The Steeple Times

Tag: banking

  • A Wyatt Wonder

    A Wyatt Wonder

    “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson

    Designed by Robert Adam’s rival James Wyatt in 1773 and “clothed in the Italiante manner” in 1859 to 1860, “grand and beautifully executed” Abbey Leix in County Laois is considered “one of Ireland’s most important country houses.”

     

    Placed for sale last June for £17.8 million ($22 million, €20 million or درهم81 million), the main house on the 1,120-acre estate, Abbey Leix House – also known as ‘Abbeyleix House’ and’ Abbeyleix Castle’) – is vast and includes 26,910 square foot of accommodation. Aside from 9 bedrooms and 10 bathrooms, the classical building has amongst other things 3 major rooms on the park front, a deep hall, a music room with original Wyatt plasterwork, a library and a conservatory.

     

    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    Sir David Davies (born in Wales in 1940) at Abbey Leix.

    Renovated and remodeled since being sold to the Welsh born, twice divorced, father of five Sir David Davies in 1995 by its previous owners of the 250 years, the de Vesci family, Abbey Leix is described by agents Sotheby’s International Realty as a “21st century family home with an appropriate balance between comfort and informality on the one hand and grandeur for entertaining and the display of art on the other.”

     

    As well as Ireland’s oldest oak tree being within the grounds, the property also includes some of the “last surviving remnants of Ireland’s ancient woodland” and frontage to the River Nore. There is also a stud farm with 24 loose boxes, a separate farmyard with many outbuildings and 10 lodges and cottages on the estate. The present owner’s private airstrip was created because he wanted to be able to “fly from wherever in the UK straight into the estate.”

     

    Of why he is selling Abbey Leix, “superstar banker and businessman” Sir David – who has variously held senior posts at Chase Manhattan Bank, Hill Samuel, MEPC, Hardine Matheson, Hong Kong Land, Johnson Matthey and EFG Private Bank – told the Business Post:

     

    “I’m organising my whole estate for the benefit of my children… Although the children all love this place very much, none of them wanted to take it on… The typical refrain is ‘Dad, this is your project,’ and I’m lucky enough to have Killoughter House, the home of my childhood, to return to.”

     

    Though born in Wales, Sir David – whom was knighted “for his work as chairman of the Advisory Committee on Business and the Environment” in 1999 – has maintained a home in Ireland throughout his adulthood. He “proudly” became an Irish citizen after Brexit and described “inept” Theresa May as “going from one catastrophe to that leads to the next catastrophe.” Of her successor, the opera loving son of a South Wales steel mill owner went further and recently remarked: “I have no time for Boris Johnson: he doesn’t do his homework, and can’t be trusted.”

     

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    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
    A Wyatt Wonder – £18 million for Sir David Davies’ The Abbey Leix Estate, Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland through Sotheby’s International Realty – “Hard head – healing hands” Welsh businessman looks to sell his £18 million Irish estate complete with a James Wyatt mansion and 1,120 acres; Sir David Davies became an Irish citizen after Brexit and has no time for Boris Johnson
  • Epstein’s Fat Cat

    Epstein’s Fat Cat

    Fat cat banker and Barclays CEO Jes Staley under investigation over his links to the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein

    This morning, Barclays has been forced to reveal that its controversial CEO Jes Staley is being investigated over his links to the now (allegedly) dead paedophile and late friend of Prince Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein.

     

    In a statement, the firm announced that the Financial Conduct Authority and the regulatory watchdog Prudential Regulation Authority are looking into “Mr. Staley’s characterisation to the company of his relationship with Mr. Epstein, and the subsequent description of that relationship, in the company’s response to the FCA.”

     

    They claimed their board retains “full confidence” in Staley – a man once described as “like Teflon” by Neil Wilson of Markets.com – because he has been “sufficiently transparent with the company as regards the nature and extent and relationship with Mr Epstein.”

     

    In a call with reporters about the matter, according to CityA.M., Staley himself added: “I feel very comfortable… that I have been very transparent and open with the bank about the relationship. With hindsight, I deeply regret having had any relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.”

     

    In 2018, after Staley tried to unmask a whistleblower at the bank in 2016, the firm was slapped with a fine of £600,000 ($779,000, €716,000 or درهم2.8 million) and of this Wilson today remarked: “Coming after the whistleblowing fine, it’s looking like the cat may be running out of lives, I wonder if he can survive this.”

     

    Elsewhere on social media, one user asked of Staley: “Is this someone you’d trust even with a bus ticket?”

     

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  • Wally of the Week – Noel Edmonds

    Wally of the Week – Noel Edmonds

    Matthew Steeples suggests Noel Edmonds’ latest outburst just confirms himself to be a strange, publicity desperate fool

     

    Spiritualist television personality Noel Edmonds is certainly an off-the-scale oddity. He blamed the banking giant HBOS for getting cancer and then claimed he knew of an electric box that could cure the disease; he tried to “comfort” a cat on Jeremy Vine’s radio show in 2016 and he’ll also forever be associated with his financially disastrous ‘Blobby Land’ theme park in Morecambe, Lancashire.

     

    Determined to keep himself in the public eye, Edmonds recently chose to participate in a BBC Two “endurance rally show” programme named Eight Go Rallying: The Road To Saigon. Likely paid handsomely for driving 2,500 miles through Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam in an MGB GT with his wife, the television presenter have since complained that the experience was “a farce” and that he was even “deceived” into attending a wrap party in a brothel.

     

    In an article for The Sunday Times, Edmonds commented:

     

    “We were trapped in the worst kind of reality TV show, in which the reality is that the producers are deceiving the viewers.”

     

    “After months of silence, I assumed they had come to the only sensible conclusion and had decided to drop the series. But no — out of the blue I received an email announcing the dates for broadcast. To compound the insanity, the BBC is using my name and image to promote the series.”

     

    “No, Auntie, you’re misbehaving and I won’t be implicated.”

     

    Seriously Noel, stop drinking the Kool Aid: We all know you are publicity desperate and we all know you planted this story simply to boost your own pathetic ego.

     

    As the comedy character David Brent once quipped:

     

    “You know, like poor Noel Edmonds. People going, What’s he doing going round hospitals at Christmas giving out presents? He’s doing it for himself, isn’t he? He’s not doing it for himself! He’s doing it for them. He’s not doing it at all any more. He can’t get on telly for love nor money. But when he did it, he did it for them.”

     

    In summary Noel: Please. Please just shut up.

     

    Pictured top: Noel Edmonds hugging his creation ‘Mr Blobby’ at the opening of Crinkley Bottom at Happy Mount Park in Morecambe, Lancashire in 1994.

     

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  • Stopping Brexit

    Stopping Brexit

    Matthew Steeples suggests Labour’s partial U-turn on Brexit is a positive start; they must now go further and oppose it entirely

     

    Whilst Keir Starmer’s decision to announce Labour will support Britain remaining in a customs union with the EU and within the single market during a “time-limited transitional period between our exit from the EU and the new lasting relationship we build with our European partners” in The Observer yesterday is to be saluted, he does not go far enough.

     

    Brexit has left Britain on a knife-edge. Sterling is considerably weakened, jobs in agriculture and banking are already disappearing and businesses, such as occurred with Southern Salads in Kent, are beginning to go into administration. Theresa May’s “Brexit means Brexit” and her ridiculous “red, white and blue Brexit” now seem the ultimate follies and this morning’s comment by Peter Oborne in the Daily Mail is indicative that the lunatics are still in charge of the asylum.

     

    In a moaning rant that he titles a “spectacular betrayal of Labour voters” and aside from spouting the usual rhetoric, Oborne does rightly suggest that Jeremy Corbyn is not a natural supporter of the EU. The Labour leader, after all, voted against British membership in 1975, opposed the single market subsequently and also did little in the 2016 referendum campaign to positively support ‘remain’. Consequently, one is left wondering if he actually truly supports what Keir Starmer yesterday proposed.

     

    The Leader of the Opposition’s aim, of course, is power and alongside his recent transformation from a badly dressed joker to someone who actually made headway – thanks in the main to Theresa May’s incompetence and decision to call an utterly unnecessary election – Corbyn has realised that the 48% are a constituency worthy of pursuing. He must now, himself, come out and be honest with us and we urge him to do what is best for Britain: It is time for Labour campaign to stop Brexit.

     

    Follow Matthew Steeples on Twitter at @M_Steeples.

     

  • Poore Borwick

    Poore Borwick

    New contributor Mark Newton shares his views on the “dubious record” of Lady Borwick, Conservative parliamentary candidate for Kensington

    Kensington, Kensington, its name beats the drum of the Conservative heartland of London. Tory grandees have worked long and hard to be fortified in this Bastion with greats like Alan Clark, Michael Portillo and Malcom Rifkind amongst its previous tenants. To be given Kensington is to be awarded one of the safest, and most convenient seats in the land – a prize to be won by only the hardest working, and most industrious of MPs and this, to my mind, makes the continued selection of Lady Borwick (née Victoria Poore) as the Tory candidate even harder to understand.

     

    Known locally by the epithet ‘Lazy Borwick’, this latest MP is cast quite differently from the usual Kensington mould. Lady (‘Call me Victoria’) Borwick’s stance on Brexit, lousy debate participation and letter response history, questionable use of public funds and ongoing links to shady businesses is creating quite the heated storm in the chattering leafy private gardens of Kensington. Over the next three articles, I’ll be taking a look at Lady Borwick to try to get to the bottom of how and why one of the safest Tory seats of the land came to be held by the one of the least worthy occupants.

     

    Lady Borwick succeeded in getting her hands on Kensington after Malcolm Rifkind stepped down at the 2015 General Election. The circumstances of that coup are somewhat strange, not least because of the history of Kensington in selecting high profile and hard working MPs. What seems to have happened is simple nepotism. Lady Borwick, having twice failed to make the selection list for London mayor during Steven Norris’ candidacy, finally slid into the London Assembly in 2008 as one of three London-wide Conservative members. From there it was an easy promotion from Boris Johnson to the Deputy Mayorhood, and it seems no-one less than the great ‘BoJo’ himself shoe-horned her into the Kensington seat ahead of better qualified and more industrious candidates.

     

    So why then is the epithet ‘Lazy Borwick’ doing the rounds in the Royal Borough? Surprisingly, it has very little to do with her controversial Brexit stance in a strongly Remain constituency. What’s got Conservatives up in arms is her uselessness as a constituency MP. According to the MP tracking website TheyWorkForYou, Lady Borwick’s response rate to written enquiries is just 18% – an abysmal score that places her 618th on a list of 641 responding MPs. If there’s one thing the well-to-do residents of Kensington don’t like it’s an MP who is too busy or lazy to respond to their well-meant enquiries, particularly a Member of Parliament who manages to be significantly less efficient than her much busier, high profile forbearers.

     

    So, what, might you ask, is taking up so much of Lazy Borwick’s time that she can’t manage to get to her mail bag? Some suggest that it may be her tireless work for charity, yet, strangely, Lady Borwick’s parliamentary voting record seems to spit in the face of the charitable causes she purports to support. Recently, she has jumped on the laudable activities of @CleanAirLondon, a much needed initiative to clean up London’s diesel rich environment, yet in the Commons ‘Lazy Borwick’ has consistently voted against climate change measures, and against a greater public control of bus services. Hard to reconcile with the self-promotional pictures of her backing smart energy meters.

    Lady Borwick also claims to support local hospitals and to regularly visit the elderly residents of Kensington. She even spoke at a recent debate in favour of mental health and mobility support. Yet in the House of Commons she has almost always voted against paying benefits to those unable to work due to illness or disability and has consistently voted against the terminally ill being given assistance to end their lives.

    Finally, there are those who suggest ‘Lazy Borwick’ may simply be too busy with parliamentary duties to answer constituents’ letters, yet she spoke in just 15 debates in the last year, well below average amongst MPs, and dramatically lower than previous high profile Kensington MPs.

    Whatever it is that keeps Lady Borwick entertained, it can’t then be serving the interests of her constituents, so to get answers we need to dig further, into her bizarre and odd beliefs about Europe, and her odd use of public funds and ties to ‘Big Data’ business.

    Coming up next – ‘Brexit Borwick’ and residents’ anger in Kensington; the constituency with the greatest proportion of EU nationals of any London borough.

     

    Pictured above – ‘Woman of the people’ Lady Borwick – a “director and member of Poore and Second Poore Ltd; holding companies limited by guarantee” – aboard a 40-metre yacht in 2014 with Sunseeker Cheshire’s Jonathan Kingsley. At the time Mr Kingsley commented: “It was a wonderful opportunity to promote our iconic brand and reinforce the British success of Sunseeker to this high profile, influential Lady. She, and her son, adored the boat”.

    #LazyBorwick

     

  • Louise Rowntree – What’s on your mantelpiece?

    Louise Rowntree – What’s on your mantelpiece?

    A 20-question interview with public affairs and communications consultant and Liberal Democrat candidate for Chelsea & Fulham Louise Rowntree

     

    The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom”. What’s your guiding force?

    Treat others the way you want to be treated.

     

    “Don’t get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion, a great motto. What’s yours?

    You’re not living unless you take risks.

     

    Kerry Katona was considered unacceptable in 2007. Who or what is unacceptable in 2017?

    Theresa May.

     

    Tony Blair misses being Prime Minister. What do you miss most in your life?

    Time to ‘mong’.

     

    What might you swap all your wealth for?

    Being the fastest swimmer in the world.

     

    Donald Trump was once a case of: “If you owe the bank a thousand, they close you down; but if you owe the bank a billion, you own the bank”. What’s your view on the state of the financial system?

    It was going quite well in Britain until Brexit.

     

    What phrase or word do you most loathe?

    “How are you?” instead of “hello”.

     

    In the UK, some people consider charity to “begin at home”. What’s your view and what causes do you personally support?

    With three children, a small business and the General Election, I am conscious that I don’t do enough to help out in the local community currently. Locally, I’m ambassador for the Fulham Cricket Club – which gives free cricket training to children whose parents wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford it, and has linked up with a number of charities including Hammersmith & Fulham Refugees Welcome. More generally, I donate (a modest sum) to Save the Children each month.

     

    The judge in Law Abiding Citizen states: “I can pretty much do whatever I want” before being blown up whilst answering her mobile phone. What’s your view on the appropriate use of such devices?

    My late father always said: “You can tell who’s important. They’re the ones without a phone”. When on a train take calls in the corridor, try to avoid taking them when with others but – if you must – ask permission first. Never put your phone on a table if with others.

     

    If you could fill a carriage on The Orient Express, who would be your fellow passengers?

    Vincent Cassel, Nancy Wake (‘The White Mouse’), Ian Hislop, Michelle Obama, Mick Jagger, Amy Schumer, Guillaume Canet, Diana Ross, Jimmy Fallon and the entire cast of Saturday Night Live.

     

    If you were unfortunate enough to end up on death row, what would be your last meal and where would you eat it?

    Chinese dim sum, on a boat on the River Thames going through Chelsea and Fulham.

     

    What time is it acceptable to consume the first drink of the day?

    Any time, as long the occasion fits and you can handle your drink.

     

    A Negroni, a martini or a cup of tea?

    A Negroni, but in a glass, not from the bottle.

     

    Whose parties do you enjoy the most and why?

    Ours: Because my husband DJ’s and we always have to threaten to call the police at 4am.

     

    Who is the most positive person you know?

    Jessica Arora: Fashion guru, co-founder of NotSuchAModelMum and a good friend.

     

    What’s your most guilty pleasure?

    Eating a whole box of salt and vinegar Pringles whilst drinking wine in bed and watching American TV series’.

     

    If a tattoo were to sum you up, what would it be of?

    A rowan tree: I’m a descendant of Vikings who invaded York over a thousand years ago and took their name from the local rowan tree – which morphed into ‘Rowntree’: Rooted, earth, strong, proud – it sums up both my Yorkshire ancestors and me.

     

    If you were a car, what marque would you be?

    A Lada: Old fashioned, rare, traditional and scrubs up surprisingly well with a bit of polish.

     

    Cilla Black presented Surprise, Surprise. Tell us the most surprising thing about you.

    I was taught how to fight at the age of five, but thankfully have only once had to.

     

    What’s currently sitting on your mantelpiece?

    A Mappin & Webb clock my late father was given when he retired from the bank he ran, a couple of Delft vases from a Belgian flee market, a Limoges egg which belonged to my late grandmother, and my son’s Grade 2 Music Theory certificate.

     

    Louise Rowntree is a lawyer-turned-public affairs and communications consultant who grew up in Chelsea and lives in Fulham. She is married to Raphael, a Belgian lawyer, has three sons and is standing as the Liberal Democrat for Chelsea & Fulham in the 2017 General Election.

     

    Louise worked for several years in Brussels – where she ran Hill & Knowlton’s Trade & Competition department. In 2012 she founded her own, niche, consultancy Rowntree & Associates and moved back to London soon after. She has personally advised heads of state, ambassadors, ministers, multinationals, NGOs and law firms.

     

    Follow her on Twitter at @louise_rowntree.

     

    Photograph by Micki Scupin Rogers.

     

  • Staging the Dollars

    Staging the Dollars

    Prominent banker attempts to sell San Francisco mansion for a sum 205% higher than it achieved in 1993; it comes with an outdoor theatre

     

    Built in 1904 of brick on a wood frame and subject to a seismic upgrade in 1994, 3444 Washington Street in Presidio Heights, San Francisco was sold for $15.2 million in 2006 (the equivalent of £11.8 million, $18.4 million, €13.9 million or درهم55.8 million today) and before that for $5.9 million in 1993 (the equivalent of £7.8 million, $10 million, €9.1 million or درهم36.7 million today). It is currently owned by the banker David A. Coulter and his “social entrepreneur” wife Susan Weeks Coulter and has recently been placed for sale for £14 million ($18 million, €16.5 million or درهم66.1 million).

     

    Offered by Linda Mayne of Mayne & Company, the 9,074 square foot “Georgian-style residence” comes with not only 6 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms but also an outdoor amphitheatre complete with terraced seating and an al fresco kitchen with a barbecue. The 4-storey building was last remodeled in 2008 and also includes a media room with wet bar and views of the Golden Gate Bridge, a wine cellar with capacity for 1,600 bottles, a lift, staff quarters and a 2-car garage.

     

    Staging the Dollars – 3444 Washington Street, Presidio Heights, San Francisco, California, CA 94118, United States of America – For sale for £14 million ($18 million, €16.5 million or درهم66.1 million) through Linda Mayne of Mayne & Company and owned by banker David A. Coulter and his social entrepreneur wife Susan Weeks Coulter.
    Susan Weeks Coulter and her husband David A. Coulter (left and right)

    Staging the Dollars – 3444 Washington Street, Presidio Heights, San Francisco, California, CA 94118, United States of America – For sale for £14 million ($18 million, €16.5 million or درهم66.1 million) through Linda Mayne of Mayne & Company and owned by banker David A. Coulter and his social entrepreneur wife Susan Weeks Coulter.
    3444 Washington Street, Presidio Heights, San Francisco, California, CA 94118, United States of America

    Staging the Dollars – 3444 Washington Street, Presidio Heights, San Francisco, California, CA 94118, United States of America – For sale for £14 million ($18 million, €16.5 million or درهم66.1 million) through Linda Mayne of Mayne & Company and owned by banker David A. Coulter and his social entrepreneur wife Susan Weeks Coulter.
    The garden features an amphitheatre complete with terraced seating

    Staging the Dollars – 3444 Washington Street, Presidio Heights, San Francisco, California, CA 94118, United States of America – For sale for £14 million ($18 million, €16.5 million or درهم66.1 million) through Linda Mayne of Mayne & Company and owned by banker David A. Coulter and his social entrepreneur wife Susan Weeks Coulter.
    The view from the house

     

    Property taxes on the house were a not insubstantial sum of £154,959 in 2015 ($199,685, €182,686 or درهم733,690). Mr and Mrs Coulter attempted to sell 3444 Washington Street in 2008 but subsequently withdrew it from the market after reducing their then asking price from $17.5 million to $12 million (the equivalent of £13.6 million to £10.6 million, $19.9 million to $13.6 million, €16 million to €12.4 million or درهم64.3 million to درهم50 million today). They also own reportedly bought a penthouse at 55 East 72nd Street in New York in 2012.

     

    Pennsylvania born, Carnegie Mellon University educated Mr Coulter, currently a special limited partner at Warburg Pincus, was previously vice chairman of JP Morgan Chase & Co. from 2001 to 2005. He was chairman and CEO of Bank of America Corporation for two years from 1996, but was unceremoniously fired when that organisation was “eaten alive” by Hugh McColl’s NationsBank in October 1998.

     

    Staging the Dollars – 3444 Washington Street, Presidio Heights, San Francisco, California, CA 94118, United States of America – For sale for £14 million ($18 million, €16.5 million or درهم66.1 million) through Linda Mayne of Mayne & Company and owned by banker David A. Coulter and his social entrepreneur wife Susan Weeks Coulter.Staging the Dollars – 3444 Washington Street, Presidio Heights, San Francisco, California, CA 94118, United States of America – For sale for £14 million ($18 million, €16.5 million or درهم66.1 million) through Linda Mayne of Mayne & Company and owned by banker David A. Coulter and his social entrepreneur wife Susan Weeks Coulter.Staging the Dollars – 3444 Washington Street, Presidio Heights, San Francisco, California, CA 94118, United States of America – For sale for £14 million ($18 million, €16.5 million or درهم66.1 million) through Linda Mayne of Mayne & Company and owned by banker David A. Coulter and his social entrepreneur wife Susan Weeks Coulter. Staging the Dollars – 3444 Washington Street, Presidio Heights, San Francisco, California, CA 94118, United States of America – For sale for £14 million ($18 million, €16.5 million or درهم66.1 million) through Linda Mayne of Mayne & Company and owned by banker David A. Coulter and his social entrepreneur wife Susan Weeks Coulter.Staging the Dollars – 3444 Washington Street, Presidio Heights, San Francisco, California, CA 94118, United States of America – For sale for £14 million ($18 million, €16.5 million or درهم66.1 million) through Linda Mayne of Mayne & Company and owned by banker David A. Coulter and his social entrepreneur wife Susan Weeks Coulter.Staging the Dollars – 3444 Washington Street, Presidio Heights, San Francisco, California, CA 94118, United States of America – For sale for £14 million ($18 million, €16.5 million or درهم66.1 million) through Linda Mayne of Mayne & Company and owned by banker David A. Coulter and his social entrepreneur wife Susan Weeks Coulter.Staging the Dollars – 3444 Washington Street, Presidio Heights, San Francisco, California, CA 94118, United States of America – For sale for £14 million ($18 million, €16.5 million or درهم66.1 million) through Linda Mayne of Mayne & Company and owned by banker David A. Coulter and his social entrepreneur wife Susan Weeks Coulter.Staging the Dollars – 3444 Washington Street, Presidio Heights, San Francisco, California, CA 94118, United States of America – For sale for £14 million ($18 million, €16.5 million or درهم66.1 million) through Linda Mayne of Mayne & Company and owned by banker David A. Coulter and his social entrepreneur wife Susan Weeks Coulter. Staging the Dollars – 3444 Washington Street, Presidio Heights, San Francisco, California, CA 94118, United States of America – For sale for £14 million ($18 million, €16.5 million or درهم66.1 million) through Linda Mayne of Mayne & Company and owned by banker David A. Coulter and his social entrepreneur wife Susan Weeks Coulter.Staging the Dollars – 3444 Washington Street, Presidio Heights, San Francisco, California, CA 94118, United States of America – For sale for £14 million ($18 million, €16.5 million or درهم66.1 million) through Linda Mayne of Mayne & Company and owned by banker David A. Coulter and his social entrepreneur wife Susan Weeks Coulter.Staging the Dollars – 3444 Washington Street, Presidio Heights, San Francisco, California, CA 94118, United States of America – For sale for £14 million ($18 million, €16.5 million or درهم66.1 million) through Linda Mayne of Mayne & Company and owned by banker David A. Coulter and his social entrepreneur wife Susan Weeks Coulter.Staging the Dollars – 3444 Washington Street, Presidio Heights, San Francisco, California, CA 94118, United States of America – For sale for £14 million ($18 million, €16.5 million or درهم66.1 million) through Linda Mayne of Mayne & Company and owned by banker David A. Coulter and his social entrepreneur wife Susan Weeks Coulter.Staging the Dollars – 3444 Washington Street, Presidio Heights, San Francisco, California, CA 94118, United States of America – For sale for £14 million ($18 million, €16.5 million or درهم66.1 million) through Linda Mayne of Mayne & Company and owned by banker David A. Coulter and his social entrepreneur wife Susan Weeks Coulter.Staging the Dollars – 3444 Washington Street, Presidio Heights, San Francisco, California, CA 94118, United States of America – For sale for £14 million ($18 million, €16.5 million or درهم66.1 million) through Linda Mayne of Mayne & Company and owned by banker David A. Coulter and his social entrepreneur wife Susan Weeks Coulter.Staging the Dollars – 3444 Washington Street, Presidio Heights, San Francisco, California, CA 94118, United States of America – For sale for £14 million ($18 million, €16.5 million or درهم66.1 million) through Linda Mayne of Mayne & Company and owned by banker David A. Coulter and his social entrepreneur wife Susan Weeks Coulter. Staging the Dollars – 3444 Washington Street, Presidio Heights, San Francisco, California, CA 94118, United States of America – For sale for £14 million ($18 million, €16.5 million or درهم66.1 million) through Linda Mayne of Mayne & Company and owned by banker David A. Coulter and his social entrepreneur wife Susan Weeks Coulter.

    https://vimeo.com/212072933

  • Living Large

    New Jersey mansion, complete with 58 rooms, for sale for equivalent sum to what it cost to build in 1909; the £37 million house’s original owner was a man whose extravagance knew absolutely no bounds

     

    George Crocker (1856 – 1909) makes F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Jay Gatsby seem like an amateur. Born in Sacramento and the son of a railway magnate worth some $30 million on his death (the equivalent of £634 million or $812 million today), Crocker was willed a significant $6 million (the equivalent of £127 million or $163 million today) on the condition that “after the space of five years continuously he shall abstain from the use of spirituous, vinous, and malt liquors to the extent that he shall not during this period have been intoxicated”.

     

    Crocker decided to ignore the terms of his father’s behest and from 1888 to 1891 lived in San Francisco as “one of the most reckless young men about town when reckless young men thereabouts were common” but then admitted himself to a sanatorium, put himself on the straight and narrow and finally collected the sum of $6 million in 1898.

     

    With wealth and a glamorous wife, Emma Rutherford, a widow from California, Crocker set himself up as the toast of New York society. Though he owned a townhouse at 1 East 64th Street and a villa in Newport, it was on paying $96,500 (the equivalent of £2.2 million or $2.8 million today) for the 1,100 acre Darling estate in Bergen County, Mahwah, New Jersey in 1901 that he truly became someone noticeable.

     

    Choosing what he called “the finest site for a residence in the country”, Crocker commissioned an architect named James Brite (died 1942) to build him a mansion “sparing no expense”. Modeled on a Jacobean prodigy house, Bramshill House in Hampshire, England and built from Indiana limestone and Harvard brick, the “Crocker Mansion” or “Darlington” – as it is more widely known – cost $2 million to build (the equivalent of £38.2 million or $49 million today) and included 75 rooms and around 50,000 square foot of accommodation. Its features included steam heating, elevators, ice cream freezers, integrated vacuum systems and a switchboard and in its grounds a racetrack and 16 greenhouses were constructed whilst a pond was stocked with 4,000 trout.

     

    Living Large – Crocker Mansion or Darlington, Mahwah, Bergen County, New Jersey, NJ 07430, United States of America – Built by George Crocker and currently owned by Ilija Pavlovic – For sale for £37.4 million ($48 million, €44.7 million or درهم176.3 million) through Special Properties Real Estate Services – an affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate
    George Crocker and Emerson McMillin

    Living Large – Crocker Mansion or Darlington, Mahwah, Bergen County, New Jersey, NJ 07430, United States of America – Built by George Crocker and currently owned by Ilija Pavlovic – For sale for £37.4 million ($48 million, €44.7 million or درهم176.3 million) through Special Properties Real Estate Services – an affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate

    Living Large – Crocker Mansion or Darlington, Mahwah, Bergen County, New Jersey, NJ 07430, United States of America – Built by George Crocker and currently owned by Ilija Pavlovic – For sale for £37.4 million ($48 million, €44.7 million or درهم176.3 million) through Special Properties Real Estate Services – an affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate
    The design of Darlington was based on “one of the most haunted houses in England”, Bramshill in Hampshire; that building itself was also eventually separated from much of its estate and after being used as the European Police College was sold to developers City & Country for £25 million ($19.5 million) in 2014

     

    Commentators wowed at the resulting creation and noted details such as a library painted after the style of the Italian Renaissance by Tiffany Studios, elaborate wood carving by Italian craftsmen and Tiffany silver chandeliers and a 1906 Aeolian player pipe organ in the building’s 30-foot high Great Hall. In 1912, Architectural Record, chose even to swoon over the basement. They remarked:

     

    “Where Bramshill’s cellar housed for centuries lanterns, tallow dips, forest faggots, wooden vessels for the distribution of light, heat and water through personal service of human slaveys, its American reincarnation is a storehouse of miracle workers in the comfort and luxury of modern domestic life”.

     

    Unfortunately, Mr and Mrs Crocker did not truly get to enjoy the fruits of their extravagant spending. Emma Crocker died in 1904 of cancer and George Crocker also succumbed to the disease in 1909. His estate was valued at $20 million (the equivalent of £422 million or $541 million today) and amongst items found at his mansion were 60,000 personally monogrammed, custom-made cigars valued at $30,000 (the equivalent of £635,000 or $813,000 today).

     

    Sold subsequently to a “self-made” banker, industrialist and astronomy enthusiast named Emerson McMillin (1844 – 1922) in 1909 for $1 million (the equivalent of £21.1 million or $27.1 million), Darlington was next used to display a fine collection of Chinese and Japanese porcelain whilst a herd of Jerseys were kept in the grounds.

     

    After McMillin’s death, his widow sold the estate in 1924 for $685,000 (the equivalent of £7.6 million or $9.8 million) to the Darlington Development Company, which in turn made it available to the Darling Golf and Country Club. They converted the building to a hotel and club that “promised to offer a new dimension to life in Mahwah” but “the development corporation and the club were soon in financial difficulties” and the McMillin estate foreclosed and regained possession.

     

    A new buyer came forward in the form of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Newark. They paid $478,000 for the property in 1926 (the equivalent of £5.2 million or $6.6 million today) and used Darlington as a theological seminary. The surrounding land was gradually sold off and in 1986, the Immaculate Conception Seminary also departed.

     

    Living Large – Crocker Mansion or Darlington, Mahwah, Bergen County, New Jersey, NJ 07430, United States of America – Built by George Crocker and currently owned by Ilija Pavlovic – For sale for £37.4 million ($48 million, €44.7 million or درهم176.3 million) through Special Properties Real Estate Services – an affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate
    Darlington today – The 30-foot high Great Hall is still dominated by a 1906 Aeolian player pipe organ

    Living Large – Crocker Mansion or Darlington, Mahwah, Bergen County, New Jersey, NJ 07430, United States of America – Built by George Crocker and currently owned by Ilija Pavlovic – For sale for £37.4 million ($48 million, €44.7 million or درهم176.3 million) through Special Properties Real Estate Services – an affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate
    Darlington today – Ilija Pavlovic expanded the mansion by some 12,000 square foot and amongst other things added a large home cinema

    Living Large – Crocker Mansion or Darlington, Mahwah, Bergen County, New Jersey, NJ 07430, United States of America – Built by George Crocker and currently owned by Ilija Pavlovic – For sale for £37.4 million ($48 million, €44.7 million or درهم176.3 million) through Special Properties Real Estate Services – an affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate
    Darlington today – Another addition comes in the form of a vast wine cellar; George Crocker’s father would not have approved

     

    Subsequently restored and modernised with, according to Forbes, plumbing, heating, air conditioning and communications systems being installed, Darlington was placed on the market with just 12.1 acres in 2005 by Darlington Associates, a firm who’d built “multiple residential communities surrounding the mansion”. An ambitious figure of $25 million (the equivalent of £24.4 million or $31.3 million today) was sought for the now classified historic site but it was not until 2008 that a buyer came forth in the form of a local businessman named Ilija Pavlovic. He paid just $8.875 million (the equivalent of £8 million or $10.2 million today) and then embarked on the “challenge” of “both preserving the historic home while also restoring it to meet 21st-century standards”. The resulting creation spans four floors and includes amongst many other things a tea room, 3 libraries, 2 game rooms, 2 kitchens, a “his and her master bedroom wing”, 12 further guest bedrooms and 5 staff bedrooms.

     

    The biggest issue with the house, it transpired, was that its 476 leaded windows needed to be replaced. This reportedly cost $2 million alone (the equivalent of £1.8 million or $2.3 million today) and in addition, Pavlovic renewed all the mechanical systems, redid all 19 bathrooms, replaced the slate roof and added amongst other things a spa with an indoor lap pool, a gym, a massage room, a beauty salon and a home cinema. There is also a gatehouse, a professional kitchen that can serve 250 meals at a time, a wine cellar, a poker room, a cigar room, a billiards room, an 8-car garage, a tennis court and an outdoor swimming pool.

     

    Property blog 6sqft – which claimed Friday that the current owners do not live at Darlington full-time and simply use it to host events – reported that this still massive mansion minus its formerly equally gigantic estate is now for sale now for £37.4 million ($48 million, €44.7 million or درهم176.3 million) through a firm Mr Pavlovic chairs, Special Properties Real Estate Services – an affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate. Any buyer will undoubtedly be a vastly wealthy figure, but one can guarantee one thing: They’ll never live as lavishly as the barmy boozer George Crocker.

     

    Living Large – Crocker Mansion or Darlington, Mahwah, Bergen County, New Jersey, NJ 07430, United States of America – Built by George Crocker and currently owned by Ilija Pavlovic – For sale for £37.4 million ($48 million, €44.7 million or درهم176.3 million) through Special Properties Real Estate Services – an affiliate of Christie’s International Real EstateLiving Large – Crocker Mansion or Darlington, Mahwah, Bergen County, New Jersey, NJ 07430, United States of America – Built by George Crocker and currently owned by Ilija Pavlovic – For sale for £37.4 million ($48 million, €44.7 million or درهم176.3 million) through Special Properties Real Estate Services – an affiliate of Christie’s International Real EstateLiving Large – Crocker Mansion or Darlington, Mahwah, Bergen County, New Jersey, NJ 07430, United States of America – Built by George Crocker and currently owned by Ilija Pavlovic – For sale for £37.4 million ($48 million, €44.7 million or درهم176.3 million) through Special Properties Real Estate Services – an affiliate of Christie’s International Real EstateLiving Large – Crocker Mansion or Darlington, Mahwah, Bergen County, New Jersey, NJ 07430, United States of America – Built by George Crocker and currently owned by Ilija Pavlovic – For sale for £37.4 million ($48 million, €44.7 million or درهم176.3 million) through Special Properties Real Estate Services – an affiliate of Christie’s International Real EstateLiving Large – Crocker Mansion or Darlington, Mahwah, Bergen County, New Jersey, NJ 07430, United States of America – Built by George Crocker and currently owned by Ilija Pavlovic – For sale for £37.4 million ($48 million, €44.7 million or درهم176.3 million) through Special Properties Real Estate Services – an affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate Living Large – Crocker Mansion or Darlington, Mahwah, Bergen County, New Jersey, NJ 07430, United States of America – Built by George Crocker and currently owned by Ilija Pavlovic – For sale for £37.4 million ($48 million, €44.7 million or درهم176.3 million) through Special Properties Real Estate Services – an affiliate of Christie’s International Real EstateLiving Large – Crocker Mansion or Darlington, Mahwah, Bergen County, New Jersey, NJ 07430, United States of America – Built by George Crocker and currently owned by Ilija Pavlovic – For sale for £37.4 million ($48 million, €44.7 million or درهم176.3 million) through Special Properties Real Estate Services – an affiliate of Christie’s International Real EstateLiving Large – Crocker Mansion or Darlington, Mahwah, Bergen County, New Jersey, NJ 07430, United States of America – Built by George Crocker and currently owned by Ilija Pavlovic – For sale for £37.4 million ($48 million, €44.7 million or درهم176.3 million) through Special Properties Real Estate Services – an affiliate of Christie’s International Real EstateLiving Large – Crocker Mansion or Darlington, Mahwah, Bergen County, New Jersey, NJ 07430, United States of America – Built by George Crocker and currently owned by Ilija Pavlovic – For sale for £37.4 million ($48 million, €44.7 million or درهم176.3 million) through Special Properties Real Estate Services – an affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate Living Large – Crocker Mansion or Darlington, Mahwah, Bergen County, New Jersey, NJ 07430, United States of America – Built by George Crocker and currently owned by Ilija Pavlovic – For sale for £37.4 million ($48 million, €44.7 million or درهم176.3 million) through Special Properties Real Estate Services – an affiliate of Christie’s International Real EstateLiving Large – Crocker Mansion or Darlington, Mahwah, Bergen County, New Jersey, NJ 07430, United States of America – Built by George Crocker and currently owned by Ilija Pavlovic – For sale for £37.4 million ($48 million, €44.7 million or درهم176.3 million) through Special Properties Real Estate Services – an affiliate of Christie’s International Real EstateLiving Large – Crocker Mansion or Darlington, Mahwah, Bergen County, New Jersey, NJ 07430, United States of America – Built by George Crocker and currently owned by Ilija Pavlovic – For sale for £37.4 million ($48 million, €44.7 million or درهم176.3 million) through Special Properties Real Estate Services – an affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate Living Large – Crocker Mansion or Darlington, Mahwah, Bergen County, New Jersey, NJ 07430, United States of America – Built by George Crocker and currently owned by Ilija Pavlovic – For sale for £37.4 million ($48 million, €44.7 million or درهم176.3 million) through Special Properties Real Estate Services – an affiliate of Christie’s International Real EstateLiving Large – Crocker Mansion or Darlington, Mahwah, Bergen County, New Jersey, NJ 07430, United States of America – Built by George Crocker and currently owned by Ilija Pavlovic – For sale for £37.4 million ($48 million, €44.7 million or درهم176.3 million) through Special Properties Real Estate Services – an affiliate of Christie’s International Real EstateLiving Large – Crocker Mansion or Darlington, Mahwah, Bergen County, New Jersey, NJ 07430, United States of America – Built by George Crocker and currently owned by Ilija Pavlovic – For sale for £37.4 million ($48 million, €44.7 million or درهم176.3 million) through Special Properties Real Estate Services – an affiliate of Christie’s International Real EstateLiving Large – Crocker Mansion or Darlington, Mahwah, Bergen County, New Jersey, NJ 07430, United States of America – Built by George Crocker and currently owned by Ilija Pavlovic – For sale for £37.4 million ($48 million, €44.7 million or درهم176.3 million) through Special Properties Real Estate Services – an affiliate of Christie’s International Real EstateLiving Large – Crocker Mansion or Darlington, Mahwah, Bergen County, New Jersey, NJ 07430, United States of America – Built by George Crocker and currently owned by Ilija Pavlovic – For sale for £37.4 million ($48 million, €44.7 million or درهم176.3 million) through Special Properties Real Estate Services – an affiliate of Christie’s International Real EstateLiving Large – Crocker Mansion or Darlington, Mahwah, Bergen County, New Jersey, NJ 07430, United States of America – Built by George Crocker and currently owned by Ilija Pavlovic – For sale for £37.4 million ($48 million, €44.7 million or درهم176.3 million) through Special Properties Real Estate Services – an affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate

  • Living Large

    Living Large

    New Jersey mansion Darlington, complete with 58 rooms, for sale for equivalent sum to what it cost to build in 1909; the £37 million house’s original owner was a man whose extravagance knew absolutely no bounds

    George Crocker (1856 – 1909) makes F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Jay Gatsby seem like an amateur. Born in Sacramento and the son of a railway magnate worth some $30 million on his death (the equivalent of £634 million or $812 million today), Crocker was willed a significant $6 million (the equivalent of £127 million or $163 million today) on the condition that “after the space of five years continuously he shall abstain from the use of spirituous, vinous, and malt liquors to the extent that he shall not during this period have been intoxicated”.

     

    Crocker decided to ignore the terms of his father’s behest and from 1888 to 1891 lived in San Francisco as “one of the most reckless young men about town when reckless young men thereabouts were common” but then admitted himself to a sanatorium, put himself on the straight and narrow and finally collected the sum of $6 million in 1898.

     

    With wealth and a glamorous wife, Emma Rutherford, a widow from California, Crocker set himself up as the toast of New York society. Though he owned a townhouse at 1 East 64th Street and a villa in Newport, it was on paying $96,500 (the equivalent of £2.2 million or $2.8 million today) for the 1,100 acre Darling estate in Bergen County, Mahwah, New Jersey in 1901 that he truly became someone noticeable.

     

    Choosing what he called “the finest site for a residence in the country”, Crocker commissioned an architect named James Brite (died 1942) to build him a mansion “sparing no expense”. Modeled on a Jacobean prodigy house, Bramshill House in Hampshire, England and built from Indiana limestone and Harvard brick, the “Crocker Mansion” or “Darlington” – as it is more widely known – cost $2 million to build (the equivalent of £38.2 million or $49 million today) and included 75 rooms and around 50,000 square foot of accommodation. Its features included steam heating, elevators, ice cream freezers, integrated vacuum systems and a switchboard and in its grounds a racetrack and 16 greenhouses were constructed whilst a pond was stocked with 4,000 trout.

     

    Living Large – Crocker Mansion or Darlington, Mahwah, Bergen County, New Jersey, NJ 07430, United States of America – Built by George Crocker and currently owned by Ilija Pavlovic – For sale for £37.4 million ($48 million, €44.7 million or درهم176.3 million) through Special Properties Real Estate Services – an affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate
    George Crocker and Emerson McMillin

    Living Large – Crocker Mansion or Darlington, Mahwah, Bergen County, New Jersey, NJ 07430, United States of America – Built by George Crocker and currently owned by Ilija Pavlovic – For sale for £37.4 million ($48 million, €44.7 million or درهم176.3 million) through Special Properties Real Estate Services – an affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate

    Living Large – Crocker Mansion or Darlington, Mahwah, Bergen County, New Jersey, NJ 07430, United States of America – Built by George Crocker and currently owned by Ilija Pavlovic – For sale for £37.4 million ($48 million, €44.7 million or درهم176.3 million) through Special Properties Real Estate Services – an affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate
    The design of Darlington was based on “one of the most haunted houses in England”, Bramshill in Hampshire; that building itself was also eventually separated from much of its estate and after being used as the European Police College was sold to developers City & Country for £25 million ($19.5 million) in 2014

    Commentators wowed at the resulting creation and noted details such as a library painted after the style of the Italian Renaissance by Tiffany Studios, elaborate wood carving by Italian craftsmen and Tiffany silver chandeliers and a 1906 Aeolian player pipe organ in the building’s 30-foot high Great Hall. In 1912, Architectural Record, chose even to swoon over the basement. They remarked:

     

    “Where Bramshill’s cellar housed for centuries lanterns, tallow dips, forest faggots, wooden vessels for the distribution of light, heat and water through personal service of human slaveys, its American reincarnation is a storehouse of miracle workers in the comfort and luxury of modern domestic life”.

     

    Unfortunately, Mr and Mrs Crocker did not truly get to enjoy the fruits of their extravagant spending. Emma Crocker died in 1904 of cancer and George Crocker also succumbed to the disease in 1909. His estate was valued at $20 million (the equivalent of £422 million or $541 million today) and amongst items found at his mansion were 60,000 personally monogrammed, custom-made cigars valued at $30,000 (the equivalent of £635,000 or $813,000 today).

     

    Sold subsequently to a “self-made” banker, industrialist and astronomy enthusiast named Emerson McMillin (1844 – 1922) in 1909 for $1 million (the equivalent of £21.1 million or $27.1 million), Darlington was next used to display a fine collection of Chinese and Japanese porcelain whilst a herd of Jerseys were kept in the grounds.

     

    After McMillin’s death, his widow sold the estate in 1924 for $685,000 (the equivalent of £7.6 million or $9.8 million) to the Darlington Development Company, which in turn made it available to the Darling Golf and Country Club. They converted the building to a hotel and club that “promised to offer a new dimension to life in Mahwah” but “the development corporation and the club were soon in financial difficulties” and the McMillin estate foreclosed and regained possession.

     

    A new buyer came forward in the form of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Newark. They paid $478,000 for the property in 1926 (the equivalent of £5.2 million or $6.6 million today) and used Darlington as a theological seminary. The surrounding land was gradually sold off and in 1986, the Immaculate Conception Seminary also departed.

     

    Living Large – Crocker Mansion or Darlington, Mahwah, Bergen County, New Jersey, NJ 07430, United States of America – Built by George Crocker and currently owned by Ilija Pavlovic – For sale for £37.4 million ($48 million, €44.7 million or درهم176.3 million) through Special Properties Real Estate Services – an affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate
    Darlington today – The 30-foot high Great Hall is still dominated by a 1906 Aeolian player pipe organ

     

    Living Large – Crocker Mansion or Darlington, Mahwah, Bergen County, New Jersey, NJ 07430, United States of America – Built by George Crocker and currently owned by Ilija Pavlovic – For sale for £37.4 million ($48 million, €44.7 million or درهم176.3 million) through Special Properties Real Estate Services – an affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate
    Darlington today – Ilija Pavlovic expanded the mansion by some 12,000 square foot and amongst other things added a large home cinema

     

    Living Large – Crocker Mansion or Darlington, Mahwah, Bergen County, New Jersey, NJ 07430, United States of America – Built by George Crocker and currently owned by Ilija Pavlovic – For sale for £37.4 million ($48 million, €44.7 million or درهم176.3 million) through Special Properties Real Estate Services – an affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate
    Darlington today – Another addition comes in the form of a vast wine cellar; George Crocker’s father would not have approved

    Subsequently restored and modernised with, according to Forbes, plumbing, heating, air conditioning and communications systems being installed, Darlington was placed on the market with just 12.1 acres in 2005 by Darlington Associates, a firm who’d built “multiple residential communities surrounding the mansion”.

     

    An ambitious figure of $25 million (the equivalent of £24.4 million or $31.3 million today) was sought for the now classified historic site but it was not until 2008 that a buyer came forth in the form of a local businessman named Ilija Pavlovic. He paid just $8.875 million (the equivalent of £8 million or $10.2 million today) and then embarked on the “challenge” of “both preserving the historic home while also restoring it to meet 21st-century standards”. The resulting creation spans four floors and includes amongst many other things a tea room, 3 libraries, 2 game rooms, 2 kitchens, a “his and her master bedroom wing”, 12 further guest bedrooms and 5 staff bedrooms.

     

    The biggest issue with the house, it transpired, was that its 476 leaded windows needed to be replaced. This reportedly cost $2 million alone (the equivalent of £1.8 million or $2.3 million today) and in addition, Pavlovic renewed all the mechanical systems, redid all 19 bathrooms, replaced the slate roof and added amongst other things a spa with an indoor lap pool, a gym, a massage room, a beauty salon and a home cinema. There is also a gatehouse, a professional kitchen that can serve 250 meals at a time, a wine cellar, a poker room, a cigar room, a billiards room, an 8-car garage, a tennis court and an outdoor swimming pool.

     

    Property blog 6sqft – which claimed Friday that the current owners do not live at Darlington full-time and simply use it to host events – reported that this still massive mansion minus its formerly equally gigantic estate is now for sale now for £37.4 million ($48 million, €44.7 million or درهم176.3 million) through a firm Mr Pavlovic chairs, Special Properties Real Estate Services – an affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate. Any buyer will undoubtedly be a vastly wealthy figure, but one can guarantee one thing: They’ll never live as lavishly as the barmy boozer George Crocker.

     

    Living Large – Crocker Mansion or Darlington, Mahwah, Bergen County, New Jersey, NJ 07430, United States of America – Built by George Crocker and currently owned by Ilija Pavlovic – For sale for £37.4 million ($48 million, €44.7 million or درهم176.3 million) through Special Properties Real Estate Services – an affiliate of Christie’s International Real EstateLiving Large – Crocker Mansion or Darlington, Mahwah, Bergen County, New Jersey, NJ 07430, United States of America – Built by George Crocker and currently owned by Ilija Pavlovic – For sale for £37.4 million ($48 million, €44.7 million or درهم176.3 million) through Special Properties Real Estate Services – an affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate Living Large – Crocker Mansion or Darlington, Mahwah, Bergen County, New Jersey, NJ 07430, United States of America – Built by George Crocker and currently owned by Ilija Pavlovic – For sale for £37.4 million ($48 million, €44.7 million or درهم176.3 million) through Special Properties Real Estate Services – an affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate Living Large – Crocker Mansion or Darlington, Mahwah, Bergen County, New Jersey, NJ 07430, United States of America – Built by George Crocker and currently owned by Ilija Pavlovic – For sale for £37.4 million ($48 million, €44.7 million or درهم176.3 million) through Special Properties Real Estate Services – an affiliate of Christie’s International Real EstateLiving Large – Crocker Mansion or Darlington, Mahwah, Bergen County, New Jersey, NJ 07430, United States of America – Built by George Crocker and currently owned by Ilija Pavlovic – For sale for £37.4 million ($48 million, €44.7 million or درهم176.3 million) through Special Properties Real Estate Services – an affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate

  • Banished by Brexit

    Banished by Brexit

    HSBC to relocate 1,000 key jobs from London to Paris because of Brexit

     

    Theresa May, a woman more interested in getting het up about Easter eggs than the fate of the British economy, should take note. HSBC are planning on relocating as many as 1,000 of its traders and salespeople from London to Paris due to Brexit.

     

    Representing a section of the firm’s staff that generates a most significant 20% of its revenue, the move accompanies news that the bank’s clients “are asking to book more of their trade and foreign exchange activity in their French operation through [the firm’s] Paris office than their UK” divisions.

    On Wednesday, Noel Quinn, head of global commercial banking at HSBC Holdings Plc, told Stephen Morris of Bloomberg Markets:

     

    “Some companies are also evaluating whether to ‘flip’ their regional head offices to European cities from Britain. This would require them to reclassify the UK branch as a country office that would become a subsidiary of the continental headquarters”.