Issue 9 | Feature brought to you by Bourdon Street
If the secret agent is house-hunting, this should be on his list.
The famous former Mayfair mews-studio in London of fashion photographer Terence Donovan, now a 5,788 sq ft five-bedroom uber-luxury house after a James Bond inspired makeover by design house Candy & Candy.
The house has a glittering history that combines the worlds of celebrity, fashion, rock-music and television. It has a Grade II listed Queen Anne style Victorian-era red brick façade with large windows, feature brickwork and elegant gables.
The property was originally built in 1890-92 by Jonathan Andrews, the Mayfair contractor who also built nearby Mount Street. It originally served as horse-shoeing premises, owned by the Metropolitan Horse Shoeing Company, who groomed horses and repaired carriages for the aristocracy and high society of Mayfair. In 1910 the carriage company went into liquidation and the building was converted into a mews property and served as artisan’s studios.
Between 1978 and 1996 the property became the photography and film studio of fashion photographer and film director Terence Donovan. In the studio and the street outside Donovan photographed famous names including Twiggy, Nancy Kwan, Grace Coddington, Cindy Crawford, Lennox Lewis, Bryan Ferry and Richard Attenborough and processed photography shoots for magazines including Vogue, Marie-Claire, Harpers Bazaar and Sunday Times Magazine.
The studios were also used to produce music videos for celebrities, including Robert Palmer, Liza Minnelli, Toyah, Julio Iglesias, Rod Stewart and Marianne Faithfull. During the 1980s they were also used to process numerous shoots of Donovan’s favourite VIP client, Diana Princess of Wales.
Peter Wetherell, Chief Executive of Wetherell, said: “This amazing James Bond-inspired Mayfair residence was once the mews studio of legendry photographer and film producer Terence Donovan.
“It has been a venue for photography and films for some of the world’s most famous people from fashion, Royalty, celebrity and music. The new interiors are of exceptional quality and innovative design and the result is an outstanding home ideal for entertaining and stylish living.
“Located in the heart of historic Mayfair, close to Claridges and New Bond Street, the house is for sale on a freehold basis which is rare in the West End.”
Bourdon Street is a quiet mews located off New Bond Street and Davies Street in the heart of historic Mayfair. Claridges Hotel, the fashion boutiques of Bond Street, Mount Street and Berkeley Square are all on the doorstep.
28-30 Bourdon Street is for sale for £18 million (freehold).
