London's iconic $1 million skinny house Noel Lodge is the width of a shipping container

“The exterior is around the same width as a shipping container, but fantastic things really do come in small packages.”

What a way to market a house, but it is the thinness of this London terrace – just 2.5 metres wide – that made it one the city’s most highly-sought listings.

The property whisked off the market in Ealing, West London, is one of the skinniest houses in the world and a local icon. Somehow, a three-level, two-bedroom, two-living zone house fits in a space once used as the horse and cart entrance of a late-Georgian mansion (which was sub-divided).

The Mirror in the UK reports the property sold in March. The listing carried a price guide of £500,000 (about $AU947,320), via a campaign on the books of agency Leslie & Co.

Named Noel Lodge, it is sandwiched between two much larger residences. It has a handsome navy blue front door but it is easy to mistake the sliver of bricks and two windows, one above the other, as a part of a larger dwelling, and not a standalone house.

The mansion opened as a school in 1834 and closed in 1917.

At some stage following, the horse and cart entrance was converted into a small but mighty, stylish home, using every centimetre of space.

“You could drive a horse and cart into this historic property – and that’s exactly what the original owners would have done,” the listing explains. “This two/three bedroom, two bathroom mid-terrace is a triumph of design, fitting so much into a pint-sized space on one of Ealing’s finest streets.

“Squeezed between two grand and imposing late-Georgian buildings, Noel Lodge is believed to have been constructed in the former horse and cart entrance of a school.

“What the first and second floors lack in width they make up in height. Both upper floors have unexpectedly high ceilings which, when combined with the crisp white colour-scheme, give the rooms a surprising feeling of space.”

The ground floor contains the lounge, kitchen and dining space, and access at the rear to the building’s shared garden. Up a floor is another bedroom, which could be used as a second living zone, and a bathroom.

Venture up one more flight to find two bedrooms on the third floor, served by a central bathroom.

Agents say the “slimline” house is near to Ealing Broadway, where the new owner can enjoy many restaurants and bars.