One-of-a-kind “big caravan-house” with patio on the roof for sale for £30,000; the current owner bought it for just £1 and spent £70,000 restoring it
Believed to be the last remaining example of 99 originally made, a “revolutionary” hammer finished aluminium caravan named a Berkeley Statesman has gone on sale.
Costing £1,065 when new in 1951 – the same price as a terrace house – and rebuilt at great expense by its current owner Tim Mitchinson after he found it hidden on a farm in Bedfordshire in 2004, the two-floor structure is described as being “a wonderful piece of history lovingly restored to its former glory.”
The 22-foot long by 12-foot high caravan features a living and dining area, a 1950s style kitchen with a range of appliances, two bedrooms capable of sleeping four and a shower room complete with a modern shower and an ingenious sink from an old railway carriage.
Of it, Mitchinson told the Discovery Channel:
“I thought it so ugly it, it had to be mine… [Restoring it was an] exercise in insanity… But it [is] absolutely unique… She arrived on the back of a lorry and I thought: ‘We’ll have a go.’ … A beautiful silver phoenix… It’s been blood, sweat and tears… A remarkable restoration.”
Speaking to The Yorkshire Post in December 2017, he added:
“I need to sell it so [my] house can be extended but I will miss it terribly. I am really proud of rescuing what is a valuable piece of social history.”
Estate agents RM English are marketing the Berkeley Statesman for just £30,000 ($38,500, €33,200 or درهم141,500) and point out that it is currently located in the centre of York. They add: “It will need to be transported off-site by a low loader trailer.”
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You wouldn’t want to take this sardine can out on a windy day. It’d surely flip over.
I remember caravan holidays when I was a child. Fond memories. Our family had one much smaller than this and it didn’t cost nearly as much. But this is cute and lovely.
One for the wrecking ball!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Would be fun to drop it off a cliff!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He paid £1 for it ———- someone conned him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
30 grand, tell him he’s dreaming..
cool bit of history. and not for much money. no more than a vw of the same era, but this is more rare.
It makes me want to vomit.