Start your own love story: octagonal house for sale in grounds of Edward VII and Lillie Langtry's scandalous romantic hideaway

Lillie Langtry and the Prince of Wales used the Kingston mansion with grounds that this house sits on as their love nest. 
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Becky Davies31 January 2018

Royal romances are back in the news thanks to the engagement of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle, but one of the most famous — and notorious — was that of Prince of Wales and stage actress Lillie Langtry in the late 19th century.

The Prince, later to become King Edward VII, was married with six children when he and Langtry would meet at Kingston Hill Place, a mansion backing on to Richmond Park owned by property developer Robert Trollope.

The property for sale, a charming octagonal lodge, stands in the nine-acre grounds of the mansion, which survives to this day, along with a new luxury gated housing development.

Kingston Hill Place was built in 1828 by Samuel Baxter, who worked with famous architect John Nash in building dozens of grand houses in Regent Street, Park Lane and Upper Grosvenor Street.

After Baxter died in 1829, the house was sold at auction for £4,060 and in 1871 was let to well-connected tycoon Trollope, who led the speculative development of Mayfair.

The Prince and Langtry’s affair is believed to have lasted for three years from 1877, when she was 23 and he was 35.

Although they were both married to other people, Langtry became the Prince's de facto mistress and was even presented to Queen Victoria.

Figure of eight: the octagonal house means there are some interesting choices to make when it comes to furnishing (Robert Holmes & Co)
Robert Holmes & Co

After the relationship ended a newspaper claimed that Langtry's husband, who was also having an affair, threatened to name the Prince in a divorce suit.

Both the Edward and Oscar Wilde encouraged Langtry’s acting career and she became one of the hottest stage stars in the world over the next 20 years.

The house changed hands several times over next few decades and during the Second World War was used by the Red Cross as a convalescent home for members of the women’s services.

After the war, it was bought by Surrey council and housed a campus of Kingston University before being converted to apartments in 1991, when 44 new houses were built in the grounds.

Communal grounds: there's a Japanese-style water garden for residents (Robert Holmes & Co)
Robert Holmes & Co

The three-bedroom, 1,375sq ft octagonal house on the market, not only has a private garden, but the communal grounds include a Japanese-style water garden and residents have the use of a beautiful indoor pool included in the annual £2,800 service charge.

Inside, a vast family room sits on four sides of the octagon and leads into the kitchen-diner, while spiral stairs lead to the master en suite bedroom and a second bedroom with its own bathroom.

On the second floor, the third bedroom covers two thirds of the area, while a very capacious loft space has plenty of storage.

Norbiton station, just over a mile away and reached by frequent bus services, has trains into Waterloo within half an hour.

The house is for sale at £870,000 with Robert Holmes & Co

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