Rocking all over the wold

A century or so ago, it was wealthy merchant types who were laying out for the flash country pads. Nouveau riche hemp and herrings trader Sir William Miller bought Manderston on the Scottish-English border in the 1850s, while Edwardian grocer Sir Julius Drew built Castle Drogo in Devon as an “ancestral seat”.

Today, the new-money neighbours are more likely to be rock gods and pop stars who’ve bought a country estate at the height of their fame (or notoriety) and have decided to settle down to a life of tweed and organic gardening in middle age. In fact these days, every icon of the music business wants their own corner of green and pleasant land. But do ex-punks, anti-establishment heroes and pop divas really belong in the country? Raul Peschiera finds out which ageing rock and rollers are in touch with their inner country squire

Billy Bragg
The Bard from Barking” relocated from London to his holiday home in Burton Bradstock, Dorset, in 2000. Permanent residence in an elegant Victorian property with sea-facing views in Tory-dominated Dorset proved something of a culture shock, though. As expected, Bragg got stuck into local politics, forming the grass-roots organisation Vote Dorset, which campaigns for tactical voting to unseat local Tory representatives. About his adoptive home, Bragg is philosophical. “Sometimes people say to me, ‘How could you live in the countryside with all those people and their green-wellie ideas?’ And I say, ‘Look, I don’t live in the country. I live by the sea’.”

Squire rating *

Crass
They may not be the lords of the manor, but the members of the anarchist punk band Crass have become leading lights in their local village. Based in Dial House, a Grade II listed 16th-century cottage in North Weald, near Epping Forest, the group (founded by Penny Rimbaud, Gee Vaucher, Eve Libertine and Steve Ignorant) rented the property in 1967 to create an artist commune. A decade later, they started the band and in 2001 managed to scrape together enough cash to buy the house outright. It was no easy task—not least because it meant breaching the anarchist code that “all property is theft”. Ye, their standing in the surrounding village could hardly be higher. The proof is that local villagers pitched in their own funds to help the group buy the house. Penny Rimbaud says he may stand for election to the local parish council to help compensate North Weald villagers for their generosity.

Squire rating ****

Eric Clapton
Soon after buying Hurtwood Edge, an early-20th century Spanish-style manor house in Ewhurst, Surrey, in 1969, Eric Clapton locked himself in for a heroin binge. The reason? Not some argy-bargy with the removals men but unrequited love: George Harrison’s then wife had rejected him. These days, of course, Clapton’s more sedate. He recently threw down enough cash to save Cordings, the gentlemen’s outfitters in Piccadilly, which stocks apparel for countryside sports and pursuits. “I’m a big fan of English traditional tailoring,” he said. Slow Hand, though, is not lording it up. The servants quarters at Hurtwood Edge were swiftly converted into a recording studio—a sign that staff were not needed. These days he is more likely to be spotted mowing his lawn, according to a local estate agent. He’s not known for spending time in the nearby village and there are those who will no doubt grumble that he doesn’t do enough to support the local economy.

Squire rating **

Roger Daltrey
Once the lead man of the loudest band in the world, Roger Daltrey used to whip a microphone into the air and pray to die before he got old. Now, on his 400-acre farm near Broad Oak in East Sussex, he’s into fish. “When I go fishing, I come away feeling like I’ve smoked half a dozen joints,” says Daltrey. “I could spend hours looking at a trout.” For the past 15 years, Daltrey has run a trout fishery on his farm and says that he is more proud of his work there than anything else he has done in his life. The rock star also restocked the village pond at Iwerne Minster, Dorset, after poachers stole its prize 20lb trout. Today, locals ask his advice on fish and country matters—more than the local squire, he’s the sage in the wind rushes.

Squire rating *****

Noel Gallagher
Riding the crest of the wave of Britpop, Noel Gallagher bought his manor, an eight-bedroom house in Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire, and frightened the locals when he said in an interview: “I tend to keep my mouth shut now and just go home and kick the neighbour’s cat.” Even though Chiltern Council refused permission for floodlights on his property to light up his night-time football sessions, Gallagher has left London for his country estate. He has also raised money for the local school. Weighing this against the dangers he poses to felines, he qualifies for three stars.

Squire rating ***

Damien Hirst
The occasional novelty record for the England football team aside, Hirst isn’t really in the music business, but he is the enfant terrible of his art. And remember, Hirst loves nothing more than slicing dead livestock in half and calling it art. How rock and roll is that? After parting with £3m for the run-down Toddington Manor, a 300-room Gothic revival mansion, he’ll need about £10m more to refurbish it. His plans include a gallery for contemporary artists. Promising to restore the Grade I listed building has warmed the hearts of locals, who feared the mansion’s character would be lost had it fallen into the hands of a hotel chain. Although he has not proved himself a worthy squire, the signs are he may rescue the property. Just as as long as he doesn’t do things by halves.

Squire rating ***

Jools Holland
As skinny ties and dark sunglasses inched out from under the belly of punk, pop band Squeeze also emerged. Before the band lost its sparkly pop lustre, pianist Jools Holland exited stage left and ended up hosting TV music show The Tube and forming Jools Holland and His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra. These days when he’s not touring, Holland can be found in his house on the grounds of Cooling Castle in Kent. Holland is liked by everyone, from the local pub waitress to the Prince of Wales. Still, he rubbishes the idea he’s part of the Establishment. “I’m not a high-court judge,” he says. “I’m a piano player who is fortunate in having a lot of friends.” Having pitched in to stop “monstrous” plans to build an airport nearby, Holland is seen as a white knight by locals.

Squire rating *****

Liam Howlett
Liam Howlett, core member of punk/rave band The Prodigy, lost no time in moving to a £5m mansion in Great Dunmow, Essex. While the house sports a fully equipped studio, views of England’s green and pleasant land are apparently not conducive to composing angry beats. When trying to finish an album, Howlett was too distracted. “So, I finally moved to Stoke Newington in London,” he says. Howlett mostly keeps to himself, but it has not stopped him from denigrating the local area in an interview, as well as falling foul of neighbours. In an incident in 2003, a 62-year-old farmer, whose lands border Howlett’s, was charged with threatening Howlett and a friend with a shotgun. When a local points his gun at you, don’t expect Christmas cards.

Squire rating *

Paul McCartney
Being one of the most famous pop stars in history has often led Sir Paul to retreat to his 160-acre Woodlands Farm in East Sussex. Sir Paul may have sung Peace in the Neighbourhood but that didn’t stop locals forcing him to pull down a log cabin because he failed to secure planning permission. While attesting that for years the farm has been producing “crops and wool” and so is integral to the area, Sir Paul has not spent much time there since buying a £1m house in Brighton. Yet locals are proud of their ex-Beatle neighbour—after all, he sent his children to the local state schools. But he loses points for one of the well-educated McCartney scions, Stella, branding her dad “tight” for not schooling her privately.

Squire rating ***

Madonna
After buying Ashcombe House, the £9m 18th-century manor house and shooting estate on the Wiltshire-Dorset border, and an entire “country-set” wardrobe, Madonna seems to have reinvented herself as a member of the landed gentry. While she claims to be distantly related to the Duchess of Cornwall, her attempts to play up to lady of the manor will forever be hampered by memories of her simulating sex on stage. Fighting to divert a centuries-old public footpath from their property and threatening to end shooting parties, which would put locals out of business, have not endeared Madonna and her filmdirector husband Guy Ritchie to nearby villagers, who grumble about lack of community spirit. When pressed for a comment, Madonna assured them: “I support all the local pubs with my husband on a regular basis.”

Squire rating **

Ozzy Osbourne
You might imagine that having a Victorian mansion on a sprawling estate near Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire, would help soothe the soul of the old Prince of Darkness. Not a bit of it. Osbourne was nearly killed there when he crashed a quad bike, then a fire broke out on the grounds when he and his family were away and, finally, he was robbed of £2m of jewels after wrestling with a burglar. Who said the country was boring? While he may feud with neighbours in Hollywood, Osbourne is relatively subdued in Buckinghamshire—perhaps because he feels the house is cursed.

Squire rating *

Keith Richards
Keith Richards’s house at West Wittering, Chichester, was the scene of the famous 1967 drugs bust in which police reportedly found Marianne Faithfull wearing little but a fur rug. The ultimate wild man of rock, Richards was recently voted Britain’s top hellraiser and was taken to hospital after falling out of a tree. When plans to create a cycle route outside his house were made public, he kicked up enough fuss to get them changed. However, he’s a pussycat, it seems, with casual callers. He donated £20,000 to fix the village hall’s roof when someone came calling to raise funds.

Squire rating ****

Rod Stewart
When he bought 100-year-old Wood House, near Epping Forest, original bad boy of rock Rod Stewart had to outbid Greek royalty to secure it. One of the few old rockers who has refused to lie down, so to speak, Stewart is still living like he is a 25-year-old, even installing a full-sized football pitch on his grounds. A supporter of local charities, he has been seen at Christmas carol concerts with local residents. And when the weather is good he sometimes invites them over for a spot of the beautiful game.

Squire rating *****

Sting
Sting is the proud possessor not only of one 16th-century mansion but two. As well as a Tuscan villa set amid a sprawling olive grove, he has Lake House, a country seat with 52 acres in Wiltshire. Once the punk-inspired singer of the Police, he has transformed into a proper squire, witness the photos of him strolling his Tudor property with his dogs—when he’s not offering organic olive oil from his Italian estate exclusively to Harrods that is. Whether battling the MoD when they wanted to park an aircraft nearby, or giving to the locals, Sting and family are part of village society. At Christmas, villagers are invited up for drinks. Normally, this would deserve full marks, but given Sting’s reputed aversion to soap and deodorant, he loses a point. Well done, but don’t stand so close to me.

Squire rating ****

Ron Wood
After surviving the same crazy excesses as fellow Rolling Stone Keith Richards, Ron Wood’s only habit now is painting the views from his 18th-century farm in county Kildare, Ireland. He’s settled comfortably it seems into respectability—this corner of Ireland is where the wealthy and influential, such as Irish finance minister Charlie McCreevy, make their homes. Quiet and unassuming, Wood now pours his life into painting and horse breeding. In 1998, he was the proud winner of a small-breeder-of-the-year award.

Squire rating ***