The actress owned the 400-year-old estate for decades, renting it out to a series of rock bands for recording, including Radiohead and the Cure
This more than 400-year-old stately English country manor has had a laundry list of notable names grace its floors and itâs just hit the market for ÂŁ12.5 million (US$15.8 million).
Located on the outskirts of the city of Bath, the manor, known as St. Catherineâs Court, was once owned by actress Jane Seymour, and has played host to many musical guests, including the Cure and Radiohead.
Dating to at least 1591, when the owner at the time remodeled an existing property on the site, St. Catherineâs Court was snapped up by Seymour and her then-husband, David Flynn, in the 1980s.
The actress had spotted the stone manor house while filming the television miniseries âJamaica Innâ in 1982. âWe had one dayâs filming here, and by evening, David and I had fallen in love with the place,â she told Architectural Digest in 1991.
The pair undertook a much-needed renovation of the property, and Seymourâs subsequent marriage to film director James Keach saw the house rented out as a film set and a recording studio, according to Savills, which brought the home to the market on Friday.
In 1994 and 1995, the Cure recorded their album âWild Mood Swingsâ at the mansion. The bandâs frontman Robert Smith asked an agent to look for houses with enough bedrooms to accommodate the band and sufficient space for all their equipment. Smith even stayed at the house for a month during the summer of 1994 to set up a recording system at the house, Savills said.
In 1996 and 1997, Radiohead recorded most of their prolific album âOK Computer,â in the ballroom, which served as the main studio due to its size and acoustics, while the control room was set up in the adjacent library.
New Order also recorded part of their 2005 album âWaiting for the Sirensâ Callâ at the home, and Robbie Williams rented the place in the 2000s, according to Savills.
Seymour reportedly sold the house in 2007, and owners since have returned the manor and gardens to their original splendor, the listing agency said.
Mansion Global couldnât identify the seller or for how much they acquired the home.
âSt. Catherineâs Court not only represents a wonderfully idiosyncratic family home, but one that is equipped to entertain on a truly grand scale,â said Ed Sugden of Savills Country Department.
Inside, the 11-bedroom main homeâs rich history is plain to see. There are ornate plasterwork ceilings with intricate carvings, wood-paneled rooms, stone-mullioned leaded light windowsâsome with stained-glass detailâcoffered ceilings, ancient oak floors and staircases, and huge fireplaces.
There are three kitchensâa family kitchen, a professional kitchen, and a gardenerâs kitchenâmultiple sitting rooms, a drawing room thatâs currently used as a home theater, a formal dining room, a study, a music room, and a wine room.
The house stands on 14 acres of grounds, with gardens that were admired by Gertrude Jekyll, one of the most important garden designers of the 20th century. âMany are beautiful houses and gardens in the county of Somerset,â she wrote of St. Catherineâs Court in a 1906 issue of Country Life. âBut there is hardly one within its borders, or, indeed, within the length and breadth of England, whose charm of ancient beauty and lovely, restful pleasure-ground, can rival that of this delightful place.â
The grounds are home to a long bowling green bordered by an avenue of ancient yew trees; lawns and terraces connected via stone stairways; herbaceous flower beds; an apple orchard; wildflower meadows; an orangery; a tennis court; and stables. Thereâs also a five-bedroom lodge house and a three-bedroom cottage.
âOffering the chance to own a fascinating slice of history, this creative and exceptional manor house provides a sense of privacy, peace, and seclusion that belies its location within such easy reach of Bath,â Sugden said. âBoth charming and imposing, St. Catherineâs Court and its gardens are set within a stunningly beautiful hidden valley that leaves one spellbound.â