Roger Daltrey at Holmshurst Manor

Holmshurst Manor is the Jacobean mansion located in Burwash, East Sussex, where Roger Daltrey has lived with his family since 1970. Roger bought it after selling his cottage in Hurst to production manager John Wolff and paid it under the price of £39.000. He also bought it because he thought it would be the perfect home for the family that he and Heather wanted to have.

“I bought it because I needed it and it needed me. Sounds silly, but that’s how it was."

“I didn’t have the money to buy it. I was just sort of looking at houses because I love old buildings, but when I saw this one I knew I had to live here.”

The mansion was built in 1610 by an ironmaster called Goddard Hepden and it’s not far from Rudyard Kipling’s house. Its 35 acres of land contain two lakes, where Roger raises trouts, a swimming pool, a cottage, a garage, a stable and other buildings. The Pre-Raphaelite artist Burne-Jones made the stained-glass windows and the house has 30 rooms, including 6 bedrooms, 18 stone fireplaces, a sauna, a recording studio and a wooden balcony with religious carvings. An oak-panelled library contains treasured leather-bound books and there's even a massive portrait in oils of Roger. Roger decorated the master bedroom in restful pale gold and installed a four-poster bed standing on a peach-colored carpet. Above the bed, staring down from the ceiling are clusters of ornate cherubs. The grounds include a waterfall, a rock garden, a swimming pool which replaced a tennis court and a temple-like gazebo.
The manor house has been listed as a Grade II property by English Heritage.

Later Roger also tried farming, buying 45 cows, several horses, two other farm and 200 head of cattle.

While other rock stars had several servants around them at their country houses, Roger employed only one man who helped him with the land because he preferred working on his property himself, toiling away on the roof, redecorating the interior and even digging out his trout lake with his own bulldozer. Roger soon realised that the hard physical work was the perfect antidote to the madness surrounding The Who on the road. After he and Heather settled in, Roger didn’t go to London for two whole months and also then they never went out because, as Roger said, they had everything they wanted and needed right there. He also enjoyed having a walk with Heather in the countryside, spending a day repairing old fairground carousels and gypsy caravans and making doll’s houses with red roofs for Rosie and Willow.

Four screenshots I took from Google Maps and Google Earth.

Roger with one of his three dogs and some chickens on his gypsy caravan.

 

 

 

 

Heather in the garden

 

Sources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTO78OCghZc&feature=g-like

www.tumblr.com/tagged/roger+daltrey

www.tumblr.com/tagged/heather+daltrey

http://www.geolocation.ws/v/W/File:Oast%20House%20at%20Holmshurst%20Manor,%20Witherenden%20Hill,%20East%20Sussex%20-%20geograph.org.uk%20-%201317996.jpg/-/en

http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20065951,00.html