14 HALSEY STREET: THE HOME OF CHELSEA’S OLDEST FIG TREE
Situated in the rear garden of a five-bedroom townhouse on Halsey Street sits Chelsea’s oldest and largest fig tree. The common fig, which is over 30ft. high, with a 25ft. diameter canopy of fruit-bearing branches that intricately twist across the back walls, dates back to 1847, when 14 Halsey Street was built.
On the market with prime Chelsea estate agents Russell Simpson at £4.95 million, the home itself comprises a master bedroom suite, four guest bedrooms, two guest bathrooms, cloakroom, drawing room, open-plan kitchen/dining room leading onto a glass balcony and a garden room with floor-to-ceiling glass doors opening onto the quaint garden terrace.
Native to the Middle East and western Asia, the fig was one of the first plants cultivated by humans, with evidence of mass production appearing between 9400-9200 BC, predating the domestication of wheat, barley and legumes by 1,000 years.
A prominent religious symbol, the fig tree can be traced back to the dawn of time. In some references it was a fig tree that bore the forbidden fruit eaten by Adam and Eve, whilst it was the leaves of the tree that God used to create clothes for the couple upon their departure from the Garden of Eden.
In the religion of Buddhism, The Bodhi Tree was a sacred fig tree located in Bodh Gaya, India, under which Siddhartha Gautama, the spiritual teacher who later became known as the Buddha, is said to have attained enlightenment.
The first fig tree was introduced to England in 1525, planted at Lambeth Palace by a Cardinal Pole who had travelled across Italy and grown fond of the fruit. Fig trees are also prominent along Chelsea Embankment, planted in 1874 to create a pleasant riverside pathway.
Planted 27 years earlier, the fig tree nestled at the rear of 14 Halsey Street’s garden provides a long list of admirers over its 170-year existence. Former owners of the home include a stained glass artist, a lieutenant in the Royal Horse Artillery who served in the Crimean War, a Reverend of the local St. Simon’s Church, a former Knight Commander and a senior wartime propagandist who worked on campaigns to influence support for the homeland war effort.
Featuring Scandinavian-style minimalist interior design, the home provides c.2,400 sq. ft. of accommodation, spaced across five floors. Well-located King’s Road and Harrods department store are a short walk from the house, whilst the nearby Sloane Square Underground station provides quick access across London via the Circle and District lines.
On the market for £4.95 million, viewings at 14 Halsey Street are strictly by appointment only.
For further sales information, contact Russell Simpson on 020 7225 0277 or visit www.russellsimpson.co.uk
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