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Disused Thames fort for sale at £500,000 Disused Thames fort for sale at £500,000
(about 2 hours later)
By today's standards, half a million pounds for a cavernous property with unrivalled views across the Thames might sound like a bargain. Phrases like "character property", "unique location" or "genuine investment opportunity" do not really measure up to the job. Abandoning traditional estate-agent speak, Nigel Day said fervently: "I'm not going to lie to you, it's an absolute monster."
But the property, a disused fort with the memorable address of Number 1, The Thames, has some drawbacks: it can only be reached without a boat - at low tide and requires a "complete renovation". The Grain Tower Battery, a Victorian fort with attached hideous 20th-century red brick barracks block and concrete gun tower, lies off the Isle of Grain where the river Medway meets the Thames estuary. It is completely surrounded by water at high tide.
The unique building is located off the coast of the Isle of Grain in Medway, Kent, and is described as a "bomb-proof estuary gun emplacement" which was builtaround 1855. It is somewhat of a bargain at a guide price of £500,000, cheaper than most of the one-bedroom flats on Day's books.
The fort, which has gone up for sale with a guide price of £500,000, was described as "absolutely vast", with room for up to seven bedrooms. The address of the property is as imposing as the views: No 1, the Thames – almost grand enough to make up for minor inconveniences such as the lack of electricity and running water.
Estate agent Riverhomes said the original tower at the property - also known as the Grain Tower Battery - is "similar in design to the Martello towers which were first constructed as a defence against Napoleon in the early 19th century". It could also be a seriously awkward place to run out of milk. At low tide it can be reached by a slimy brick causeway, but owners will need a firm grasp of their tide tables: at high tide boat or helicopter are the only ways in or out.
Nigel Day, from the firm, which specialises in waterside residences, said he had not come across anything like it before. "It's fabulous, but it is pretty scary," Day said. "I thought I was OK on heights, but there are bits of it where I was clinging on to the walls: you realise if you fall you aren't coming back in a hurry.
"It's so different than anything we usually sell or rent," he said. "It's a 150-year-old sea defence about a kilometre off shore. "It's huge. You do get the sense that it really is bomb proof – but there are places where your legs turn to jelly a bit.
"Once I heard the address I couldn't resist getting involved and helping find a buyer." "The interest has been absolutely phenomenal; we've had people talking about turning it into a hotel, a home, a recording studio or a club."
He said the property also has foreshore rights meaning the owner has control of the causeway that leads out to the building. The oldest part of the battery was built in 1855, part of a chain of coastal defences built because of the continuing dread of invasion from the sea after the Napoleonic threat half a century before. Although guns were installed at various anxious points in the 20th century, like most coastal forts it was rarely fully armed or garrisoned.
Riverhomes suggested the property could be transformed into a private residence, a hotel, a houseboat community, nightclub or casino, while one inquirer canvassed the idea of turning it into a recording studio. The fort has not been entirely abandoned, as it has been covertly visited by various urban explorers. Potential purchasers might like to bear their reports in mind. "Beware," one recent group warned. "Without a ladder it would be an extremely risky climb with the very real potential for a fall from a very considerable height on to jagged rocks and concrete."
The first viewings are due to start this weekend. The current owner Simon Cooper told the BBC he bought the property from the Crown Estate around 10 years ago. The owner, Simon Cooper, is a builder who was working near the estate agent's office in Putney. Cooper bought the fort from the Crown ten years ago for an undisclosed price, intending to restore it. He told the BBC: "It didn't work well as a home."
He said: "We agreed a price and I purchased it. It didn't work well as a home, and plus the cost of doing it..." Day recalled: "He popped in one day and said 'I don't suppose you can help me sell my property?'
"We asked where it was and he said: 'Sheerness way.' I told him politely we only cover London riverside property and he said: "Well, the address is No 1, Thames" – and I just couldn't resist."