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House That Inspired ‘Winnie The Pooh’ And Saw Death Of Rolling Stone Brian Jones Is Up For Sale

By Anne Sewell
Published on: 21:27 PST, Mar 14, 2016

The country home that was the inspiration for the Winnie the Pooh stories and where Rolling Stones band member, Brian Jones died is up for sale at £1.9 million ($2.7 million).

Christopher Robin Milne grew up at Cotchford Farm in East Sussex in the 1920s and explored the grounds surrounding the 15th century house with his beloved teddy bear Edward in what is now commonly referred to as “Pooh Country.”

The boy’s father, AA Milne, was reportedly inspired by his son’s many adventures in the area surrounding their home and this led him to create the famous Winnie the Pooh books, much loved by children for many decades and still popular to this day.

In the Winnie the Pooh stories, Christopher Robin and his good friend Pooh visited many locations, including Pooh Corner, Poohsticks Bridge, Galleon’s Lap, and the 500 acre wood, and these are reportedly based on real locations, close to the country retreat.

However, while the Milne family had wonderful years at Cotchford Farm, leading to the creation of the well-loved tales of Winnie the Pooh, the home’s later history is far more tragic.

According to a report in the Express, it was back in 1968 that Brian Jones, one of the founding members of the rock band the Rolling Stones, bought the farm near Hartfield in East Sussex. Less than a year after buying the farm, 27-year-old Jones was found motionless at the bottom of the swimming pool on the property, pictured at top of this article.

After the inquest into his death, the coroner ruled it was death by misadventure, as alcohol and drugs were both found in Jones’ system. However despite this, for many years rumors did the rounds that Jones had actually been murdered.

Brian Jones died in Winnie the Pooh house
[Image by Brian Jackson – Hulton Archive/Getty Images]
Another Rolling Stones member, Keith Richards, wrote in his autobiography that a man named Frank Thorogood had made a deathbed confession, saying he killed Jones by drowning him in the swimming pool. Richards apparently always referred to Cotchford Farm as “Winnie the Pooh’s house” and said in the book that Thorogood was a builder working for Jones at the time and one of only three people who were with the band member on the day he died.

Now the six-bedroom historic house that has seen so much happiness, adventure, and sorrow has been put back on the property market for the first time in over 40 years.

The Metro quotes Robert Jacobs of Savills Tunbridge and Wells as saying, “Cotchford Farm presents the opportunity to buy not just a delightful family home but a slice of British History.”

He continued by speaking of the two well known characters linked to the home, Winnie the Pooh and Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones, saying it is rare to come across a property that “has been home to not one but two iconic British figures, more than that it is a much loved, and idyllic family home in a wonderful, world renowned setting.”

Besides the six bedrooms, the country house has a drawing room, dining room, study and playroom and five bath/shower rooms. The house is surrounded by ten acres of grounds, and includes a summer house and a swimming pool. The area surrounding the house is known as the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the house is located on the edge of Hartfield village.

Reportedly in the garden, there is a stone statue of Christopher Robin as well as a sundial displaying the initials AAM, as well as a quill placed to tell the time. The sundial also has Winnie the Pooh and all his friends carved into it.

Despite its rather more sinister later history, the country retreat certainly sounds charming and is now available to anyone who can afford the hefty price tag of £1.9 million ($2.7 million). You can see more of the inside of the home and what is on offer on the Savills Tunbridge and Wells website.

[Photo by Jim Gray/Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images]

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