The former London home of film director Tim Burton has gone on sale for a cool £20 million (or, if you prefer, to let for £15,000 a week)

Lead image: Tony Murray

One of the most extraordinary properties to be built in Primrose Hill in recent times, Tim Burton’s former London home – a 13,000 sq ft live/work property of dramatic proportions and leisure facilities, including a swimming pool, sauna and steam room – is now up for sale.

Eglon House, an architect-designed, four-storey, five-bedroom property, has an industrial chic feel, with contemporary interiors, warehouse-proportion ceiling heights, huge bronze windows and glass-brick facades inspired by Pierre Chareau’s iconic Maison de Verre (House of Glass) in Paris.

A live-work property

Burton – best known known for gothic fantasy films like Beetlejuice (1988) and Edward Scissorhands (1990) – rented Eglon House for a number of years from 2016, using the property as his London home and creative studio, where he completed the 2019 Film Dumbo for Disney.

Designed in collaboration with architectural practice Chassay Last Architects and design house Russell Sage Studio, Eglon House consists of two interlinked buildings – the east and west wings – separated by a private central garden courtyard at ground level and joined at lower ground floor level.

‘There is a prescience in the design of Eglon House in how it meets the demands of the world we now find ourselves in’

The movie-maker utilised the east wing to write and produce Dumbo and the west wing to accommodate executives and staff working on the film – now that’s a home office to be envious of.

‘There is a prescience in the design of Eglon House in how it meets the demands of the world we now find ourselves in,’ said Howard Kayman, Associate Director at Aston Chase, sole agents for the property.

‘It combines large lateral studio spaces with intimate residential parts and successfully blurs the boundary between the two. Director Tim Burton lived and worked in the space for several years… A space like this is a rarity in Prime Central London.’

Accommodation

The east wing features a dramatic double-height grand salon – which recalls the Art Deco hall at Eltham Palace – with an upper galleried level containing the kitchen and breakfast room and dining room. On the lower level, the salon leads into the leisure suite with a swimming pool that doubles as a cinema room, games room, cocktail bar and gym.

The first floor of the east wing offers a 2,000 sq ft principal bedroom suite, while the second floor is a glazed ‘orangery’ that would work well as a large home office space.

The west wing has a more intimate feel, with double-height living room and kitchen to the ground floor, opening onto the courtyard. On the upper floors there is a study, three further bedrooms, a walk-in dressing room and a bathroom.

The property also has solar PV matting set into the triple-glazed roof lights to simultaneously reduce any glare from the sun and generate energy.

A history of Eglon House

The property is located in Eglon Mews, just off Berkley Road in Primrose Hill (a mews so discreet it doesn’t appear on maps).

The site has a fascinating history, originally serving as stables and barns utilised in WWI to manufacture shell casings. The site was then used by Express Dairies to service the milk production from cows who grazed on Primrose Hill until the 1950s.

In the 70s it was converted into the world-renowned Mayfair Recording Studios where the likes of David Bowie, The Clash, Oasis, The Smiths, Tina Turner and Pink Floyd made and recorded hit records.

After six years of design and construction, Eglon House was completed in 2016, inspired by the aforementioned Maison de Verre, which pioneered the modern style of architecture, combined living accommodation and commercial space and juxtaposed ‘industrial’ features like glass and steel with a more traditional style of home décor.

‘One of a kind’

‘Secreted away at the foot of a peaceful mews, located in the very heart of Primrose Hill, the property is ideal for the growing number of super-prime buyers who favour maintaining a low profile,’ said Mark Pollack, Co-Founding Director at Aston Chase.

‘Eglon House is one of a kind and represents a perfect opportunity for a discerning purchaser who values their privacy and the ability to have flexible living/work accommodation.’

Eglon House is on sale for £20,000,000 or available to let for £15,000 per week with Aston Chase. Call 020 7724 4724 or see astonchase.com