Grade II-listed church tucked behind Harrods goes back on sale for £55m

A former church in central London that was converted into a luxurious seven-bedroom house is going on the market for £55million.  

St Saviours House, tucked behind a Harrods in Knightsbridge, measures approximately 12,102 square feet, benefiting from a ‘magnificent’ drawing room with 40-foot vaulted ceilings, stone pillars and oak beams.

The Grade II listed property’s unique drawing room provide a space for ‘spectacular entertaining unlike any other home in London’, according to agents Knight Frank. 

Seven-bedroom St Saviours House, tucked behind a Harrods in Knightsbridge, measures approximately 12,102 square feet

The property benefits from a ‘magnificent’ drawing room with 40-foot vaulted ceilings, stone pillars and oak beams

The former church boasts its own gym, and was reportedly owned by Alain Boubil, who wrote Les Misérables and Miss Saigon

The former church boasts its own gym, and was reportedly owned by Alain Boubil, who wrote Les Misérables and Miss Saigon

The property features an entire floor 'dedicated to leisure', with a basement swimming pool, sauna, steam room, media room with bar and 'treatment room'

The property features an entire floor ‘dedicated to leisure’, with a basement swimming pool, sauna, steam room, media room with bar and ‘treatment room’

The plot of land on which it was built was worth £300 in 1837, meaning its £55million price tag now represents a 183,000-fold increase in value

The plot of land on which it was built was worth £300 in 1837, meaning its £55million price tag now represents a 183,000-fold increase in value

The property features seven bedroom suites, a glass lift, a gym and enough parking space for three cars, along with an entire floor ‘dedicated to leisure’, with a basement swimming pool, sauna, steam room, media room with bar and ‘treatment room’.    

The plot of land on which it was built was worth £300 in 1837, meaning its £55million price tag now represents a 183,000-fold increase in value. 

St Saviour’s Church was originally designed by Belgrave Square architect George Basevi in 1838, but in 1998 the Diocese of London, needing money for urgent repairs, sold the Knightsbridge property for £1million after congregation numbers fell.

St Saviour's Church was originally designed by Belgrave Square architect George Basevi in 1838 (pictured: The drawing room)

St Saviour’s Church was originally designed by Belgrave Square architect George Basevi in 1838 (pictured: The drawing room)

In 1998 the Diocese of London, needing money for urgent repairs, sold the Knightsbridge property for £1million after congregation numbers fell (pictured: Inside the property's viewing room)

In 1998 the Diocese of London, needing money for urgent repairs, sold the Knightsbridge property for £1million after congregation numbers fell (pictured: Inside the property’s viewing room)

Part of the property was kept as a place of worship, requiring the relocation of the church organ and the construction of an acoustic wall between the house and the church (pictured: An office within the property)

Part of the property was kept as a place of worship, requiring the relocation of the church organ and the construction of an acoustic wall between the house and the church (pictured: An office within the property)

Part of the property was kept as a place of worship, requiring the relocation of the church organ and the construction of an acoustic wall between the house and the church, according to The Times.  

Developers turned it into a four-storey home and was reportedly bought by Alain Boublil – writer of Les Miserables and Miss Saigon – in 2003.

But in 2009 he was said to have sold the home to a Thai businessman for £13.5million, and while much of the property’s original features have been retained, several newer features, including its 30-foot pool and hot tub room, were installed.

Pictured: One of the seven bedroom suites at the Knightsbridge property, retaining an original Gothic-style church window

Pictured: One of the seven bedroom suites at the Knightsbridge property, retaining an original Gothic-style church window

The house then came into the hands of its current owner, a Saudi businessman, in April 2014, according to the Land Registry (pictured: A view from within one of the house's dining areas)

The house then came into the hands of its current owner, a Saudi businessman, in April 2014, according to the Land Registry (pictured: A view from within one of the house’s dining areas)

There is an agreement in place that the bells will not be rung, meaning a prospective buyer would not need to worry about the noise (pictured: One of the property's bathrooms)

There is an agreement in place that the bells will not be rung, meaning a prospective buyer would not need to worry about the noise (pictured: One of the property’s bathrooms)

The house then came into the hands of its current owner, a Saudi businessman, in April 2014, according to the Land Registry. 

There is an agreement in place that the bells will not be rung, meaning a prospective buyer would not need to worry about the noise. 

Stuart Bailey, head of Knight Frank’s Belgravia office, said the property has been refurbished twice in the past ten years and the new owner could walk in and live there ‘immediately’, and could negotiate the purchasing of its furniture too. 

He told The Times: ‘If it were a typical townhouse there would be quite a few empty rooms shut up. Here you use all the space, so it can feel cosy and comfortable.’

The history of St Saviours House in Knightsbridge

1837: The plot was sold to the Metropolitan Church Fund for £300

1838: St Saviours Church is designed by George Basevi

1998: House is sold by the Diocese of London to developers for a reported £1million

2003: Alain Boubil, who wrote Les Misérables and Miss Saigon, reportedly buys the property for roughly £10million

2009: Property is sold to a Thai businessman – for a reported £13.5million – who carries out renovations

2014: The home is sold for £41million to its current owner, a Saudi businessman, according to the Land Registry

2019: The property is put on the market again for £55million

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