Keira and her fiancé snap up a new love nest for £2.4m
KEIRA Knightley has sealed her engagement to keyboard player James Righton by moving into a £2.4million house she bought from Oscar-nominated actress Samantha Morton.
The 27-year-old actress paid cash for the Grade II listed four-storey townhouse in Spitalfields, east London, near to trendy Brick Lane whose residents include artist Tracey Emin and celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay’s protegee Angela Hartnett.
Miss Knightley, who confirmed her engagement to Mr Righton on Friday, bought the property mortgage-free through a company run by her mother, Scottish playwright Sharman Macdonald.
The 300-year-old terraced house, complete with music room, private cinema, dressing room, library and studio guest house, is close to the north-east London home of Mr Righton, who plays in the band The Klaxons.
It is also close to the luxury apartment in nearby Hoxton which Miss Knightley shared with her former boyfriend and fellow actor Rupert Friend, from whom she split in January last year. At the same time she bought the property in Spitalfields but did not move into it until recently.
Miss Knightley, who was raised in Teddington, south-west London, is now expected to set up home there with her fiancé.
The purchase comes after Miss Knightley was named the thirdrichest young actress in the UK, with a personal fortune estimated at £30 million.
In recent years the Spitalfields area has become one of London’s most fashionable neighbourhoods, popular with celebrities, actors and artists and with houses selling for up to £11 million. Other locals include artist duo Gilbert and George, who have lived in the area for over 20 years, and historian Dan Cruickshank.
One resident said: ‘It used to be a really tough neighbourhood but the influx of big stars is changing it dramatically.
‘You often see Keira wandering around. She often wears a hat to hide her features yet she still gets recognised, but no one hassles her.’