In the conversation of posh London neighborhoods, Mayfair always comes up. The affluent area has been home to Princess Diana’s family, Oscar Wilde, The Naval Club, Fred Astaire, and more in its past and continues to draw well-to-do buyers with its exquisite properties today. Many with deep pockets may be holding out for Caudwell’s highly-anticipated new development, 1 Mayfair, to launch sales, but those who want something dreamy now can take delight in 26 Upper Brook Street. It just listed for £25 million, or roughly $34 million.
Set close to Park Lane and offering Hyde Park views, the structure stands out for its location, design, and history. Its recent tale starts in 1908, when James Monro Coats—the son of Anglo-American industrialist Sir James Coats and Sarah Anne Auchincloss, heiress of industrialist and banker John Auchincloss—purchased the house that originally stood there. He tore it down and commissioned Arnold Bidlake Mitchel to design the current townhouse with American-inspired, Edwardian architecture, implementing grand rooms and features like Vanderbilt-style windows.
The Coats-Auchincloss family was at the height of their wealth and this was a prized part of their real estate portfolio. Later, Monro’s cousin, Hugh D. Auchincloss Jr., became the stepfather of Jackie Kennedy and Lee Radziwill and the young ladies spent time here in 1951 while on tour of Europe.
Walking up to the stately spread, the five-story stone manor still bears the Auchincloss-Coats family crest on its gable. Once inside, you can see an array of architectural influences. The entrance hall and dining room display neo-Georgian elements while the first-floor drawing rooms hold French Neo-Rococo touches with marble fireplaces and detailed columns topped with Corinthian capitals. Meanwhile, the rooms Monro transformed toward the back of the house have Arts & Crafts characteristics. Oak paneling and elaborate, carved ceilings foster a balance of formality and warmth. Together with the detached mews house, there are 13,928 square feet of interiors to explore.
A buyer will need to go to take some extra steps to move in, however. The entire property has been in use as offices since the 1950s, so an application for residential use is required in order to convert it back into a single-family home. With this done, the property could end up valued at £55 million.
Wetherell and Knight Frank represent this palatial spread, which is up for sale for the first time in 30 years.
