What do Stonehenge, 7,340 kilos of frozen prawns and Watership Down have in common?
They have all been sold by the estate agents Knight Frank, which celebrates its 120th anniversary this year.
The agents started out as a Knight, Frank & Rutley in London back in 1896, and its first business property sale was of a cycle plant.
It now has 370 offices – including in Birmingham – across 55 countries, and its deals haven’t always involved brick, mortar and tile.
Here are 10 amazing sales...
*Stonehenge – The agency held an auction in 1915 where the open plan Neolithic landmark was one of the lots. Cecil Chubb paid £6,600 for it, reputedly as a present for his wife. It was “regifted” to the nation three years later.
*Prawns – The Singapore office once sold 7,340 kilos of frozen prawns at a public auction.
*NAZI Flags (surplus to requirements) – In 1945, Knight Frank sold the contents of the German Embassy, including 20 Nazi flags at £60 each, a dog basket and 17 safes.
* A town – The whole of Reigate, including pubs, shops, the castle and the town hall, was sold by Knight Frank for £203,840 in 1921.
* A donkey – In 1899, Knight Frank sold a Botticelli Virgin and Child for £1 two shillings. The donkey fetched £1 five shillings the same year.
* An iguana (kind of) – Agents selling a TV star’s house were also asked if they could find a home for an unwanted four foot lizard.
* Napoleon’s last “selfie” – Napoleon I’s death mask was sold at auction by Knight Frank.
* The Crystal Palace – The cast iron and plate glass palace built for the Great Exhibition of 1851. Knight Frank arranged its sale to Lord Plymouth just before the First World War for £210,000.
* No Man’s Land Fort – It is not actually on land but in the sea. This was one of the so called Palmerston Forts and was built in the Solent to defend the Channel Ports from the French Fleet under Napoleon. It is now a hotel.
* Watership Down – Not the book, the hill in Hampshire that is the setting for the novel by Richard Adams. It was bought by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
And one memorable purchase: Knight Frank bought Oliver Reed’s house on behalf of a client. However, it didn’t seem like the famously unpredictable actor was entirely on board with the sale. He threw a frozen goose, a bottle of gin and an Asegai spear at the KF partner responsible.
From the Knight Frank Little Book of Big Facts.
