Propping up the bar: west London pub façade hides one of Notting Hill's most luxurious mansions

Hidden behind this west London pub façade is a luxurious £17.5 million mansion boasting a private health spa with 15-metre swimming pool, four-storey chandelier and private cinema.

The Victorian building, formerly the Lonsdale pub in Notting Hill, was torn down by developers then rebuilt as a lookalike pub from the outside.

But anyone who steps inside now will be greeted by a 15-metre high entrance atrium, rather than the low-lit bar they might be expecting.

A golden chandelier hangs from a glass cupola down the centre of the curving staircase, although there’s also a passenger lift.

The basement and lower ground floors now house a spa with swimming pool, sauna and steam room and gym.

The ground-floor entrance opens into an open-plan kitchen/living area, with glass doors which can be folded away to create an inside-outside entertaining space.

Another reception room on the first floor opens out onto a terrace overlooking the garden.

The master bedroom suite covers the entire second floor with the bedroom opening out onto another terrace and a glass wall separating the sleeping area from a fully-fitted dressing room.

“Lonsdale Road is a shining example of exquisite craftsmanship, bespoke luxury and thoughtful layout, so it stands alone and far above the rest,” said Chris Shaw, sales manager at Domus Nova.

“The architecture and palette of finishes make it an incredibly unique proposition, not only to Notting Hill, but within the surrounding postcodes.”

The luxurious layout and facilities included in the house are a far cry from the site’s history as a local pub and a next door post office.

Hugh Cecil Lowther, the fifth Earl of Lonsdale (1857-1944), owned the land the pub sat on.

He was known as ‘The Yellow Earl’, choosing the colour for his many cars and for his footmen’s livery, and was famous for his ostentatious pursuit of pleasure, often frequenting the pub which shared his name.

The house is on the market for £17.5 million through Knight Frank and Domus Nova.