When the Country House met Rock and Roll
Sarah Moody from UCA loved a paper by Adrian Tinniswood on the relationship between rock music and country houses, given in April 2023 at the 21st annual Historic House conference: Picturing the Country House, Maynooth University.
As Adrian explained, the relationship between classical music and country houses has been well explored. The country house as site of rock music history is slightly more intriguing to some, definitely better dressed. Adrian’s engaging paper showed how an idea in 1956 to turn a country estate into a jazz festival spawned a timeline of music festivals and concerts at stately homes, each with their own eyebrow-raising histories and myths.
The Rolling Stones performing in front of Longleat House to a crowd of thousands, August 1964
Oasis playing in the grounds of Knebworth House, 1996
As well as rock stars being photographed at country estates for magazines, and one of the earliest music videos - A Whiter Shade of Pale by Procol Harum - being filmed in 1967 in the ruins of Witley Court in Worcestershire, a culture of rock star-owned mansions started. These were aspirational spaces in which a young and famous musician could live out his wild fantasies of parties, and fill the space with cars, art and clothes. Most rocks stars of the 1960s and 70s came from working class backgrounds, so this was them leaping up the social ladder, and as Adrian explained, some, like Keith Richards would take up country-esque pursuits like shooting, which in Richards’ case was more like archery, with arrows littering his pond. Many of these houses are still owned by the same rock stars, and their increasing wealth enabled them to make extensive repairs to houses which would probably have been otherwise demolished. Some became noted art collectors and champions of architectural conservation. Some built recording studios on-site, making the country house firmly part of rock history, but they also raised families there, making these homes very much part of their own individual histories.
George Harrison’s home, Friar Park in Henley-on-Thames, bought by him in 1970
If any country house could open to the public I would love it to be Friar Park, George Harrison’s home he lived in from 1970 until his death. It’s a stunning house, and full of fascinating history before the new layers of intrigue Harrison added to it. I loved hearing Adrian mention it, as well as houses belonging to Eric Clapton, Mick Jagger, and of course Tittenhurst Park in Ascot where John Lennon and Yoko Ono filmed the Imagine video.
During the twentieth century, as social class boundaries shifted and the aristocracy and their estates declined, a new elite was formed of rock stars (and film stars - like Oliver Reed who famously sunk most of his money into a doomed estate). They became the new lords of the manor, but overseeing hubs of creativity and music-making instead of managing the land. This brilliant paper was just an introduction in to so many areas of potential study, including the history of concerts at individual houses, and the changes made to country houses by rock star owners.