A blockbuster barge on the Thames: Dunkirk boat for sale to live on for £425k

Film memorabilia collectors will pay millions for a dress worn by Marilyn Monroe or a car driven by Sean Connery in a couple of Bond movies, but neither of these pieces would make a central London home.

However, a four-bedroom Thames sailing barge with a starring role in Dunkirk, the acclaimed film by Christopher Nolan out on Friday, has gone on the market for £425,000.

The same price as a studio flat in St John’s Wood, the boat was built in 1926 and retains its pre-war decor inside and out. This made it perfect for producers trying to recreate the evacuation of 338,000 soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk in northern France.

Some 700 private boats — including 16 Thames barges — were requisitioned from the rivers of England and the south coast for Operation Dynamo and they sailed from

Ramsgate to help in the rescue of the troops because the Royal Navy’s destroyers couldn’t enter shallow waters.

Although the 86ft-long Xylonite was not involved in the June 1940 evacuation, the owner sailed it across the Channel for filming in the exact location of the real event and he and his friends were even given roles as extras. In the film, starring Tom Hardy and Mark Rylance, dozens of soldiers are seen boarding the boat.

She was used as a cargo vessel on the east coast of Britain for over 50 years before being sold in 1977 when it was given a new life as a charter barge and later a sailing vessel for underprivileged children.

The current owner bought it in 2011 and he has painstakingly maintained and restored its period features to use it as spacious London home.

Taking pride of place with a coveted mooring in Limehouse Basin, the boat is 86ft long and 18ft wide, providing nearly 1,400sq ft of living space, including four bedrooms, a vast 28ft long living/dining room, fitted kitchen and bathroom — complete with claw-foot bath — and a separate loo.

Limehouse Basin website says a mooring fee for a residential boat of this size costs approximately £875 per month and live-in owners must also pay council tax.

Xylonite is not only a fully rigged sailing vessel, but also has a motor for those daunted by all those sheets and booms, and is certified for those wanting to have their own adventure on the ocean wave.

The boat is being sold for £425,000 by Riverhomes.