Listing of the day
Location: Essex, England
Price: £6.95 million (US$8.6 million)
This week we’re looking back on the Listings of the Day that garnered the most attention from our readers in 2016: a Paris penthouse, an English mansion, a Montana estate and a Texas waterfront playground. On Friday, readers can vote for their favorite property of all.
First up: A rock star’s house in England.
The eccentric, outlandish style of one of England’s most famous rockers is among the properties that caught readers’ eyes this year. Rod Stewart’s "forever" home, which he told Mansion Global he was somewhat reluctantly putting on the market back in July 2016, is still available.
The late 19th Century house is a grand example of an English manor, with neat manicured lawns, period architecture typical of the county of Essex and lavish interiors by a designer beloved of the most excessive celebrities.
It turns out even the stars are not immune to the slowdown in movement of U.K.’s high-end property, however. The singer’s "Wood House" has seen its own price cut. Originally listed for £7.5 million (US$9.84 million) it has been reduced by £550,000 to £6.95million (US$8.63 million).
Stats
The house itself, a Grade II listed property built in the 1800s in Jacobean style, is 12,568 square foot with six bedrooms and bathrooms, set on a private country estate of about 24.8 acres. It comes with ancillary accommodation: a detached Tudor-style cottage with two bedrooms, a staff apartment with one bedroom, and the groom’s accommodation within the stable block, which, the original property brochure said could use "some updating."
[Note: The listing agents declined to speak about the property for this updated Listing of the Day.]
More:Click to View A Country House Divided Offers Luxury on a Small Scale
Design pedigree
This is not a house for fans of minimalism. Nicky Haslam, the glamorous English socialite and designer, did the interiors to Mr. Stewart’s specification, which include lots of chandeliers, carved wood and gold leaf, extremely elaborate plasterwork ceilings and patterned wallpaper. Many original period features remain, each room has soaring ceilings and decorative cornicing, and there is wood-paneling, fireplaces and stained glass windows throughout. The home was built by architects Walter Earnest Tower and Charles Eamer Kempe, who was a Victorian stained glass designer.
The full-height leaded bay windows and detailed pargetting (pattern plasterwork) are typical of period properties found in the English counties of Suffolk and Essex.
Celebrity Cachet
Mr. Stewart, who in a prior written statement provided by the listing agent, told Mansion Global, "Till this day, the drive from the gate to the house takes my breath away," wrote many of his songs at the Wood House. His last two albums "Time," and "Another Country" were penned in the drawing room.
He was said to have paid £1.2million for the house in 1986.
More:British Singer Robbie Williams Lists in Los Angeles for $11 Million
Amenities
As a long-time soccer fan, Mr. Stewart built a full-sized pitch at home, where Liverpool, Newcastle and Celtic football clubs have trained. There’s an all-weather tennis court, too, a heated swimming pool and pool house, boating lake and equestrian facilities, including stables, paddocks and a floodlit riding arena.
Neighborhood notes
Wood House, which is in the county of Essex, is on the edge of the green and peaceful 2,400 hectare Epping Forest. Nevertheless it’s handy for London, with nearby access to the M25 motorway. Epping Station, which takes you into Central London on the Central Line tube, is 1.7 miles away.
Popular schools in the area include Coopersale Hall and Oaklands for younger children and Chigwell School and Bancroft's for secondary education. Boarding is available at Brentwood School, Harrow, Felsted and Bishop's Stortford College.