Dream House | Charming beachfront St Ann property has famous past owner

This intriguing, inconspicuous beachfront acreage in St Ann, with its original residence (now torn down and redeveloped), owes its one-time notoriety to the British couple, Sir Bernard and Lady Norah Docker, who owned it in the 1950s.

Norah Turner, as she was known then, had a humble beginning. She studied public speaking at Midland Institute, and at 18 years old, to escape impoverishment, arrived in London to attend the school of famed dance master, Santos Casani.

Later on, she was hired by England’s most exclusive night club, Café de Paris, to dance with their noble, rich and eminent patrons for a fee.

Irresistible Norah would be romanced at the same time by three obsessed men, including a judge, and the Ninth Duke of Marlborough. Her occupation eventually facilitated a number of husbands, some of the most prosperous and influential industry leaders on the continent. The first being Clement Callingham, whom she shared a child with.

Husband number two, whom she admitted marrying for his money, was Sir William Collins.

The third husband, Sir Bernard Docker, she confessedly “trapped” into marriage.

Lady Norah Docker emerged as one of the wealthiest women in Britain, having tea at Buckingham Palace, with a publicity seeking lavish lifestyle she craved and indulged in.

The supportive husband and herself had swanky homes around the world, along with their mega yacht, Britain’s largest. Her personal fleet of vehicles included five specially custom-built Daimler motor cars (the original choice of the royal family), some being gold plated and bullet resistant, with the bonnet emblem shaped off her naked body.

With all this fortuity, the bejewelled fashionista engendered outrage and even appeal with her behaviour, which some deemed unbecoming a lady. Can you envisage being expelled by the governments of Monaco, the French Rivera, and Yugoslavia! Banned from England’s elite Ascott Racetrack Royal Enclosure, brought before the Italian courts, and so on. She also fearlessly appeared as a guest at a party hosted by one of Britain’s most villainous and violent gangsters!

This coveted architectural gem now positioned here, buoyed by its quaint-like appearance, is defined by a pronounced, steeply pitched roof line, sitting right atop rows of clerestory windows greeting the sun rays.

Continuous seaview balconies and arched porches grip the 1,600 square feet tropical garden villa, with the façade further calling attention to its accentuating fretwork (decorative woodwork).

Not to be outshone, there is a separate dining gazebo, plunge pool and sun deck, with a private gazebo in the sea, for your utmost leisure and pleasure.

An open-concept floor plan brings into intimate being, the unified living, dining, and kitchen sections. The timber floor upstairs level ecstatically unveils the sleeping quarters, augmented by wainscoting (wood panelling on lower section of walls). The bathroom is worthy of admiration, flaunting a dual basin vanity with illuminated wall cabinetry.

Art pieces and furniture (including antiques) from six countries, besides those locally hand-carved, beautify the buttery cream painted, wall interiors.

There are new owners and the property has seen the passage of time, but the charm of the place remains.

Barry Rattray is a dream house designer and builder. Email feedback to barry-rattray@hotmail.com and lifestyle@gleanerjm.com.