The Mansion That Pink Floyd Forgot

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David Gilmour's Home

If you've seen the videos of the abandoned millionaire mansion once owned by David Gilmour of Pink Floyd, take a look at how magnificent the mansion was before it fell into a state of disrepair. This video also shows some footage of the recording studio.

Click here to see what the mansion looked like before it was abandoned. Thanks to YouTube creator GM for the property information below:

The manor house was originally built for the Bishop of Reading in 1580. Other parts have been built on at various times since. The house sits on 25 acres of grounds in south Oxfordshire, 6 miles from Reading. The house has seen many owners, some notable owners have been:

Sir Charles Clore who was one of Britain’s most successful post war businessmen who owned a pharmaceutical company and later Selfridges.

Alvin Lee, vocalist and lead guitarist of the blues rock band Ten Years After, bought the house in 1972 and built a recording studio in what was then a dairy and originally a barn at the side of the house which he named Space Productions. Lee also built a squash court which caused some structural problems and the building had to be knocked down. The recording studio is now housed in a purpose built building though the timber and some other materials used, came from the old dairy.

David Gilmour of Pink Floyd bought the house in 1980, Gilmour also used it to record some of Pink Floyd’s music in the studio. In 1987 David Gilmour sold the house to Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley of West Side Productions, producers of Madness and Morrissey. 

Music producer, songwriter, musician and singer, Trevor Horn bought the house in the 1990’s, Horn named the recording studio Sarm West Studio’s.

Mark White then bought the house in 2007. Mark White set up a production company and continued to use the recording studio commercially, the production company was dissolved in 2014 though it is believed that the studio has since remained in use. It’s not clear how long the manor house was unoccupied for but between 2007 and 2017 the house seemed to be neglected and fell into disrepair. 

Several major rock bands have recorded albums at the studios. These include Manic Street Preachers' Gold Against the Soul, The Cure's Disintegration and Mixed Up, and Marillion’s Seasons End and Holidays in Eden. Rod Stewart, Tom Jones, Kaiser Chiefs, Jamiroquai, and Spandau Ballet also recorded at the studio.

David Gilmour used one of the large outbuildings at the back of the house to store the inflatable Pink Floyd pig.

The main blue bathroom suite dates from around 1900 and was manufactured by Royal Doulton who asked Trevor Horn if they could buy it back to put it in their museum. It would seem that Horn declined to sell it back to Royal Doulton!

Alvin Lee supposedly moved out due to the manor house being centuries old, he found it impossible to heat properly in the winter and something always needed repairing. He also reportedly said he found it ridiculous living in such a large house.

The Manor House is reported to be haunted and David Gilmour moved out when allegedly his wife could not stand the ghosts anymore!

Trevor Horn moved out after his wife was accidentally shot in the grounds of the manor. She suffered irreversible brain damage when son Aaron was practicing with his air rifle, not realising his mother was close by. 

It is believed that Mark White still owns the manor house which is now undergoing renovation work.

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