This Grade II-listed mansion in 25 acres of land, with panoramic views of Epping Forest and a boating lake, hasn’t always been an easy sell.
Rock legend Sir Rod Stewart rock legend said that he had expected to live in the Jacobean-style property for the rest of his life when he put it on the market for £7.5 million in 2016 to move closer to his children’s school.
But despite the home’s ornate pargetting, opulent oak panelling and impressive facilities — a tennis court, heated swimming pool and full-size football pitch — the Essex property sat on the market for three years.
Wiping more than £3 million off the original asking price, Stewart and his wife Penny Lancaster sold the home — which was built in 1895 — to former Liverpool striker Andy Caroll and then-fiancé Billi Mucklow for £4.1 million in 2019.
The home provided Stewart’s family with a lavish place of residence a stone’s throw from the M25 for over 30 years, however the same can’t be said for Carroll and reality TV star Mucklow, who have just listed the property for sale for more than double the price they bought it for.
While the football pitch likely drew Carroll — who now plays for French team Bordeaux — to the charming home, its appeal begins before you’ve even stepped into the property with its breathtaking approach. “The drive from the gate to the house takes my breath away,” Stewart once said — and it’s no surprise why. The serene boating lake and jetty, elegant willow trees and magnificent gardens make quite the first impression.
Inside, bay windows allow light to flood into the handful of reception rooms, each of which have their own personality. The drawing room features a ceiling with breathtaking plasterwork and a stone fireplace, while the family room boasts stained glass windows.
Bespoke fittings add an opulent touch to the chandelier-fitted kitchen and the bathroom of the master suite, which is made complete with a dressing room lined with fitted wardrobes and a marble-topped island. Five more bedrooms, all featuring en-suites, look over the property’s meticulously landscaped grounds and terraces.
Mucklow and Carroll, who share two children, married in 2022 but announced their divorce in September this year. The two previously lived together in a nine-bedroom house in Chigwell, dubbed “Carroll Castle”, which became Rightmove’s most-viewed property in 2019.
