18 January 2023 , 15:00
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Newly released images expose an abandoned mansion on London's 'billionaires row' which has been left to rot after it was purchased by the Saudi royal family for £25million.
Bishops Avenue, which is also known as 'billionaires row', became a property hotspot during the late 1970s and 1980s when the wealthy began flooding out of the city and into the suburbs of London.
Houses on this street now fetch up to an average price of £8.5m, but some properties on 'billionaires row' are worth up to a staggering £65m.
Homeowners on Bishops Avenue include the likes of the sultan of Brunei, British publisher and businessman Richard Desmond, property developer Andreas Panayiotou, and, previously, the Saudi Royal family.
Many houses on 'billionaire's row' have been replaced and developed multiple times over the years, with some appearing never to have been lived in.
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The unfinished staircase is falling to ruin (mediadrumimages/LiamHeatherson)In such cases, it is speculated that the houses were being used to hoard and hide the wealth of British and international tycoons.
One of these properties is The Towers, an enormous mansion which was left to ruin and rot.
One snap of The Towers shows a vast estate with stone pillars akin to a Greek temple.
In another image, the unfinished staircase is surrounded by green mould and graffiti.
The property on Bishops Avenue was once owned by the Saudi royal family (mediadrumimages/LiamHeatherson)These photographs were captured by Liam Heatherson, a 26-year-old architectural photographer and heritage researcher at BeyondthePoint.co.uk, using a Nikon Z50 mirrorless camera.
The images raise questions about the distribution of wealth in this country 'especially with the current cost of living crisis 'and the availability of affordable housing.
Liam said: "Of the classic mansions I explored on my first visit, the only one left when I returned in 2022 was The Towers.
Moss and mould grows through cracks in the wall (mediadrumimages/LiamHeatherson)"Its pillared neo-classical porch looks akin to Elvis' Graceland, but a closer look reveals it to be an unfurnished shell of a building that was likely never finished or designed to be lived in.
"Apparently this building replaced a 20th-century property of the same name inhabited by 1930s actress and music hall performer Gracie Fields, suggesting that the street had an earlier life as a genuine home for wealthy stars."
The windows and doors of the abandoned mansion have been smashed (mediadrumimages/LiamHeatherson)The photographer added that the property was likely to have been built in 1989 and it was said to have been purchased by Saudi King Fahd for £25m.
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He continued: "Given the uncertain political situation there during the arrival of the Gulf War, it is thought the house was built partly to deposit his wealth in a more stable country.
"The house appears to have never been finished or lived in.
Photographer Liam Heatherson captured the images of the abandoned property (mediadrumimages/LiamHeatherson)"I've photographed many hundreds of abandoned places but never before have I seen something quite like 'Billionaires Row'.
"The amount of wealth in that road is very obvious not just in the scale of the properties - maybe some of the largest houses I've ever seen, but also in their wanton neglect.
"To have enough money to own a property like that and yet treat it as a throwaway folly is quite incredible.
"Regardless of political views, some people have commented that it does highlight a disparity against the lack of housing available to the poor in London, and I can't help but agree."