Madonna - said to be interested in Earls Terrace

Six of the houses in Kensington's Earls Terrace are now ready for residents, forming part of the most expensive complete terrace ever to be sold in Britain.

Described as London's "new millionaires row", from the outside, the Grade 2 listed terrace appears to have been faithfully restored to its Georgian splendour. But inside there is a host of mod cons and luxuries that would have surprised even the most privileged of our 19th century ancestors.

A builder adds the finishing touches

Buyers can choose between houses that have both a games room and home cinema or a swimming pool, all located far away from prying eyes and lenses. The pop star Madonna has already had a look round and may decide to snap up one of them.

Earls Terrace was built in 1811 and the first house is believed to have been sold for £630. According to legend the 2nd Baron of Kensington who inherited all 25 houses was a secret agent for Napoleon. If the diminutive French leader had won the battle of Waterloo there were plans to house senior French officers in the terrace.

Previously the houses were converted to one bedroom flats

But these days it doesn't matter what nationality you are if you demand privacy as a high priority and have enough money to pay for it.

Developer John Hunter said: "I think its more than likely that there will be a number of people that decide to buy houses here because it offers them the opportunity to protect their privacy. They can drive into the car park, they can walk into the house, they can use the swimming pool, and it's all completely undercover."

A very private dip

The developer, Northacre, bought the terrace for £15m in 1994. Since then, sitting tenants living in its 125 self-contained flats were persuaded to move so that builders could begin the restoration work.