An elegant apartment in Queen’s Gate, in prestigious South Kensington, London SW7, has just come onto the market.
The two-bedroom raised and lower-ground-floor property features a magnificent reception room, with huge windows looking across to the Natural History Museum and a galleried mezzanine area, plus a new, modern kitchen, guest cloakroom, two bedrooms and two bathrooms.
Christopher Nourse, who has lived there with his partner, Charles Chan, for 14 years, says they are moving because, despite the 1,300sq ft, they have acquired so much stuff that they are ‘bursting at the seams’ and need more space. But they are leaving the apartment ‘very reluctantly—this is the end of a love affair’.
The apartment has been the perfect place for entertaining. The bedrooms and bathrooms are situated on the lower ground floor, forming a private area, and the palatial 18’4” by 16’11” reception room and kitchen/breakfast room are on the ground floor, creating a welcoming area ‘in which we’ve hosted many memorable parties, including my fiftieth and a ’70s party, complete with a coloured Saturday Night Fever disco floor’.
Mr Nourse used to run three of this country’s leading dance companies—Birmingham Royal Ballet, Rambert Dance Company and English National Ballet—and says that, over the years, the apartment has played host to ‘many different friends from the dance world, including Sir Peter Wright and Dame Merle Park, as well as distinguished figures such as Evan Davis and the Belgian ambassador.
A unique feature of this pristine property is the mezzanine gallery in the main reception room. This has been developed into a library space, which houses an extensive book collection, as well as 3,000 vinyl LPs.
Mr Nourse says they were first attracted to the apartment by its wonderful location: ‘It’s very central, and has all that you could wish for in terms of public transport, with three Tube lines from South Kensington and Gloucester Road stations, plus buses and taxis, and also ease of parking—unusually for central London—as our part of Queen’s Gate has the Natural History Museum on the other side, rather than residential buildings.’
He loves the aesthetic of South Kensington, with its 19th-century architecture and exceptional landmarks, such as the Royal Albert Hall and Royal College of Music, ‘plus we have a superb view, as the apartment overlooks the Wildlife Garden of the Natural History Museum’.
‘This salubrious area would suit anyone who enjoys what a great city has to offer,’ says Mr Nourse. ‘The West End, with its galleries and theatres, is easily accessed, Knightsbridge and the shops of Sloane Avenue are close by, and the area has numerous restaurants, as well as Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park only minutes away.
‘We have made the decision to leave very unwillingly, as we’re not expecting to find another property that is so attractive and in such a good location.’
The guide price is £1.075m. For further details, contact Chesterton on 020–7937 7244 or visit www.chesterton.co.uk
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