David Gilmour’s former Essex farmhouse, bought in 1970, goes on sale for £1.1 million with a private lake, island, swimming pool and a hidden link to his 1978 solo album cover |

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. 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. 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. Set within 4.66 acres, the property still has its lake and small island, along with outbuildings and a swimming pool. Its next owner will also inherit a house that needs extensive 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. He had joined the group at the end of 1967, taking over from founding member Syd Barrett, and was becoming central to its sound. The house in Roydon offered a place away from touring, recording commitments and the growing attention surrounding the band.The property also became part of Gilmour’s personal life. During Pink Floyd’s 1970 tour of the United States, he met Virginia Hasenbein, known as Ginger. He invited her to join him on tour and later return with him to England. They married in 1975 and lived at Woodley during the band’s rise to international fame.Ginger later recalled the adjustment involved in moving to the 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. The couple set about improving it, turning the farmhouse into a more personal home.

The house where Gilmour made room for music

Woodley was more than a place to return to between tours. Gilmour added a music room and a home recording studio, creating space to work away from professional 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.The house also has a connection to Gilmour’s work outside Pink Floyd. The cover of his self-titled solo album, released in 1978, features him standing beside timber-clad garages at 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.He had a swimming pool dug on the property himself. It remains in place, though it now needs attention.

A five-bedroom house with a lake and island

The house extends across approximately 2,200 square feet on two floors. Its half-timbered exterior gives it a traditional English appearance, while dark wooden beams remain a feature of the kitchen and breakfast room. The ground floor also includes a separate dining room and two reception rooms, with five bedrooms upstairs.Beyond the main building, the 4.66-acre grounds contain a lake with its own 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. The land is a significant part of the offering, providing space around the house rather than simply a garden attached to it.Gilmour also made use of the grounds in less conventional ways. According to Mark Blake’s biography of Pink Floyd, Pigs Might Fly, he bought a trials bike to get around the 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. Moore eventually stayed on as a live-in housekeeper.Gilmour and Ginger moved out in 1980, shortly after the birth of their second child together. 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. Woodley’s connection to Gilmour, however, remained visible through the album photograph and the features he had added during his years there.

The £1.1 million sale and the work ahead

Woodley is on the market for £1.1 million. 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. The retained swimming pool is another feature from Gilmour’s years there, although it will need 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. Woodley’s setting and size are part of that appeal, but its history gives it a more specific identity.Gilmour has owned other properties since leaving Essex, including a farm outside Wisborough Green in West Sussex and a house in Hampstead. He also attracted attention in 2003 when he sold his £3.6 million Little Venice mansion and donated the proceeds to homelessness charity Crisis to support a housing project.