Beyonce and Jay Z house-hunting in the Cotswolds proves what locals have long known: it’s no longer just a weekend spot for hedge funders and heritage breeds – it’s where the world’s most powerful people are coming to put down roots.
The Cotswolds has undergone a radical transformation. The lanes are still winding, the walls still honey-stoned – but behind the gates these days are A-list stars, media moguls and Hollywood exports planting vines and rewilding their tennis courts.
This was clearer than ever just a few weeks ago, when a double-barrelled bonanza of glitz and guestlists cemented the region’s social supremacy. First came the Soho Summit, a glossy gathering at Soho Farmhouse that brought together photogenic creatives, founders and fashion folk for fireside panels and Negroni-fuelled networking.
Just a few fields away, it was the first stop on the multi-leg PR tour that was David Beckham’s 50th birthday – held at his immaculate Chipping Norton estate. When he first moved to Great Tew nearly a decade ago, David asked Soho Farmhouse to decorate the place because Victoria was reluctant to sink her heels into the countryside life. Now that a few years have passed, she can’t get enough of the Cotswolds – a sure sign that this is no longer the rural idyll of old, but the new Notting Hill – with livestock.
And just when you thought the local social scene had reached peak polish, along comes reality TV. As The Mail on Sunday disclosed in April, Charlbury will soon be the backdrop for a sleek new series following the lives of Cotswold wives – starring society chronicler Plum Sykes and Gabriela Peacock, the wellness guru favoured by Princess Beatrice.
Now, The Mail can reveal the ultimate who’s who of countryside clout: the Cotswolds Social Power List. From royals to hedge-fund aristocrats; ancient landowners to new-money restaurateurs, meet the power players of Britain’s most socially ambitious postcode.
Beyond the clipped topiary and butter-hued homes, a handful of names hover consistently at the top. David and Victoria Beckham may have arrived in the area with a media circus in tow, but over the years they’ve established themselves as part of the local furniture – albeit the sleek, custom-upholstered type. Their estate, complete with a football pitch and helipad, is a familiar landmark near Soho Farmhouse, and their presence has helped cement the area’s reputation as Britain’s most glamorous slice of countryside.
Calvin Harris and his wife, the broadcaster Vick Hope, are expected to move into their vast new Cotswolds estate this summer – just as they prepare to welcome their first child. After flattening the original £3.6million house and rebuilding it over five years, Calvin recently fitted a one-way privacy glass after discovering a local bus route passed close enough for passengers to peer in. ‘They want to be low-key,’ says one resident, ‘but it’s hard to ignore a mirrored mansion.’ The DJ, worth an estimated £250million, is also said to have bought two neighbouring properties and is eyeing a third, bringing his local footprint to around £15million.
US chat show host Ellen DeGeneres and her wife, actress Portia de Rossi, are new on the scene, having recently snapped up a £15million mansion to escape the ‘perils’ of Donald Trump’s America. ‘They’re fully embracing life there,’ says a source, who reveals the couple has signed up to the £3,700-a-year Estelle Manor. ‘Ellen loves playing padel on their courts.’
Then of course there’s Lady Carole Bamford – aka the ‘Cotswolds Queen’ – whose thriving Daylesford Organic empire has become a benchmark of rural refinement. With its soothingly pale interiors, holistic treatments and impeccably sourced produce, Daylesford is the absolute go-to for locals of all social standing.
The wife of JCB chairman Anthony Bamford is a respected figure who doesn’t mince her words. In a rare public comment earlier this year, she described the Duchess of Sussex as ‘crazy’ for launching a Netflix series about domesticity when she hadn’t put in the ‘hard work’ – remarks that reverberated well beyond Gloucestershire’s borders and revealed a steeliness long familiar to those who know her.
The fourth series of Amazon’s big hit Clarkson’s Farm began recently and should propel Jeremy into the Cotswolds social stratosphere, yet his Diddly Squat Farm isn’t as popular with the locals. His well-publicised disputes with Oxfordshire council over planning permission for a restaurant and car park have become a long-running subplot in the village’s daily life.
Set just outside Chipping Norton, the petrolhead-turned-tractorhead’s foray into farming now draws regular streams of visitors – another residents’ gripe – in search pints, produce and perhaps a glimpse of the man himself.
X Factor judge Simon Cowell and Lauren Silverman, who split their time between the Cotswolds, London and Los Angeles, keep a low profile here. Lauren describes their rural home as a sanctuary – complete with dogs, yoga sessions and clay pigeon shooting. Strictly’s Bruno Tonioli is a regular house guest, and it’s not unusual to spot him walking the lanes with their son Eric in tow. They are the Beckhams’ neighbours – but they don’t exactly pop round for tea. ‘We kind of keep ourselves to ourselves,’ Lauren admits.
Kate Moss, once the reigning queen of London nightlife, has become something of a rural guardian in this neck of the woods. The 51-year-old, who moved out of the capital in 2022, recently instructed a planning consultant to object – in considerable detail – to a neighbour’s proposed ‘garden room’, citing everything from breach of policy to threats to local tree roots. ‘She’s fiercely protective of the landscape,’ one local noted. ‘And apparently, of her bathroom view.’
Ever the model of discretion, film producer Jemima Khan, 51, maintains her luminous standing with both locals and visiting dignitaries. But privately, she’s the source of endless speculation. ‘She’s had her fair share of dashing guests over the years,’ says a friend. ‘We have fun game guessing who her next one will be.’ A former wife of Pakistan’s now-imprisoned ex-prime minister Imran Khan, Jemima has previously dated The Crown writer Peter Morgan, the disgraced comedian Russell Brand and PR guru Matthew Freud.
Speaking of Freud, former son-in-law of media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, he’s now busy running his PR operations from his base near Burford after moving out of the £24million home he shared with then-wife Elisabeth Murdoch. Media titans, political fixers and artists alike find their way to Freud’s gatherings, where the real draw is not the decor or the menu – but the guest list. Hollywood actor Woody Harrelson is among frequent A-list visitors.
Singer-songwriter James Blunt, who lives on an estate near Andoversford, has become one of the area’s most popular part-timers. A regular at the Wheatsheaf Inn in Northleach, he’s known locally for being approachable and unpretentious. In addition to his Gloucestershire home, the former British Army officer also owns properties in Ibiza and Verbier, but the Cotswolds remains his most understated base. His combination of global fame and local familiarity secures his place firmly on the B list.
Princess Beatrice and her husband, property developer Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, bought a £3.5million farmhouse here in 2021, complete with six bedrooms, a guesthouse, a swimming pool and a six-foot security fence. ‘She enjoys raising her family here, away from the spotlight,’ says a friend. ‘She spends a lot of her time rubbing shoulders with Hollywood stars at the exclusive Estelle Manor.’
He may be sovereign of the realm, but in the Cotswolds social hierarchy, King Charles III sits on the C-list. Not for lack of pedigree, but because he rarely engages in the visible rituals of local society: no farm shop sightings, no appearances at champagne-soaked suppers. His private residence, Highgrove near Tetbury, is more sanctuary than salon – the living embodiment of his decades-long environmental vision, with wildflower meadows, organic kitchen gardens and a lovingly tended arboretum shaped under his own watchful eye.
His sister Princess Anne upholds her own brand of royal rurality. Gatcombe Park, her private estate in Gloucestershire, is a fully working farm and equestrian centre, playing host to horse trials that draw competitors from across the country. There is nothing stage-managed about the Princess Royal’s presence here: she is down-to-earth, drives herself to engagements and favours well-worn tweeds over formal fanfare. In a region thick with performative rusticity, Anne’s muddy-booted pragmatism stands out as the real deal.
A few miles away, her daughter Zara Phillips and husband Mike Tindall maintain a firm foothold in the locals’ affection. The Olympic equestrian medallist and former England rugby player are often spotted lunching at the Jolly Nice Farmshop near their Gatcombe Park estate. ‘They blend seamlessly into village life and are very well liked,’ says a local. ‘Which is not something that can be said for all the royals living here.’
James Dyson is not a man given to frills, and his footprint in the Cotswolds reflects that same engineered restraint. The billionaire inventor – whose cyclonic vacuum empire made him one of Britain’s wealthiest men – maintains a base at Dodington Park, a 300-acre Georgian estate in Gloucestershire. With its immaculate architecture, formal gardens and private airstrip, the property runs with the precision of someone who has built a fortune on function. He keeps a low-profile.
Then there’s Lord William Vestey, the understated custodian of the 6,000-acre Stowell Park estate – one of the grandest private properties in the region. This is old money in its purest form: a Palladian house, sweeping parkland and a family lineage that has served monarchs for generations. Prince William is said to be a regular visitor; Prince Harry stayed there during his gap year. The Vesteys, true to form, keep well away from the cameras, but within the choreography of rural high society, their name still carries serious weight.
Author and former Vogue journalist Plum Sykes, known for her razor-sharp social satire, is raising eyebrows among locals. Her forthcoming reality series – something akin to The Real Housewives of Cheshire – set in the genteel enclave of Charlbury, has stirred more than just curiosity. ‘Some people think it’s fabulous,’ says one resident. ‘Others think it’s a total betrayal.’
Once at the heart of national power, David and Samantha Cameron now sit a few social rungs lower – not quite backbench, but firmly C-list by Cotswolds standards. Still, their presence resonates. Though his No 10 days are behind him, Cameron remains a recognisable figure in Chipping Norton, where he and Samantha have long kept a home.
That same house helped define the legendary ‘Chipping Norton set’ – a now-faded but once-notorious blend of political, media and society types.
Samantha, for her part, has steadily grown her fashion label Cefinn into a respected brand. These days, the Camerons lead a more discreet life, though they are still said to host the occasional long lunch and remain part of the local social fabric. Less headline-grabbing, perhaps, but far from irrelevant.
A few rungs lower, but no less intriguing, are the influencers of the background. David Linley – Earl of Snowdon, furniture designer and the late Princess Margaret’s son – is known for his exquisite craftsmanship and unfailing discretion, Linley is both creatively accomplished and royally connected; visible yet never seeking display. His life in the Cotswolds is far from ostentatious, but his name carries weight.
Though globally renowned, Richard Dawkins sits on the D-list because he exists almost entirely outside the region’s social orbit. The evolutionary biologist lives at Over Norton Park, a 210-acre estate that carries the hush of an Oxford quad – only with better views and fewer tutorials. More often found stirring debate on science and secularism than sipping rose at farm shops, Dawkins is part of the intellectual fringe. He rarely surfaces in local circles, and seems entirely content to let the Cotswolds roll on without him – a solitary mind among the sociable masses.
The Cotswolds may be a haven for British royalty, but it’s not theirs alone. The King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, bought Glympton Park – a 2,000-acre estate near Woodstock – for £120million in 2021. Once the seat of English aristocracy, the estate is now an ultra-private residence for the Gulf monarch, who trained at Sandhurst in the 1960s and has long-standing ties to the British royal family. As well as having an official audience with the late Queen at Buckingham Palace, he was invested by King Charles III at Windsor Castle as an honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order last year.
One name still met with a raised eyebrow at dinner parties is Nigel Oakes, who lives at the stately Whichford House. An Old Etonian and founder of SCL Group, the parent company of Cambridge Analytica, Nigel was at the centre of a global data scandal that drew scrutiny from Westminster to Washington. These days, he tries to keep a lower profile behind the estate’s grand gates in Warwickshire.
Sharan and Eiesha Pasricha, the duo behind Estelle Manor and hospitality empire Ennismore, have redefined the meaning of country hotel. Their 60-acre estate is now a private playground for the glossy set, complete with spa, rooftop pool and interiors straight from a Bond villain’s lair. Formerly the brains behind The Hoxton hotel group, Sharan has brought the same slick polish to the Oxfordshire countryside – with Eiesha’s fashion-world sensibility shaping everything from the flower arrangements to the facial menu.
Over in Charlbury, restaurateur Phil Winser is reshaping the local dining scene with the sort of understated confidence that speaks to his New York pedigree. A co-founder of The Fat Radish in Manhattan, Winser returned to the English countryside with an eye for atmosphere and an instinct for what the Soho set wants from a weekend escape.
His revival of The Bull – a 16th-century coaching inn turned glossy farm-to-table retreat – has turned the town into a minor pilgrimage site for west Londoners including Jack Whitehall in search of open fires, natural wine and unfussy but beautifully executed food. Winser’s magic lies in the details: roast lamb served beneath flickering candlelight, live music on Sunday afternoons and the sense that this, finally, is what the modern country inn should feel like.
Sudeley Castle may be a Tudor gem, but it’s the people behind its gates who keep it firmly on the social map. Lady Ashcombe, the American-born chatelaine, has long been a fixture of Cotswolds high society – steering the estate with a mix of understated authority and transatlantic flair. Her daughter, Mollie Dent-Brocklehurst, a former art world impresario with stints at Pace Gallery and Gagosian, returned from London to help reimagine the castle as a cultural hub.
… and the ‘Notswolds’
Just beyond the invisible boundary of the Cotswolds lies a constellation of famous faces who chose peace over postcode. They live in the ‘Notswolds’, neighbouring counties like Wiltshire and Somerset that are more than a Hunter’s welly throw from the real deal.
There are fewer movers and shakers in the Notswolds and parts of it are far from being gentrified yet, but as Wives Like Us author Plum Sykes told me upon my own move there last month, ‘Hereford is gorgeous and you’re right to move further west!’
In Herefordshire, Elizabeth Hurley tends to her bucolic corner, while former Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond resides in suitably theatrical style – in a turreted, moat-ringed, 15th-century estate. BBC Radio 1 presenter Jo Whiley also lives here, as does Gardeners’ World presenter Monty Don, whose Longmeadow garden has become a national institution.
Also ensconced in rural Herefordshire are Johnny and Georgina Vaughan – he, an aristocratic former soldier; she, a longstanding society favourite with impeccable connections. Their move from London was executed with such discretion that even their old friend Prince Harry failed to keep up. When he arrived unannounced at their former Chelsea address last week, he was greeted by bewildered strangers.
To the east, Northamptonshire is emerging as a stylish alternative. Model and equestrian Edie Campbell and her architect mother, Sophie Hicks, have created a home of beauty, while William Cash and milliner Lady Laura Cathcart bring an extra splash of social pedigree.