Herman Melville’s Home Is Up For Sale

London might be full of glorious Georgian townhouses, but only one is the former home of Herman Melville. Here’s a look inside 25 Craven Street…

Herman Melville’s London Home Is Now Up For Sale

Wetherell

With river views and a rooftop deck, it’s no surprise that Herman Melville is thought to have started drafting Moby Dick from this handsome townhouse in Embankment. The property dates back as far as 1791, but Melville himself moved in during the autumn of 1849 – and while he only stayed a few months, the Grade II listed townhouse now bears a coveted blue plaque.

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Seeking a publisher for his next novel (which would eventually become Moby Dick) Melville came to London and rented a room at 25 Craven Street until the end of 1849, when he returned to his home in Pittsfield, Massachusetts to get started on the manuscript. Moby Dick was published just a few years later, in 1851.

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The Craven Street townhouse now boasts more than 4,000 square feet of space across six floors (not to mention the rooftop terrace, of course). Behind the elegant brick façade, you’ll find five bedrooms, four reception rooms and a kitchen/breakfast room, plus plenty of storage space in the cellar. 

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While it sounds impressive enough already, the property is also being sold with planning permission for a rear extension – and there’s even an opportunity to add a passenger lift, a private cinema and a wine room. If you’ve got £9 million, you better act fast…

Available through Wetherell. For more information, visit wetherell.co.uk