A converted four-bedroom home that started life as a Dutch shipping barge has gone on the market for £2.5million.
The 108ft boat is moored on the Thames at the entrance to Cheyne Walk, known as London’s billionaire’s row.
The street, in the heart of Chelsea, is home to a string of high-profile current, including billionaire ex-mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg.
Former celebrities to have graced the street on the Chelsea Embankment include George Eliot, JMW Turner, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Sylvia Pankhurst, Laurence Olivier and Mick Jagger to name but a few.
Flagship, a former Dutch barge, has been converted into a stylish four-bedroom home and is on the market for £2.5million
On the main deck is an open plan kitchen, dining area and drawing room and the master bedroom suite which has a bathroom and dressing room, as well as access to its own terrace (pictured)
This is the inside of the luxury houseboat that comes with a 50-year mooring licence and is on sale for £2.5million
The 100ft vessel is moored on the Thames at the entrance to Cheyne Walk, known as London’s billionaire’s row
Flagship has been turned into a stylish four-bedroom home with all the latest mod cons and comes with a 50-year mooring licence at Cadogan Pier.
The former Dutch barge was built in 1915 by the Van der Windt shipyard in Holland and spent the next 25 years on the rivers and canals of Europe carrying general dry cargo until it was commandeered by German occupying forces.
It continued to be a working barge until 1988 when it was refitted to become a restaurant and has recently undergone a complete redesign bringing it up to living standards.
The living room inside the former barge that comes with four bedrooms, as well as 3,400 sq ft of living space
This is the open plan kitchen inside the former Dutch barge that offers potential buyers the chance to live in Chelsea
It has been kitted out with underfloor heating in the bathrooms, climate control and central heating in the bedrooms and living areas.
Flagship also has a Sonos audio system with ceiling speakers in all the main rooms and a fully-fitted kitchen with an electric range oven and hob, dishwasher, two fridges and a freezer.
The converted barge has 3,400 sqft of living space and a top deck with sky lounge and a study area.
It has three double bedrooms that are all en-suite on the ground floor, as well as a utility room with washing machine and tumble dryer.
The 108ft boat, moored in affluent Chelsea, has four bedrooms and comes with 3,400 sq ft of living space
On the main deck is an open plan kitchen, dining area and drawing room, as well as the master bedroom which has a bathroom and dressing room with access to its own terrace.
The top deck has a sky lounge with a study area and a huge part-covered terrace with a dining area, seating area and a sun deck.
The living areas boasts spectacular views of Albert Bridge, Battersea Park and the River Thames.
Ian Tichener from Riverhomes said: ‘Flagship has had a very interesting history. It was bought in Holland and spent its first years on the canals of Europe before it was commandeered for the war in 1940.
‘It’s one of the most attractive, stylish and well maintained boats on the Thames.
‘Cheyne Walk is a very desirable area of London, the pounds per square foot is considerably higher there.
‘A five-bedroom house there with slightly less square footage than Flagship is on the market for £7million, so you get a lot more for your money with this.
‘You do still have to pay mooring and maintenance fees, which is £27,900 a year. It sounds a lot but it’s all relative, one of the big savings you have got is you don’t have to pay stamp duty, which would be £213,750.
A bathroom inside the luxurious former barge that’s been converted into a stylish four-bedroom home
‘If you divide that up it would pay almost eight years of your mooring fees.
‘I can’t imagine it would be someone’s principal residence, I would expect it to be a second home.
‘The buyer will be somebody who wants something a little bit unusual.
‘You can’t get a mortgage on it so it will be a cash buyer – you can either afford it or you can’t.
‘People love to buy apartments close to the water and you can’t get much closer than this.
‘It’s a nice, quirky way of living and there’s a good sense of community on them as well.’
A spacious bathroom inside the former Dutch barge that comes with a 50 year mooring licence at Cadogan Pier
This is the master bedroom inside the luxury converted houseboat that is available to buy for £2.5million
The boat has been kitted out with underfloor heating in the bathrooms, climate control and central heating in the bedrooms
One of the bedrooms inside the former barge that has gone on the market in affluent Chelsea for £2.5million
The converted Dutch barge is moored on the Thames at the entrance to Cheyne Walk, known as London’s billionaire’s row