Stargroves (also known as Stargrove House) is a manor house and associated estate at East Woodhay in the English county of Hampshire. The house belonged to Mick Jagger during the 1970s and was a recording venue for the Rolling Stones and various other rock bands, as well as a filming location for Doctor Who.
History
The Goddard family owned the estate from 1565 until about 1830. Oliver Cromwell stopped at Stargroves after the second battle of Newbury (27 October 1644), and was entertained by the owner, John Goddard; the basin or china bowl in which his breakfast (toast and ale) was served is in the custody of the rector besides some letters referring to the incident. Edward Goddard owned the estate from 1778 to 1788. It was also owned by Capt. Sir F. H. W. Carden, 3rd Baronet.[1]
In the early 1840s Stargrove House was destroyed by a fire. Around 1848 a new manor house was built, designed in an ornate, Victorian Gothic style in the manner of a French château. The new manor house was bought by a Captain Ramsay, and in 1879, the house was sold to Sir Frederick Henry Walter Carden, who made alterations to the house and landscaped the park.[2]
Mick Jagger purchased the estate in 1970 for £55,000 from Sir Henry Carden.[4]
The Rolling Stones recorded at Stargroves before their move to France in spring 1971. These recordings were laid down via a mobile recording studio control room located in a custom-built truck known as the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. The band recorded a number of albums and singles at Stargroves, including various tracks that appeared on Sticky Fingers, Exile on Main Street, and It's Only Rock 'n Roll.[5]
Jagger sold Stargroves in 1979, for £200,000, to Boxford businessman John Varley. It was then bought by Swedish businessman, Claes Bourghardt, in 1984, for £525,000.[8] He sold it 4 years later 1988 to Paul Dupee Jr, the owner of the Boston Celtics for £2,250,000 who sold it in 1993 after having created a basketball court and expansive gardens.[citation needed]
In 1998, Rod Stewart bought Stargroves for £2.5 million from Frank Williams but never moved in. He separated from his then wife, Rachel Hunter, soon after exchanging contracts and sold it.[9] In 2012, Stargroves was sold for more than its £15 million listing price to a member of the Sackler family.[9][10]
^ abAnna Mikhailova (19 August 2012). "Moving on: Jagger edge". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 13 May 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2017.