The Irish comedian Graham Norton remembers sifting through Manhattan real estate listings a couple of decades ago and being struck by the photos of a charming carriage house nestled in a tiny gated mews in Murray Hill.
The home, at 6 Sniffen Court, which he later learned was being sold by the model Claudia Schiffer, reminded him of London, where he was living and working at the time. “I couldn’t stop thinking about it,” Mr. Norton, who hosts “The Graham Norton Show” on the BBC, said in an email, “and finally caved in and flew over to see it.”
Upon his arrival, he was shown other properties around the city, he said, “but none of them captured my heart in the way Sniffen Court did. Once you step into Sniffen Court there is no sense that you are in the heart of Manhattan!”
Mr. Norton bought the mid-19th-century house in 2002 and used it as a pied-à-terre, except for a brief period, in 2004, when he was in New York hosting the “NY Graham Norton” talk show. He held onto the property and only recently completed a gut renovation, thinking that he might someday retire in New York. But plans changed, he said, after he married Jonathan McLeod, a Scottish filmmaker, in 2022.
The house is now back on the market for $5.595 million, according to the listing broker, Chris Kann of the Corcoran Group. Property taxes are $40,156 a year, and annual dues paid to a residents’ association are $1,800.
The home is part of the Sniffen Court Historic District, just off East 36th Street near Third Avenue. It is one of 10 brick carriage houses, formerly horse stables, built between 1863 and 1864. The private stone mews had over the years been home to the composer Cole Porter and the musician Lenny Kravitz.
“I don’t think a lot of people know about this little mews,” Mr. Kann said. “Passing through the entry gate you’re immediately drawn to another time. It’s by far one of the most charming and picturesque settings one can experience in New York City. It’s very European.”
Three stories high and around 20 feet wide, Mr. Norton’s house, in Early Romanesque Revival style, is roughly 2,500 square feet and has a rooftop deck measuring about 465 square feet. There are two bedrooms and two an a half bathrooms. Throughout the interior space are hardwood floors and restored crown moldings and baseboards.
The interior was updated by John and Christine Gachot, the husband-and-wife team that runs Gachot Studios.
The house’s front door opens into the 17-by-19-foot great room, where there are soaring 15-foot ceilings and a row of clerestory windows that bring in an abundance of light. On one wall, there is seating just below an oversize picture window, and on another, a wood-burning fireplace crafted of lilac stone.
Beyond the great room is a library with a bar area and built-in bookshelves and cabinetry, along with a formal dining room bedecked in red and featuring an Andy Warhol print of the actress Jane Fonda. The nearby windowed kitchen is outfitted with stainless-steel countertops and backsplash, green wood cabinetry and a narrow breakfast bar. The lower level also includes a powder room with a custom vanity in emerald quartzite.
Stairs in the great room lead up to the second floor, where there is a spacious guest bedroom with an en suite bathroom.
The primary bedroom suite, with a marble bathroom and loads of closet space, is on the top level. It includes a den/home office with a skylight off the sleeping area and a morning bar/kitchenette with window banquette seating. A set of stairs heads up to the irrigated roof deck lined with hedging and potted plants. There are areas carved out for lounging, dining and entertaining.
“It’s a great house for entertaining with the roof terrace for summer and the working fireplace in the winter,” Mr. Norton said. “There have been lots of parties, big and small, over the years.”
Mr. Norton will miss the carriage house, which he calls “a jewel box.”
“I love the soaring ceilings of the living room and adore the small den/study,” he said. “To be honest, I love the whole thing fairly equally.”
Would he and his husband ever consider another place in New York? “London remains where my work is and where we spend the vast majority of our time,” Mr. Norton said. “Never say never, but that’s not the current plan.”
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