A former home of David Gilmour is returning to the property market with a history that stretches back to Pink Floyd’s most successful years.
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that → return → years
Woodley, a converted farmhouse in Roydon, Essex, is being offered for £1.1 million, decades after the guitarist bought it in 1970, as reported by The London Evening Standard.
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guitarist → offer → Standard
The house became a base for Gilmour and his first wife, Ginger, during a period when the band was establishing itself as one of Britain’s leading rock acts.
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band → become → acts
Set within 4.66 acres, the property still has its lake and small island, along with outbuildings and a swimming pool.
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property → Set → outbuildings
Its next owner will also inherit a house that needs extensive modernisation.
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that → inherit → modernisation
David Gilmour bought the Essex farmhouse in 1970
Gilmour is believed to have purchased Woodley in 1970, around the time Pink Floyd was moving into a new phase of its career.
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Floyd → buy → career
He had joined the group at the end of 1967, taking over from founding member Syd Barrett, and was becoming central to its sound.
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He → join → sound
The house in Roydon offered a place away from touring, recording commitments and the growing attention surrounding the band.
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house → offer → band
The property also became part of Gilmour’s personal life.
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property → become → life
During Pink Floyd’s 1970 tour of the United States, he met Virginia Hasenbein, known as Ginger.
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he → meet → Ginger
He invited her to join him on tour and later return with him to England.
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He → invite → England
They married in 1975 and lived at Woodley during the band’s rise to international fame.
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They → marry → fame
Ginger later recalled the adjustment involved in moving to the house.
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Ginger → recall → house
Its mock Tudor appearance may have looked traditional from the outside, but cold rooms and draughty windows made life there less comfortable than the setting suggested.
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setting → look → outside
The couple set about improving it, turning the farmhouse into a more personal home.
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couple → set → home
The house where Gilmour made room for music
Woodley was more than a place to return to between tours.
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Gilmour → make → tours
Gilmour added a music room and a home recording studio, creating space to work away from professional studios.
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Gilmour → add → studios
One of the property's outbuildings is believed to have housed the studio, according to the estate agent, although the equipment and recording space are no longer there.
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equipment → believe → agent
The house also has a connection to Gilmour’s work outside Pink Floyd.
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house → have → Floyd
The cover of his self-titled solo album, released in 1978, features him standing beside timber-clad garages at Woodley.
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him → title → Woodley
The photograph shows the guitarist in winter clothing against a snowy backdrop, giving the property a place in the visual history of his early solo career.
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photograph → show → career
He had a swimming pool dug on the property himself.
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pool → have → property
It remains in place, though it now needs attention.
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it → remain → attention
A five-bedroom house with a lake and island
The house extends across approximately 2,200 square feet on two floors.
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house → extend → floors
Its half-timbered exterior gives it a traditional English appearance, while dark wooden beams remain a feature of the kitchen and breakfast room.
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beams → give → kitchen
The ground floor also includes a separate dining room and two reception rooms, with five bedrooms upstairs.
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floor → include → bedrooms
Beyond the main building, the 4.66-acre grounds contain a lake with its own island.
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grounds → contain → island
A gravel drive provides access and parking, while garages, stables, a summer house and other outbuildings add to the property's collection of structures.
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garages → provide → structures
The land is a significant part of the offering, providing space around the house rather than simply a garden attached to it.
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land → provide → it
Gilmour also made use of the grounds in less conventional ways.
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Gilmour → make → ways
According to Mark Blake’s biography of Pink Floyd, Pigs Might Fly, he bought a trials bike to get around the estate.
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he → accord → estate
Gilmour and Ginger left Woodley in 1980
The couple remained at Woodley for much of the 1970s, living there with Iain “Emo” Moore, a friend of the band who initially came to look after the house while Gilmour was away.
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Gilmour → leave → house
Moore eventually stayed on as a live-in housekeeper.
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Moore → stay → housekeeper
Gilmour and Ginger moved out in 1980, shortly after the birth of their second child together.
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Gilmour → move → child
Their next home was Hook End, a former Tudor monastery dating to the 14th century that had belonged to Ten Years After guitarist Alvin Lee.
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that → date → Lee
Woodley’s connection to Gilmour, however, remained visible through the album photograph and the features he had added during his years there.
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he → remain → years
The asking price covers the house, its grounds and the collection of outbuildings, including the lake and island that distinguish the estate from a typical village property.
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that → cover → property
The retained swimming pool is another feature from Gilmour’s years there, although it will need refurbishment.
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it → retain → refurbishment
Roydon is around 70 miles north of London, in an area that attracts people seeking more space while remaining within reach of the capital.
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that → attract → capital
Woodley’s setting and size are part of that appeal, but its history gives it a more specific identity.
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history → give → identity
…and 2 more, not listed.
The Aporia
