Tucked away in an idyllic rural setting, in the hamlet of Kittles Corner, is a pretty thatched cottage, which was the home of a genuine princess who was also a roadie for the Rolling Stones.
This cottage, close to Cretingham in east Suffolk, is now on the market and is ripe for refurbishment and renovation.
Clarke & Simpson are selling this semi-detached home, on behalf of the executors of Princess Shasha Toptani, who lived here for many years.
Stuart Clarke said: “This is an lovely Suffolk setting, with a few homes here, and views over farmland at the back.
“It is quiet country road and you can walk to the pub from here. It is a good project for somebody. These opportunities don’t come up very often.”
Princess Shasha, a niece of King Zog of Albania, was born in London in 1953 and moved to Suffolk with her mother in the late 1960s.
Although she suffered from dyslexia she was practical and artistic, eventually studying on the art foundation course at Ipswich Civic College, a first step for many well-known artists, and then getting her BA in Fine Arts from Leicester Polytechnic.
She was involved in the music scene in London, and even worked as a roadie for the Rolling Stones, driving a Transam Trucking HGV to their concerts.
At the end of one gig Bill Wyman gave her his bass guitar to carry off stage, I’m told.
She also rode a powerful 1200cc BMW motorcycle.
This Grade II listed cottage became her home when she returned to Suffolk and started her own business as a maker of leather coats and clothes, having her workshop near the White Horse pub, Framlingham.
In the 1980s, when Shasha was interviewed for an article in the EADT, she said she first made a leather coat for a friend, and it developed into a niche business producing bespoke clothes.
Sha, as she was known to her friends, even made leather pub furniture for the Cretingham Bell, the local pub
Her character cottage home, which is Grade II listed, does need updating now.
It has a stable-type door into the kitchen, which has bespoke units and an Aga, and there is exposed studwork.
There is a dining room, a bathroom, a sitting room and front hallway, where there is another door to outside.
The first floor has two bedrooms.
Outside there is a shingle parking space and a pedestrian gate, leading to the garden which is in need of clearance and improvement.
Both the cottage, and garden, have great potential, said the agent.
The cottage is on sale with a guide price of £225,000 and is a project for somebody with imagination.
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