Gauntlett Gallery 90-92 Pimlico Road 020 7730 7516 Gordon Watson 28 Pimlico Road 020 7259 0555

029

The Belgravia

Directory Fashion BOUTIQUES Philip Treacy 69 Elizabeth Street 020 7730 3992

Christian Louboutin 23 Motcomb Street 020 7245 6510

Herve Leger 29 Lowndes Street 020 7201 2590

Patricia Roberts 60 Kinnerton Street 020 7235 474

Nevena Couture (clients by appointment only)

Lowndes Street 020 3539 8738 nevena.co.uk

Hotels B&Bs B+B Belgravia & Studios@82 64-66 Ebury Street 020 7259 8570 Belgravia Hotel 118 Ebury Street 020 7259 0050 Cartref House 129 Ebury Street 020 7730 6176 Lord Milner Hotel 111 Ebury Street 020 7881 9880

Lynton Hotel 113 Ebury Street 020 7730 4032

The Belgravia Mews Hotel 50 Ebury Street 020 7730 5434

The Sloane Club 52 Lower Sloane Street 020 7730 9131

Morgan Guest House 120 Ebury Street 020 7730 2384

The Diplomat Hotel 2 Chesham Street 020 7235 1544

Tophams Hotel 24-32 Ebury Street 020 7730 3313

Westminster House Hotel 96 Ebury Street 020 7730 4302

Lime Tree Hotel 135-137 Ebury Street 020 7730 8191

LUXURY

BOUTIQUE Astors Hotel 110-112 Ebury Street 020 7730 0158

The Rubens at the Palace 39 Buckingham Palace Road 020 7834 6600

BOOKMAKERS

SOLICITORS

The Berkeley Wilton Place 020 7235 6000 The Goring 15 Beeston Place 020 7396 9000

Services BANKS Duncan Lawrie Private Banking 1 Hobart Place 020 7245 1234 duncanlawrie.com Royal Bank of Scotland 24 Grosvenor Place 020 7235 1882

Coral Racing 67 Pimlico Road 020 7730 6516 William Hill 12 Buckingham Palace Road 08705 181 715

Child & Child 14 Grosvenor Crescent 020 7235 8000 childandchild.co.uk

Eaton Square School 79 Eccleston Square 020 7931 9469 Francis Holland School 39 Graham Terrace 020 7730 2971

CHARITIES

EDUCATION

British Red Cross 22-24 Buckingham Palace Road 020 7630 5076

Cameron House School 4 The Vale 020 7352 4040

Garden House School Turks Row 020 7730 1652

Eaton House School 3-5 Eaton Gate 020 7924 6000

GEMS Hampshire School 15 Manresa Road 020 7352 7077

Glendower Preparatory School 86-87 Queen’s Gate 020 7370 1927

Sussex House School 68 Cadogan Square 020 7584 1741

Hill House International Junior School Hans Place 020 7584 1331

Thomas’s Kindergarten 14 Ranelagh Grove 020 7730 3596

Knightsbridge School 67 Pont Street 020 7590 9000 Miss Daisy’s Nursery Ebury Square 020 7730 5797 More House School 22-24 Pont Street 020 7235 2855 Queen’s Gate School 133 Queen’s Gate 020 7589 3587

EXCLUSIVE The Caledonian Club 9 Halkin Street 020 7235 5162 caledonianclub.com

FLORISTS Catherine Muller 53 Elizabeth Street 020 7259 0196 catherinemuller.com

Neill Strain Floral Couture 11 West Halkin Street 020 7235 6469 Judith Blacklock Flower School 4-5 Kinnerton Place South 020 7235 6235

IT SUPPORT Dashwood Solutions Contact Jonny Hyam for all your IT needs 07787 507 407

POST OFFICE

Psychotherapy Suzanne Thomas DHC MRes, Hypnotherapist / Psychotherapist 07770 378791 suzannethomas@ suzannethomas.co.uk suzannethomas.co.uk

TRAVEL Passepartout Homes Ltd 020 7513 2876 passepartout-homes.com info@passepartout-homes.com

Post Office 6 Eccleston Street 0845 722 3344

Speciality Shops BAKERIES Baker & Spice 54-56 Elizabeth Street 020 7730 3033

Rococo Chocolates 5 Motcomb Street 020 7245 0993

DELI

Elizabeth Gage 5 West Halkin Street 020 7823 0100 eg@elizabeth-gage.com elizabeth-gage.com

Ottolenghi 13 Motcomb Street 020 7823 2707

La Bottega 25 Eccleston Street 020 7730 2730

CIGAR SPECIALIST

GREENGROCERS

Polisher

Charles of Belgravia 27 Lower Belgrave Street 020 7730 5210

F Bennett and Son 9 Chester Square Mews 020 7730 6546

JEWELLERS

NEWSAGENT

Carolina Bucci 4 Motcomb Street 020 7838 9977

Mayhew Newsagents 15 Motcomb Street 020 7235 5770

Tomtom Cigars 63 Elizabeth Street 020 7730 1790

BOOKS Belgravia Books 59 Ebury Street 020 7259 9336 belgraviabooks.com

CONFECTIONERS Peggy Porschen 116 Ebury Street 020 7730 1316 Pierre Hermé Paris 13 Lowndes Street 020 7245 0317

B E L G R AV I A R E S I D E N T S ’ J O U R N A L

David Thomas Master Goldsmith 65 Pimlico Road 020 7730 7710 De Vroomen 59 Elizabeth Street 020 7730 1901

Floris 147 Ebury Street 020 7730 0304 florislondon.com

Pet accessories Mungo & Maud 79 Elizabeth Street 020 7022 1207

PERFUMERIES Annick Goutal 20 Motcomb Street 020 7245 0248 Les Senteurs 71 Elizabeth Street 020 7730 2322

VICKISARGE 38 Elizabeth Street 020 7259 0202

031

KnightFrank.co.uk

Chantrey House, Belgravia SW1

Newly refurbished one bedroom in portered building Contemporary and spacious one bedroom flat to rent in this well maintained block with lift and 24hr porter. Accommodation comprises of master bedroom, bathroom, reception room, kitchen, guest cloakroom. EPC rating B. Approximately 72.4 sq m ﴾779 sq ft﴿ Available furnished

Belgravia Lettings KnightFrank.co.uk/lettings belgravialettings@knightfrank.com 020 3641 6006

Guide price £825 per week ﴾BEQ211393﴿ All potential tenants should be advised that, as well as rent, an administration fee of £276 will apply when renting a property. Please ask us for more information about other fees that may apply or visit KnightFrank.co.uk/tenantcharges

43 Chantrey House - Belgravia Residents Journal - Jan

15/01/2015 15:37:58

26 OLD QUEEN

ST.

ST JAMES’S PARK. LONDON SW1

A newly refurbished Grade II listed Georgian property situated within the Birdcage Walk Conservation area with views over St James’s Park. An elegant and imposing home situated on one of London’s grandest streets with all principal rooms overlooking St James’s Park. THE ACCOMMODATION CONSISTS OF: 4 reception rooms; open plan kitchen; dining and family room; wine room; duplex master suite with study; 4/5 further bedroom suites; games/media room with butlers kitchen and en suite shower room; service kitchen and laundry room; terraces and a passenger lift to all floors. The landscaped garden provides direct access to Birdcage Walk and then onto St James’s Park. Approximately 692 sqm (7,454 sqft).

FREEHOLD

PRICE: ON APPLICATION

Contact Joint Sole Agents: Susannah Odgers: so@hathaways.co.uk Stuart Bailey: stuart.bailey@knightfrank.com

savills.co.uk

1 AN ATTRACTIVE FAMILY HOUSE IN THE HEART OF BELGRAVIA whittaker street, sw1 Drawing room ø reception room ø kitchen ø master bedroom with en suite bathroom ø 3 further bedrooms ø 3 bathrooms ø south-facing garden ø double garage ø 257 sq m (2,767 sq ft) ø EPC=E

Savills Knightsbridge

Savills Sloane Street

William Duckworth-Chad wdchad@savills.com

Tom Lamb tlamb@savills.com

020 7581 5234

020 7730 0822

Guide £6 million Leasehold, approximately 985 years remaining plus Share of Freehold

savills.co.uk

1 SUPERBLY RESTORED GRADE II LISTED GEORGIAN BELGRAVIA TOWNHOUSE wilton street, sw1 Family room ø study ø dining room ø kitchen ø master bedroom suite ø 5 further bedrooms (3 en suite) ø family bathroom ø roof terrace ø 422 sq m (4,546 sq ft) Guide £14.25 million Leasehold, approximately 124 years remaining

Savills Sloane Street

Savills Knightsbridge

Tom Lamb tlamb@savills.com

Barbara Allen baallen@savills.com

020 7730 0822

020 7581 5234

savills.co.uk

BEAUTIFULLY PRESENTED RAISED GROUND FLOOR FLAT WITH IMPRESSIVE CEILING HEIGHTS eaton square, sw1 Entrance hall ø reception room ø dining room ø kitchen ø master bedroom suite ø further bedroom ø bathroom ø Grade II* listed ø 162 sq m (1,746 sq ft)

Guide £3.35 million Leasehold

Savills Sloane Street Richard Dalton rdalton@savills.com

020 7730 0822

IMMACULATELY REFURBISHED FLAT WITH BEAUTIFUL GARDEN VIEWS eaton square, sw1 Reception room/dining area ø kitchen ø master bedroom suite ø further bedroom ø shower room ø balcony ø Grade II listed ø 92 sq m (987 sq ft)

Guide £4.5 million Leasehold

Savills Sloane Street Richard Dalton rdalton@savills.com

020 7730 0822

savills.co.uk

LETTINGS LAYOUT ONLY

A BEAUTIFULLY REFURBISHED GROUND AND LOWER GROUND MAISONETTE eaton square, sw1 2 bedrooms ø reception room ø conservatory ø kitchen ø 2 bathrooms ø garden ø access to communal garden ø 124 sq m (1,335 sq ft) ø Council Tax=H ø EPC=E

Savills Sloane Street Guy Bradshaw gbradshaw@savills.com

020 7824 9005 Furnished £2,500 per week + £276 inc VAT one-off admin fee and other charges may apply* *£36 inc VAT for each additional tenant/occupant/guarantor reference where required. Inventory check out fee – charged at the end of or early termination of the tenancy and the amount is dependent on the property size and whether furnished/unfurnished. For more details, visit www.savills.co.uk/fees.

Pont Street, Belgravia, SW1X A fabulous two bedroom apartment on the ground floor of this period building in the heart of Knightsbridge. The accommodation of approximately 1190 sq. ft. includes elegant reception room, kitchen, two double bedrooms, bathroom and shower room. The apartment also benefits from wooden floors throughout, high ceilings and a caretaker. Pont Street is conveniently located for the amenities of Knightsbridge and Hyde Park. Available now for long term let on furnished basis. EPC rating D.

Price per week: £1,350 Property Fees: £180 Admin & £180 Checkout. References: £42 per person *http://www.harrodsestates.com/tenants

020 7225 6602 Karen.boland@harrodsestates.com

KNIGHTSBRIDGE OFFICE: 82 BROMPTON ROAD LONDON SW3 1ER T: +44 020 7225 6506 MAYFAIR OFFICE: 61 PARK LANE LONDON W1K 1QF T: +44 020 7409 9001 CHELSEA OFFICE: 58 FULHAM ROAD LONDON SW3 6HH T: +44 (0) 20 7225 6700 HARRODSESTATES.COM

EBURY STREET, BELGRAVIA, SW1W A stunning three bedroom apartment on the raised ground floor of this portered building in Belgravia. The property has been refurbished to a very high standards and offers approximately 1636 sq. ft. of elegant accommodation with wooden flooring throughout. There is a spacious reception room / dining area, kitchen, master bedroom with ensuite and dressing room, further two bedrooms and bathroom. Ebury Street is located within walking distance of all amenities of Hyde Park Corner and Victoria. Available now for long term let on furnished basis. EPC rating C. Price per week: £1,650 Property Fees: £180 Admin & £210 Checkout. References: £42 per person *http://www.harrodsestates.com/tenants

020 7225 6602 Karen.boland@harrodsestates.com

Kinnerton Street

ÂŁ2,495,000 share of freehold

An immaculate 1 bedroom apartment located on the 1st floor of this purpose built block with 24hr porterage. Thorburn House is located in a prime position less than 100m from the restaurants, shops & amenities of Motcomb Street, as well as being within close proximity to Hyde Park & Knightsbridge underground station.

Knightsbridge Knightsbridge&&Belgravia Belgravia

EPC rating C

020 0207235 72358090 8090

Belgravia SW1X

sales.knightsbridge@chestertons.com sales.knightsbridge@chestertons.com

chestertons.com

Trevor Square

Knightbridge SW7

An immaculately presented 3 bedroom apartment with a private terrace situated on the 2nd floor of this highly regarded & exclusive residential building. The development is widely known to be one of the most exclusive residential developments in Knightsbridge. The expansive apartments were developed from the former Harrods Depository building in 2002 & the squareâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s distinguished architecture reflects the prominence of a Knightsbridge address. EPC rating B

ÂŁ10,350,000 long leasehold

Knightsbridge & Belgravia

020 7235 8090 sales.knightsbridge@chestertons.com

WEST HALKIN STREET, BELGRAVIA, SW1X

£3,650,000 LEASEHOLD (Approximately 120 years remaining)

• TWO DOUBLE BEDROOMS • EN-SUITE BATHROOMS • RECEPTION ROOM WITH STUDY AREA • • GUEST CLOAKROOM • KITCHEN ROOM • HIGH CEILINGS • TERRACE • EPC C •

BELGRAVIA OFFICE 1 Motcomb Street, London SW1X 8JX +44 (0)20 7235 8861 belgraviaoffice@henryandjames.co.uk

henryandjames.co.uk

UPPER BELGRAVE STREET, BELGRAVIA, SW1X

£1,900 PER WEEK • TWO DOUBLE BEDROOMS • LARGE SOUTH-WEST ASPECT RECEPTION ROOM • HIGH CEILINGS • • ACCESS TO BELGRAVE SQUARE COMMUNAL GARDENS • LIFT • 24 HOUR PORTER • EPC C •

PLUS £240 ADMINISTRATION FEE AND £60 REFERENCING FEE PER PERSON BELGRAVIA OFFICE 1 Motcomb Street, London SW1X 8JX +44 (0)20 7235 8861 belgraviaoffice@henryandjames.co.uk

henryandjames.co.uk

www.ayrtonwylie.com +44 (0) 20 7730 4628 (sales)

BOURNE STREET, SW1

A very well presented freehold house of some 1,674 sq ft in this prime Belgravia street close to Sloane Square. 1,674 sq ft / 155.51 sq m

FREEHOLD £3,600,000

16 Lower Belgrave Street, Belgravia, London SW1W 0LN

ACCOMMODATION AND AMENITIES

Entrance Hallway • Double Reception Room • Conservatory with Roof Terrace • Kitchen/Dining Room • 3 Bedrooms • 2 En Suite Bathrooms • Shower Room • Study/4th Bedroom • Guest WC • Utility Room • Pretty Rear Garden

sales@ayrtonwylie.com

A b

L £

KINNERTON STREET, SW1

A charming property in this quaint and quiet street on the borders of Belgravia and Knightsbridge. 1,401 sq ft / 130.15 sq m

LEASE 31 YEARS £1,950,000

16 Lower Belgrave Street, Belgravia, London SW1W 0LN

ACCOMMODATION AND AMENITIES

Reception Room • Dining Room • Kitchen • Master Bedroom with En Suite Bathroom and Dressing Room (Potential 3rd Bedroom) • 2nd Double Bedroom • Shower Room • Conservatory • Store Room • Small Patio JSA with Savills Sloane Street 020 7730 0822

sales@ayrtonwylie.com

ESTATE AGENTS, SURVEYORS AND PROPERTY CONSULTANTS 81 Elizabeth Street, Eaton Square, London SW1W 9PG Tel: 020 7730 9253 Fax: 020 7730 8212 Email: reception@bestgapp.co.uk

www.bestgapp.co.uk Over 100 years experience in Belgravia

BELGRAVIA COURT, SW1 A beautifully presented and recently modernised one bedroom third floor flat that would make an excellent Pied à Terre. Belgravia Court has recently been refurbished internally to provide airy common parts and is situated in the heart of Belgravia close to Victoria Station.

Leasehold 139 Years

£895,000

* * * *

Reception Room Bedroom Suite Lift Caretaker

BASiL STREET SW3 B immaculately A S I L presented S T R Ethree E bedroom T SW 3this beautifully maintained mansion building in the heart of Knightsbridge. An flat in The building is ideally located for Harrods and building the shops and restaurants of the moments from Knightsbridge A bright third floor mansion apartment in this period in Knightsbridge. The flat has area, wood and flooring throughout and is presented in underground station. excellent condition. Furnished. 1183 sq ft. ThreeDouble Bedrooms •  Two Bedrooms Two Bathroom Bathrooms

■

■ •  One ■ ■

•  Reception • One Shower Room 

Reception Room Kitchen/Breakfast Room

£1395 per week + fees to Contract £3,300,000 Subject

Entrance• Kitchen Hall/Dining Area Loft Storage •  Lift Area ■ Porter ■ Lift ■ ■

•  Day Porter •  H & HW incl

■ ■

1397 sq ft •  EE Rating D EE rating E

Share of Freehold

facebook.com/struttandparker twitter.com/struttandparker

struttandparker.com

Wyndham House

A well-proportioned four bedroom flat quietly situated on the third floor (lift) of this highly regarded portered building.

ÂŁ9,100,000 Leasehold

Knightsbridge 020 7235 9959 casper.tham@struttandparker.com

Eaton Square, Belgravia SW1W

A beautifully designed lateral penthouse apartment (circa 1,630 sq ft) with a dual aspect, vaulted ceilings and leafy views of the Eaton Square gardens.

Knightsbridge 020 7235 9959

james.gilbert-green@struttandparker.com

ÂŁ5,995,000 Leasehold

facebook.com/struttandparker twitter.com/struttandparker

struttandparker.com

Lyall Mews, Belgravia SW1

An exemplary newly This discreet and impressive four modernised bed mews house bedroom, low4/5 built freehold house with roof terrace and benefits from a home cinema parking in one of Belgraviaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s room, gym, extensive wine cellar, finestroof andterrace, quietestcourtyard cobbled large mews. an integral garage, offgarden, street parking and access to Belgrave Square gardens.

3,801 sq sq ft ft (353.12 (353.12 sq sq m) m) 3,801 Entrance Hall hall | Living room | Dining room Entrance Kitchen || Three Three bedroom bedroom suites suites || Fourth Fourth || Kitchen bedroom |with room | | bedroom Wineshower room |room Home| Wine cinema | Gym Home cinema | Gym/Bedroom | Roof terrace Roof terrace | Courtyard garden 5| garage | Off | Courtyard garden | Garage | Off street-parking street-parking

Knightsbridge 020 020 7235 7235 9959 9959 Knightsbridge charlie.willis@struttandparker.com Charlie.willis@struttandparker.com

ÂŁ10,750,000 Freehold

BELGRAVIA Resident’s Journal F E B R U A R Y 201 5

I SSU E 0 33

ABU DH

Where will we find your perfect buyer or tenant? As the exclusive UK affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate network, we can reach quality buyers and tenants in 46 countries via 950 offices and a website visited 135,600 times a month. There’s no better way to open your door to the world. The Belgravia Residents’ Journal is published independently by Runwild Media Group with regular editorial contributions from The Belgravia Residents’ Association. To become a member of the BRA, visit www.belgraviaresidents.org.uk. We would highly value any feedback you wish to email us with: belgravia@residentsjournal.co.uk; or telephone us on 020 7987 4320.

w w w. R e s i d e n t s J o u r n a l . c o . u k (020) 7987 4320

66 Sloane Street London SW1X 9SH Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7235 9959 knightsbridge@struttandparker.com struttandparker.com/christies

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05/12/2014 11:11

BELGRAVIA Resident’s Journal w w w. R e s i d e n t s J o u r n a l . c o . u k 020 7987 4320

february 2015 • Issue 33