Витанхерст: История лондонской усадьбы

Grade II* listed mansion in north London

Witanhurst is a large Grade II* listed 1930s Georgian Revival mansion on in Highgate, North London. It has had several prominent owners since being rebuilt by soap magnate Sir Arthur Crosfield. After several decades of increasing dilapidation, it underwent substantial refurbishment after its 2008 sale to an offshore company owned by the family of Russian businessman Andrey Guryev.

The original estate, dating from 1774, was known as Parkfield, situated at the junction of Highgate West Hill and The Grove. The current house, built between 1913 and 1920, was designed by architect George Hubbard for soap magnate Sir Arthur Crosfield on an site. The mansion is Grade II* listed, meaning it has been judged to be of national historic or architectural interest. In the late twentieth century and early twenty first century, English Heritage placed the property on its Buildings at Risk Register. Paul Crosfield sold Witanhurst to the property developer Lionel Green in 1970. It was possessed by banks shortly after, and owned by various other property developers for the next fifteen years. Various schemes for redeveloping Witanhurst were proposed and rejected by Camden council during this period, including turning the house into a hotel or apartments. Various pieces of land from Witanhurst's large estate were sold. In 1976, Witanhurst was bought by Al Hasouwy for £1.3 million. He spent £500,000 developing the property. It was then put up for sale in 1977 for £7 million, with planning permission for 63 houses. In 1984, the house was sold for £7 million by Noble Investment Corporation, a shell company believed to have been linked to the al Hasawi family. A revised scheme for 24 houses to be built on part of the land was sold for more than £7 million. During its use on the show Witanhurst was on English Heritage's list of buildings "at risk". In 2002, during the first series of Fame Academy, nine portable buildings, a television studio and generators were erected in front of Witanhurst without the requisite consent required for a listed building. The production company Endemol withdrew their application to use Witanhurst for a planned third series of the show in 2004 following a critical report by planners from Camden London Borough Council. In 2007 the Assads sold Witanhurst to the British property developer Marcus Cooper for £32.5 million. Cooper repaired Witanhurst to satisfy Camden council's previous complaints, and put the property up for sale for £75 million through the estate agents Glentree Estates and Knight Frank. In September 2009 The Sunday Times erroneously stated that Witanhurst had been bought by Elena Baturina, the wife of the former Mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov, via an offshore front company. Baturina sued the newspaper's owners Times Newspapers, a subsidiary of News International. Times Newspapers apologised for the story and paid damages to Baturina in October 2011. Over 90,000 square feet, Witanhurst is the second largest private residence in London, after Buckingham Palace. It is said to be worth $450 million.

The mansion has 65 rooms spread across three floors, including 25 bedrooms. One of the largest is the ballroom, measuring 70 feet (21 m) long with a height of 20 feet (6 m). It has oak flooring and the timber wall panels are in walnut, with carved cornices embellished with gold leaf. Other rooms are the drawing room, study, entrance hall and staircase, and most of the bedrooms are all in an opulent classical style. Other richly decorated rooms include the dining room, Chinese room, billiard room, and the gallery hallway. Access to the property is via a three fingered gatehouse.

Witanhurst has been used on several occasions as a filming location by various production companies including the BBC, to shoot films and television programmes such as The Lost Prince, Tipping the Velvet, and Fame Academy.