If you’ve ever dreamed about living in your own spy HQ, the perfect home is often only a few keystrokes away - provided you have a few million to spare.
The former HQ of MI6, the founding home of the British Secret Service, was advertised online for £5.5m ($6.7m) in 2020.
MI6 HQ
Whitehall Court, a luxury penthouse conversion situated in the heart of Whitehall, has it all: 4,144 square feet and three floors of prime London real estate, with a unique history and a blue historic plaque to prove it. It’s even bombproof! The building appears in the 007 movie No Time to Die.
Spymaster Sir Mansfield Smith-Cumming
The MI6 HQ also housed a pied à terre used by legendary spymaster Sir Mansfield Smith-Cumming, so the walls hold their fair share of secrets.
Mansfield Smith-Cumming (1859-1923) was asked to create what would become the UK’s Secret Intelligence Service on August 12, 1909. The Service has of course changed but there is still much of his legacy that remains.
MI6 & 'C'
Sir Mansfield signed his correspondence with a simple initial. His ‘C’, always written in green ink, was the inspiration behind Ian Fleming’s 'M'.
In Alan Judd's biography of Cumming, he quotes Cumming on the subject of intelligence officers: “He should be a gentleman, and a capable one, absolutely honest with considerable tact and at the same time force of character… experience shows that any amount of brilliance or low cunning will not make up for lack of scrupulous personal honesty. In the long run, it is only the honest man who can defeat the ruffian.”
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If you’ve ever dreamed about living in your own spy HQ, the perfect home is often only a few keystrokes away - provided you have a few million to spare.
The former HQ of MI6, the founding home of the British Secret Service, was advertised online for £5.5m ($6.7m) in 2020.
MI6 HQ
Whitehall Court, a luxury penthouse conversion situated in the heart of Whitehall, has it all: 4,144 square feet and three floors of prime London real estate, with a unique history and a blue historic plaque to prove it. It’s even bombproof! The building appears in the 007 movie No Time to Die.
Spymaster Sir Mansfield Smith-Cumming
The MI6 HQ also housed a pied à terre used by legendary spymaster Sir Mansfield Smith-Cumming, so the walls hold their fair share of secrets.
Mansfield Smith-Cumming (1859-1923) was asked to create what would become the UK’s Secret Intelligence Service on August 12, 1909. The Service has of course changed but there is still much of his legacy that remains.
MI6 & 'C'
Sir Mansfield signed his correspondence with a simple initial. His ‘C’, always written in green ink, was the inspiration behind Ian Fleming’s 'M'.
In Alan Judd's biography of Cumming, he quotes Cumming on the subject of intelligence officers: “He should be a gentleman, and a capable one, absolutely honest with considerable tact and at the same time force of character… experience shows that any amount of brilliance or low cunning will not make up for lack of scrupulous personal honesty. In the long run, it is only the honest man who can defeat the ruffian.”
Building work during WWI was considered so vital to national security that parts of the building were reinforced with steel-encased timber beams and hardened flooring to protect it from Zeppelin raids - features that remain to this day.
Interior design features, including a black swivel chair and white Persian cat, are optional.
Need more room to maneuver?
If you need of more space, perhaps an £8.5m ($10.5m) mansion house in Arkley, north London, is more your style. With six double-ensuite bedrooms and panoramic views across a private golf course, can you afford not to take a look?
Your new HQ? MI6's WWII hub
Rowley Ridge, in Arkley, was the site of an MI6 hub used to gather intelligence about the Germans during World War II. The top-secret intelligence facility was set up with a radio security Service (RSS) to intercept wireless messages and transmissions from German boats.
Refurbished... with a skylight and panic room
The MI6 spy base in Arkley - just outside of London - was on sale for £8.5m in 2021, boasting a pool, home cinema and panic room.
There's also a health suite, cellar, grand entrance, and private golf course. The mansion house was rebuilt and refitted after the war.
Churchill chose Arkley village because it is 440ft above sea-level, making it easier to eavesdrop on electronic transmissions.
The base supported the code-breaking team at Bletchley Park. It was guarded by police and had bullet-proof doors and windows for added security.
Luxury lair
The secure base, set in an Edwardian mansion, was demolished for security reasons after WWII and taken over by a luxury development company who built Rowley Ridge as a replica of the mansions that housed MI6.
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