The former London home of war heroine Viscountess Strangford, a Grade II listed 5,183 sq ft Georgian building at 3 Upper Brook Street in Mayfair, arranged as three apartments with a guide price of £13.5 million, provides the opportunity (subject to planning) to be refurbished and extended into a single residence up to 7,000 sq ft size, is brought to market by joint sole selling agents Wetherell and Savills.

Alternatively, a high-net-worth buyer could purchase (on a Freehold basis) 3 Upper Brook Street and use the property as a private domain, making the 1,667 sq ft four-bedroom maisonette on the upper second and third floors the principal family residence; using the 677 sq ft one bedroom first floor apartment as a guest suite, and allocating the 2,357 sq ft three bedroom maisonette on the ground and lower-ground floor for either extended family, rental investment or staff accommodation. The property has a rear ground floor garden, on the first floor a spacious terrace to the rear facade and a balcony to the front, and two courtyards on the lower ground floor.

Located on the corner of Grosvenor Square, with views onto the former U.S. Embassy, soon to become the new 5-star Rosewood Chancery Hotel, 3 Upper Brook Street was originally built in 1730 by Mayfair contractor John Neale with alterations in 1854 by Victorian builders R. Watts & Sons. During the Victorian era the elegant four storey brick and ground floor stucco building was the Mayfair home of wealthy heiress and war heroine Viscountess Strangford (1826 – 1887), the “Bulgarian Florence Nightingale” who in 1874, following the death of her husband, volunteered to train and serve as a nurse in London’s University College Hospital.

Viscountess Strangford shot to fame in the British media in 1876 during the Bulgarian – Ottoman war, where war crimes were taking place in the style of the current Ukraine – Russia war. On learning that Bulgarians were being massacred by Ottoman Turks Viscountess Strangford raised funds, and with a team of 16 doctors and nurses went to Bulgaria and opened a field hospital and later funded the opening of six hospitals across Bulgaria.

Lady Strangford’s war heroism was reported in The Times newspaper and in 1883 she was awarded the prestigious Royal Red Cross Medal (RCC) by Queen Victoria for heroism and exceptional services in military nursing, the first ever recipient of the RCC Medal was Florence Nightingale. In Bulgaria the Viscountess has several memorials and streets across the country named in her honour and at the Plovdiv Historical Museum there is a permanent display about her life and times.

Now Viscountess Strangford’s former Mayfair property provides a discerning buyer with the opportunity to purchase and via planning apply to turn into a single residence, or use the property’s three apartments for end use or rental investment.

As a consented single residence the property could be transformed provide a media room, home gym and staff studio on the lower ground floor, family kitchen, reception room and dining room on the ground floor and six or seven bedrooms on the upper floors.

In its current arrangement the 2,357 sq ft maisonette on the ground and lower-ground floor provides on the upper level an entrance hall, dining room, kitchen, guest cloakroom and reception room opening onto the rear 25 ft garden. On the lower-ground floor are three bedrooms, each with an ensuite.

The 677 sq ft one bedroom apartment has a reception room with a balcony overlooking Upper Brook Street, a galley kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. This apartment has access to the spacious first floor terrace accessed from the rear façade. The 1,667 sq ft four-bedroom maisonette on the second and third floors has on the lower level a spacious reception room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom, and on the upper level three bedrooms, including the principal bedroom suite with ensuite bathroom.

Claire Reynolds, Co-Head of Prime Central London, Savills comments: “3 Upper Brook Street has the enviable position of being on the edge of Mayfair’s most prestigious garden square Grosvenor Square, offering partial views over the square’s gardens and views across to the iconic former U.S. Embassy, which is being developed to become the new 5-star Rosewood Chancery Hotel set to open in 2024. Upper Brook Street provides easy access to Park Lane and Hyde Park.”

Mayfair is home to some of the world’s most celebrated hotels and restaurants, including hotels 22 Grosvenor, Claridge’s, The Connaught, The Biltmore Mayfair and The Beaumont. Mayfair restaurants include Roka, 34, Scott’s, BiBi, The Ivy Asia (opening in June 2022) and Le Gavroche. World-class retail can be found nearby on Bond Street, Mount Street and nearby Selfridges on Oxford Street.

Peter Wetherell, Founder and Chairman of Wetherell says: “3 Upper Brook Street, the former London home of Viscountess Strangford, the “Bulgarian Florence Nightingale”, provides the opportunity, subject to planning, to be refurbished and extended into a single residence. Alternatively the property’s three apartments could be refurbished and used for end use and extended family or for rental investment.

3 Upper Brook Street is brought to the market by joint sole selling agents Wetherell and Savills with a guide price of £13,500,000 (freehold).