Southwark News, Thursday February 23 2023
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NEWS 3
Rotherhithe’s ‘most unusual property’ is going up for auction
Pics by Savills
By Isabel Ramirez isabel@southwarknews.co.uk A house known as the ‘leaning tower of Rotherhithe’, which was said to be once owned by Winston Churchill’s nephew, is going up for auction.
On March 1, the solitary white tall house that stands on the riverbank of the Thames in Rotherhithe will go up for auction. It has become known locally as the “leaning tower of Rotherhithe” - perhaps due to the fact it was once surrounded by other properties, some of which were destroyed during the Blitz. The auction guide price is £1.5m and as
the only house on the street, it does boast unobstructed views of the city. Originally part of a row of buildings and known as 41 Rotherhithe Street, the property was once owned by Victorian barge company Braithwaite & Dean and used as the office where lightermen — workers on lighter, flat-bottomed barges who carried cargoes from larger ships— would pull up to collect their wages. A spokesperson from auctioneers Savills said: “It’s the most unusual property we’ve had to come up at auction for a long time and is the only house on this particular street in Rotherhithe.” The building is located on what was formerly 41 Rotherhithe Street, now 1 Fulford Street. Between 1937 and 1939
Winston Churchill’s nephew, Esmond Romilly is reported to have lived there with his wife, author and socialite Jessica Mitford. Although this is up for debate some say 41 Rotherhithe Street, was part of an ‘80s redevelopment and is now part of Bermondsey Wall East, others say it once stood near the old Braithwaite and Dean building, now in Fulford Street. Years later Lord Snowdon the former husband of Princess Margaret, lived further along the row in a former coal store while he was courting the Queen’s sister and was a jobbing photographer. The buildings to the west of the house were destroyed during the Blitz in World War Two.
Ali tweeted: “@TfL you had one job...yet it’s different colours. The time spent not doing something and then doing it wrong is an exemplar of how taxpayer money can be wasted.” Looking on the sign’s brighter side, Cllr Bentley said: “It’s not ideal but it’s raised a smile or two. At this stage, we don’t want any more precious public funds spent on this.” Initially, TfL said the sign would be delivered in time for Christmas but this was pushed back to February. According to TfL, it had experienced problems “sourcing the glass” that was needed for that particular type of signage. Speaking in October, Cllr Bentley said the sign’s sorry state was “emblematic of TfL’s struggles”. TfL has struggled ever since the covid-19
pandemic, which emptied carriages and hit its coffers hard. Even after accepting a £3.6 billion government bailout, it’s been left with a £400 million shortfall. Now repaired, the sign will be hoping for better luck in the future, having developed a habit of calamity in recent years. In August 2021, a 47 bus smashed into it while avoiding an oncoming ambulance and cracked its upper deck windows. Bermondsey Underground Station first opened in 1999 when it was one of eleven stations forming the Jubilee Line extension through east London. It has won plaudits for its futuristic design which maximises natural light through its high, glass ceiling. TfL has been approached for comment.
Some of the properties to the east remained and were bought in the ‘60s by London County Council, but the barge constructors refused to sell this particular house. The other remaining properties were part of a plan to extend Southwark Park to the river. The current owners have lived there for nearly three decades, but plan to move out of London, according to Savills. The property still has stairs leading around the side of the building down to the river. Initially, the current owners occupied the whole building, but later rented out the top two floors and used the bottom two as a live/work space, with a studio on the ground floor. There are, therefore, two kitchens in
the building, along with two open-plan living areas, three additional reception rooms, two bathrooms, a bedroom and a spare room. With the capacity to change the rooms around, increase the number of bedrooms or convert the building into flats, it is being advertised as a “blank canvas” for buyers. “It entirely depends on how you want to use it…it’s versatile in that regard,” said Lot Negotiator Steven Morish. “But I think you’ll always keep that top floor as the living area because that’s where you get the amazing views. The seller has set the sofas at a higher level than they would normally be so you can see 180 degrees. It’s like nothing I’ve seen before.”
The Bermondsey Station sign is fixed - but it’s the wrong colour By Herbie Russell
herbie@southwarknews.co.uk People “don’t know whether to laugh or cry” after TfL repaired the Bermondsey Underground Station sign with the wrong colour - and it took them nine months.
A large chunk of the sign had been missing since May 2022 when a lorry reversed into the canopy so it only read ‘Station’ instead of ‘Bermondsey Station’. Local Liberal Democrat Councillor Rachel Bentley, who has hounded TfL to get it repaired, tweeted: “Seriously I don’t know whether to laugh or cry having just seen it in the cold light of day. At least it is distinctive…” While thanking Cllr Bentley for getting it fixed, former Lib Dem Councillor Humaira
