North London convent that was home to an exiled Charles de Gaulle goes on the market for £15m

A convent that was once home to the exiled French General Charles de Gaulle during the war has gone on the market for £15m. 

Frognal House in Hampstead, north west London, is a Grade II Listed property now on the market for the first time in more than 50 years as it has since been home to the Sisters of St Dorothy. 

The outside of the property from the back shows the cast-iron balconies on the bedrooms of the first floor. Ex-French president De Gaulle and his family lived there from 1942 to 1944, which was around the same time as he led the Free France government-in-exile.

The mid-18th century house is in a sought-after part of Hampstead in north London and could now become a private family home again. Before de Gaulle’s time there, the property was a girls’ orphanage and school after the Crimean War.. Pictured is a chapel in Frognal House. Most recently, the property has been home of convent Sisters of St Dorothy and student accommodation.

A large staircase on the ground floor of the home which steps down into a large reception hall.

A longer view of the home’s large reception room on the ground floor, in the sought-after part of Hampstead in north-west London.

Pictured is a purpose-built student housing block which has 17 bedrooms, providing an extensive amount of extra accommodation.

Emma Cleugh, from estate agents Knight Frank, said: ‘This really is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to secure an incredibly rare property with a fascinating history. 

The ground floor plan, which has a large reception room, dining room, kitchen, office spaces, a cellar and a chapel.

The first and second floors of the property, hosting a total of 34 bedrooms including the student accommodation block.

Floor plan showing the exterior of the property, with the main house and its left wing attachment of the student accommodation and the garden, taking up the rest of the total 0.65 acres of land.