The early Hollywood icon lived at the Hampstead address in the 1950s
Richard Burton’s former London home is on the market.
The London townhouse that was home to the Hollywood legend Richard Burton has hit the market for £7.95 million (US$9.85 million).
The Welsh actor and seven-time Oscar nominee owned the Hampstead Village home between 1949 and 1956—during which some of his most famous movies were released including “The Desert Rats,” “The Robe “and” Alexander the Great”—according to the Blue Plaque affixed to the front wall of the property.
Initially, Burton and his then wife, actress Sybil Burton, purchased the building’s ground-floor flat, but during their tenure they gradually snapped up more of the property until they owned it in its entirety.
By the mid-1950s, Richard Burton was one of the highest-earning actors in Hollywood, and had the tax bills to prove it, so the pair—who divorced in 1963 amid his headline-grabbing affair with Elizabeth Taylor—relocated to Switzerland in 1957, where he became a tax exile, according to listing agency Aston Chase, who are selling the property alongside Knight Frank.
Aston Chase
“This Blue Plaque house is not only notable due to the provenance of its former famous resident, but it also represents a rare opportunity to purchase a magnificent family home situated in the heart of Hampstead and within easy walking distance of Hampstead Heath,” said Mark Pollack, co-founding director at Aston Chase.
The more than 5,000-square-foot Victorian house “features high ceilings, wonderful natural light, large entertaining rooms, well-planned bedroom accommodation and a remarkable penthouse studio,” Pollack said. That top-floor “penthouse studio,” which has vaulted ceilings and skylight windows, could be used as a large entertaining space, or a self-contained annex for guests or relatives.
There are multiple reception rooms, tall windows, high ceilings and elegant coving throughout, alongside a cantilevered staircase and marble fireplaces.
Aston Chase
Plus, there’s a family kitchen with a bay window overlooking the garden and folding doors that access the adjoining dining room; a self-contained two bedroom flat on the lower ground floor; and a primary bedroom suite with a walk-in dressing room, the listing said.
The seven-bedroom house is “a rare find on one of Hampstead’s most sought after tree-lined streets,” said Katy Brookes, head of sales in Knight Frank’s Hampstead office.
Mansion Global couldn’t determine who is selling the home or when it last changed hands.
Source: Mansionglobal.com
