9 Orme Court in London’s Bayswater, a 5,697 sq.ft. Victorian building, known as the “home of British comedy”, where Eric Sykes, Spike Milligan (who also lived there), Peter Sellers, Terry Nation and others worked on famous TV, radio and theatre scripts is for sale; providing the opportunity to return into a single six bedroom home: listed via joint sole selling agents Beauchamp Estates and Carter Jonas.
The place where The Goon Show, Hancock’s Half Hour, Dr Who and the Daleks, Genesis of the Daleks and Steptoe and Son were created was originally built by the Orme family in the 1890s as part of a terrace of grand London townhouses. The twin Blue Plaque 9 Orme Court provides substantial accommodation over lower ground, raised ground and four upper floors set behind a striking Arts and Craft inspired red brick Victorian façade. Features include large main rooms, high ceilings, Dutch gables, stone dressed chamfered bays, first floor ornate balcony and elegant entrance canopy.
9 Orme Court’s role as the home of British comedy and drama can be traced back to 1953 when comedians Eric Sykes and Spike Milligan set up creative offices at 130 Uxbridge Road in Shepherd’s Bush Green and launched, along with Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, Associated London Scripts (ALS), the UK’s first co-operative for comedy writers. They were joined by other creative writers including Terry Nation, Johnny Speight, Tony Hancock, Denis Norden, John Antrobus, Dennis Spooner and Barry Took and frequent visitors such as Harry Secombe and Peter Sellers would wander into ALS to read and rehearse scripts.
Providing radio, TV and theatre scripts to the BBC, ITV and leading theatres ALS was highly successful, with up to 30 writers using the co-operative, and so in 1962 it relocated to the grander surroundings of 9 Orme Court in Bayswater, just 100 yards away from Kensington Gardens, with Eric and Spike initially renting the former townhouse and ALS letting rooms to the various writers for a peppercorn rent.
For his office Eric took the first floor reception room to the front of the property, with Spike taking the first floor living room to the rear. In Spike’s office there was a pull-out bed and he also had a bedroom on one of the upper floors, for many years Spike used 9 Orme Court as his office and London pied-a-terre.
Norma Farnes, Eric and Spike’s manager/agent, took the dining room on the ground floor as her office, with other writers taking rooms on the various floors.
It was from 9 Orme Court that the scripts for The Goon Show (by Spike, Eric and John Antrobus), Educating Archie (by Eric and Sid Colin), Hancock’s Half Hour and Steptoe and son (both by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson), Till Death Do Us Part (by Johnny Speight) and The Howerd Crowd and The Frankie Howerd Show (both by Eric) were written. Between 1961 and 1979 it was also where Eric wrote the scripts for his long running sitcom ‘Sykes’ for BBCTV.
9 Orme Court is also the birthplace of Dr Who’s famous daleks and Davros. From his second floor office Terry Nation wrote the 1963 BBC script for Dr Who and The Daleks and in 1975 the recurring character of Davros in Genesis of the Daleks. From his office Dennis Spooner wrote scripts for Thunderbirds and Stingray for Gerry Anderson.
In 1967 Robert Stigwood bought a controlling interest in ALS; Ray Galton and Alan Simpson favoured the deal and left to join Stigwood whilst Eric and Spike did not so sold their shares in ALS and remained at 9 Orme Court. Eric and Spike jointly purchasing the freehold and continued to maintain the property as a creative writers co-operative.
During the early 1970s Spike sold his interest in 9 Orme Court to Eric and by the late 1970s most of the original writers had left (for example Terry Nation relocated to Los Angeles) and so the offices ceased being a writers co-operative were leased to other professionals.
Eric continued to work in his first floor office up until 2011 before his death in 2012. It was from here he worked on his voiceovers for the BBCTV Teletubbies series (1997-2001) and rehearsing his parts in the Hollywood movies The Others (2001) with Nicole Kidman and as Frank Bryce in Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire (2005).
In 1986 Eric was given an OBE and promoted to CBE in 2004 for services to drama, with a small party held in 2004 at 9 Orme Court to celebrate the CBE, attended by family and friends including Denis Norden, Richard Briers and Sean Connery. 9 Orme Court has twin Heritage Foundation Blue Plaques celebrating Spike and Eric’s lives at the property, installed in 2003 and 2013 respectively.
Now the family of Eric Sykes have decided to sell 9 Orme Court and create an exciting new future for the famous building. With its residential origins and not being statutorily listed, the property has the potential to benefit from permitted development rights and be returned to residential use without the need for a full planning application, subject to liaison with Westminster City Council.
Subject to the necessary consents, the property could be converted back into a six bedroom house, complete with passenger lift and leisure facilities. As a single 5,697 sq.ft. house the property could provide a spacious entrance hall, inner hall, dining room, kitchen/breakfast room and separate utility room on the ground floor. Eric and Spikes former offices on the first floor could be turned into two spacious reception rooms.
The second floor (the birthplace of the Daleks) would become the principal bedroom suite, with a bedroom, walk-in dressing room and luxurious marble bathroom. There would be four further bedroom suites, each with walk-in dressing rooms and bathrooms, on the two uppermost floors. The lower ground floor could provide a cinema room and a separate staff studio flat with bedroom, kitchen and bathroom, or a staff bedroom and a fitness studio.
Tim Macpherson, Partner & Head of Residential Sales at Carter Jonas says: “On the doorstep of Kensington Gardens and Queensway, undergoing regeneration into Bayswater village, 9 Orme Court is in a prime location that has become one of the most sought after up-and-coming places to live in the capital. As a single house this property provides a superb investment opportunity for a discerning private buyer or commercial developer.”
Gary Hersham, Founding Director of Beauchamp Estates says: “9 Orme Court is the former pied-a-terre of Spike Milligan and the creative office of Eric Sykes where The Goon Show, Hancock’s Half Hour, Dr Who and the Daleks and Steptoe and Son were scripted. This famous property would make an outstanding London townhouse on the doorstep of Kensington Gardens, perfect for comedy and Dr Who fans alike.”
9 Orme Court is for sale priced at £6,500,000 (freehold). For further information contact joint sole selling agents Beauchamp Estates (Gary Hersham) in Tel: +44(0)20 7499 7722 / www.beauchamp.com
