American family rents Hampstead ‘castle’ for £250k pa

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A Gothic-style “mini castle” in Hampstead Villages has been rented by an American family for £4,750 per week, or £247,000 for the year.

Old Conduit House is a fully-restored Grade II* listed property on Lyndhurst Terrace, providing six bedrooms across four storeys and 5,054 square feet. Built in the 1860s to designs inspired by Windsor Castle (by architect John Burlison, chief assistant to Sir Gilbert Scott), it features rather striking gothic interiors including a vaulted entrance hall, 30-foot reception room, turrets, arched windows, stained-glass and battlement pediments. There’s also an 80-foot west-facing garden and off-street parking for two vehicles.

Letting agency Aston Chase secured the new residents – who signed a two-year tenancy agreement and paid for the first year up-front.

It’s the latest in a run of big-ticket London property deals involving American money. Aston Chase says it has recently transacted around £50mn-worth of sales to US buyers in St John’s Wood area, selling six family homes to American buyers.

These deals include a 2,098 sq ft four bedroom house on Hamilton Gardens (purchased by a family who moved from San Francisco); a 4,336 sq ft home on Marlborough Place (bought by an American family for £6.75mn), and a 4,758 sq ft five-bedroom house on the same street, picked up for close to £10mn by an American working in private equity.

Arron Bart, Lettings Director at Aston Chase: “Aston Chase is delighted to have secured tenants for Old Conduit House which is a wonderful family home with an illustrious history and an opportunity to experience life in your own mini castle! Without a doubt all the global publicity around the Royal family and King Charles III’s Coronation has helped to shine a spotlight on this magnificent mini-castle property, the Coronation has generated publicity about the UK and London around the world and showcased Windsor Castle which was the design inspiration for Old Conduit House.”

Mark Pollack, Co-Founding Director at Aston Chase: “This is the latest in a series of deals that Aston Chase has concluded with American clients. Hampstead and St John’s Wood have always been popular addresses with Americans due to the supply of beautiful family homes and the green leafy ambience and sense of community. The two neighbourhoods are particularly appealing to American families wishing to keep their children’s curriculum as consistent as possible which they are able to do thanks to The ASL in St John’s Wood. We have recently seen an influx of American families into London encouraged by the strength of the US dollar against the Sterling.”