- The fictional home of Charles Augustus Magnussen is owned by Sir David McMurtry and known as Swinhay House
- Property, based in the south Cotswolds and designed by Roberts Limbrick, cost more than £30 million to complete
- The mansion has squash courts, a TV and games room, a fully-enclosed winter garden and a panorama room.
With it's
sweeping glass roof and viewing tower popping out against the countryside, this
high-tech house looks just like the type of pad an evil mastermind might call
home.
Indeed, this
sophisticated lair was given a starring role in the climax to the third series
of Sherlock where it appeared as Appledore - home to the fabled detective's
latest nemesis, Charles Augustus Magnussen.
But instead of
housing the great and good's most protected secrets, the eight-bedroom mansion
in fact boasts a bowling alley and a squash court, and is owned by one of the
country's leading engineers Sir David McMurtry.
The real-life Appledore: This is
the eight-bedroom, ten-floor mansion which played the home of Sherlock
Holmes' new nemesis, Charles Augustus Magnussen
The country mansion, which
boasts a viewing tower as well as a panorama room, is owned by
businessman Sir David McMurtry, who spent £30 million on his home
Swinhay House was designed for
Sir David, the head of high-tech precision engineering firm Renishaw, by
Gloucester-based architects Roberts Limbrick
A significant amount of Sunday night's episode of Sherlock, broadcast on BBC One, was filmed at the site in the south Cotswolds
Based near Wotton-under-Edge in
the south Cotswolds, the property cost Sir David - who was knighted in
2001 for design and innovation - more than £30 million
Viewers of the popular BBC detective
series were almost as wowed by the luxury home as they were by Sherlock's
powerful powers of deduction when it appeared on screen on Sunday night.
Master blackmailer Magnussen, played
by The Killing star Lars Mikkelsen, was seen descending the building's sweeping
spiral staircase, and lounging on an enormous white leather sofa in the
sprawling property, under a magnificent glass-panelled ceiling.
The huge mansion, which is really
called Swinhay House, was designed for Sir David, the head of high-tech
precision engineering firm Renishaw, by Gloucester-based architects Roberts
Limbrick.
It also has a two-lane bowling
alley, a 25m swimming pool and a squash court as well as boasting a
fully-enclosed, glazed winter garden and a panorama room, and as well as the
latest episode of Sherlock has also provided a dramatic backdrop to a number of
fashion shoots.
Sir David got planning approval to
build the mansion in 2000 under guidance that allowed for the creation of
houses of exceptional architectural interest within the green belt.
According to Roberts Limbrick’s
website, a third of the 23,250 sq ft property's floor space is located
‘partially underground behind a highly insulated waterproof concrete
structure’.
It says: ‘The house is highly energy
efficient with sophisticated computer controlled environmental systems.
‘It is also extremely well insulated
and great care has been taken to eliminate thermal bridging. Alternative energy
sources include a geothermal heating system.
‘The house contains large areas of
glazing and the orientation of the building was carefully tuned to maximise
passive gains. The glazing is triple layered gas filled units with integral
blinds and could only be sourced and procured from Scandinavia.’
Its 60 acres of manicured parkland
and gardens dominate an estate covering more than 230 acres of woodland, fields
and orchards.
Its principal architect was David
Austin, who has won awards for his environmentally friendly approach to
construction.
A striking solar-insulated glass
atrium covers the mansion's indoor recreation area and the pool and leads the
eye to a bow-shaped gallery capped by a glass turret with panoramic views of
the surrounding countryside.
The house is spread across 11 levels
that incorporate several self-contained apartments, a Jacuzzi and sauna and a
games and TV room.
Architect Andy Rathbone designed the
parkland and gardens, the most striking feature of which is a curving lake,
which has extraordinary bird sculptures and serves as an eco-friendly
heat-exchanging system to control the temperature in the house.
No comments:
Post a Comment