Area deemed 'one of London's wealthiest' was once home to Anthony Hopkin's property before it was gutted in a fire
Anthony Hopkins owned a home in South Kensington
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Anthony Hopkins became a poignant figure in the United States after moving across the pond in 1998, but the Welsh actor recently returned to home soil.
In 2000, he received the tragic news that his London house had burnt down in a fire. Fortunately, his awards were saved in the nick of time.
The actor was in LA at the time and was told the fire broke out on the second floor of his Kensington property, sending smoke into the streets before the firefighters arrived.
Visit London says: “One of London’s wealthiest areas, Kensington is home to a cluster of free museums: the Victoria and Albert Museum, Science Museum and Natural History Museum.
The actor recently returned to Wales
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"You can also visit Kensington Palace, explore Kensington Gardens, hit the shops in High Street Kensington and enjoy a large choice of restaurants and places to stay.”
In 2023, the Evening Standard reported that the average home in Kensington had fetched an average of £11million the previous year.
Experts at Clifton Private Finance put these prices down to the average building quality in the area and its proximity to some of the city’s biggest cultural attractions.
The site claims that South Kensington tends to have a fairly low percentage of first-time buyers and a large portion of buyers purchase property in this area outright.
“Some of the wealthiest Londoners have home addresses in Kensington and Chelsea, and the borough is packed with great state-run and fee-paying schools,” note the property experts at Chris Evans.
The area has secured its reputation as an area of cultural importance since the Great Exhibition of 1851.
Visitors will find a continental-style square filled with local cafes and restaurants and they exit the tube station.
At the heart of the area are rows of mansion blocks and terraced houses arranged around communal gardens.
Hopkins was one of the highest-paid actors who owned a home in the area at the time.
Britannica says the Welsh stage and film star is best known for his portrayals of characters on the fringes of insanity.
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South Kensington is a residential part of London
PAThe actor became an Academy Award winner for his role as Hannibal Lecter in Silence Of The Lambs.
Other celebrities who reside in Kensington's picturesque muses include British actor Henry Caville.
Describing his home on the Rich Eisen Show, the actor said: “I don’t have a man cave, I have a small mews house in London.
"What a mews is, is an old stable that’s been converted into houses over the years. It’s not big.”