Latest news with #River Thames
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Film star's Grade II listed Georgian mansion he once bought with wage from 'terrible movie' goes on sale for £10million
The Grade II listed Georgian mansion bought by Sir Michael Caine using the wage he received from a 'terrible' movie he starred in has just gone on the market for £10million. The Hollywood star lived in the sprawling Rectory Farm House on the banks of the River Thames in Wallington, Oxfordshire, for 15 years. He and his wife, Shakira, carried out extensive renovations, adding a cinema room and home spa to the 'quintessentially English country house'. Sir Michael, now 92, once admitted the revamp was funded by the reported $1million he earned for starring in Jaws: The Revenge. He said: 'I have never seen Jaws 4, but by all accounts it was terrible. However, I have seen the house that it built and it is terrific.' The movie, which flopped at the box office, was released while Caine was living in the Rectory Farm House. The Alfie and Italian Job star recalled buying the property 'on the spot' after his wife fell in love with it as they drove through the gates. He said: 'As we drove up through the gates marked 'Rectory Farmhouse', Shakira leaned over to me and whispered, 'We've got to have it!' 'We haven't even bloody seen it!' I grumbled, but deep down, I should have known better.' The Alfie and Italian Job star sold the house in 1998 for £1.9 million before it was sold again in 2001 for £3.75 million. The stunning property, which includes numerous features designed by the Oscar-winning actor, is on the market again for £10million. Estate agent Savills, which is handling the sale, said: 'Michael Caine extensively added to the house and planted many of the specimen trees to be found in the grounds. 'The driveway sweeps round to the front of the house, with its impressive portico entrance.' The 11,660 square foot main house has six bedrooms, several reception rooms, a boot room, library, two kitchens, music room and wine store. There is even a sauna to fully switch off from the worries of life The sitting rooms in the cottage also boasts of a fire place perfect for the cold winter evenings The grounds also include Caine's dovecote, a two-bedroom cottage used as staff accommodation. Nestled in 8.3 acres, the property boasts three lakes, a summer house and a boathouse with a mooring jetty accessing the River Thames. A tennis court and croquet lawn, which were both designed and built by Caine and his wife, are sited close to the extensive vegetable garden and orchard. Savills added: 'The hexagonal Georgian dovecote, which once housed Michael Caine's Port collection and whose shelves still bear the labels written by him, provides ample storage for wine.'
Times
7 days ago
- Climate
- Times
Work starts to remove ‘wet wipe island' from Thames
Work is beginning to remove a 'wet wipe island' weighing 180 tonnes from the River Thames. The congealed mass of wet wipes has formed on the Surrey side of the river near Hammersmith Bridge and was described on Sunday night as an 'embarrassment to the capital'. Given its mass, clean-ups have so far relied on volunteers working by hand. However, from Monday the Port of London Authority (PLA), which manages the tidal Thames, is using a 'mechanical excavator' to remove the wipes in an operation they believe to be the first of its kind. The eight-tonne machine will sit on the grounds of St Paul's School and will allow the stretch of wet wipes to be removed when the river is at low tide. When flushed into the sewage system, wet wipes do not break down as toilet paper does and they enter the watercourse when the sewage system overflows.
BBC News
13-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Woolwich foot tunnel lift repair to start shortly, council says
Work to repair a lift in a tunnel linking two London boroughs on either side of the River Thames should begin "shortly".The northern lift of the Woolwich foot tunnel, which runs from Old Woolwich in Greenwich to North Woolwich in Newham, has been out of service since August repair, which will be funded by both councils equally, was originally hoped to have been completed by January councillor Sarah Ruiz, who is responsible for sustainable transport, said the work would be completed "sometime within the next year". The tunnel is open 24 hours day, seven days a week and is used by an estimated 300,000 pedestrians and cyclists each the north and south entrances, built by London County Council and opened in October 1912, are Grade II listed buildings. Both councils have an equal financial responsibility for the 112-year-old on 3 July, an update to Greenwich council's transport scrutiny panel suggested the authority was waiting for Newham council to sign an said the council was "currently awaiting Newham to respond on Woolwich foot tunnel and sign deed of adherence to Woolwich tunnel parts replacement maintenance cost sharing". The Local Democracy Reporting Service said neither council would comment on why the agreement had not yet been signed or why work had not yet begun – but both said they were committed to sharing the costs.A Greenwich council spokesperson said: "We have received a commitment from Newham Council, to split costs 50/50 and get the lifts up and running. We will be sharing plans on next steps and timelines, in due course."Ms Ruiz, for Newham, said: "We are pleased to say that work should be getting under way shortly to repair the northern lift shaft."Both Newham and Greenwich are sharing the cost of repairs, which fall outside of the routine maintenance agreement for the tunnel. We hope to have the works completed sometime within the next year."
