A £5.8 million Connecticut mansion
Completed in 1906, Sharon, Connecticut’s most impressive home is undoubtedly a property named Filston House. Better known as “The Colgate Mansion”, the J. William Cromwell, Jr. designed residence was built in an Italian Renaissance style and is for sale at reduced price of £5.8 million.
Launched to the market for £7.1 million in May 2012 and originally the home of Romulus “Rome” Riggs Colgate (1858 – 1926), the 12,057 square foot mansion stands on 106 acres and includes 9 bedrooms and numerous reception rooms. It was bought by the producer and singer-songwriter Paul Leka (1943 – 2011) in 1978 and now, following his death, his wife has decided to sell through Sotheby’s.
Constructed, according to the agents, at a cost of $2 million (the equivalent of £27.7 million today), The Colgate Mansion mixes a variety of styles including neo-Gothic, French Empire, Palladian and Corinthian. Bizarrely, somehow, this mishmash works and the result is perhaps best surmised by the New York Social Diary’s John Foreman, who describes it as having a “zany architectural eclecticism”.
Used partly as a studio during Paul Leka’s occupation, The Colgate Mansion undoubtedly is ready for a makeover by an incoming purchaser. Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye will no doubt play as Leka’s wife, Engjellushe, makes her final journey down the estate’s carriage drive.
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Not sure it needs makeover, does it? There’s currently an unhealthy obsession in transforming a house whenever it’s sold. Often unnecessarily.
Did you see the NYSD pictures? The garden and kitchen are virtually derelict. Needs a lot more than a makeover.