Beckhams’ £5m retreat – with ‘his and her’ wings
DAVID and Victoria Beckham are doing little to dispel rumours that they are leading increasingly separate lives – their new country home even has ‘his and her’ wings.
Amid reports that David’s love of partying is driving a wedge between the couple, it looks as though their £5million converted farmhouse will put distance between them too.
I have seen plans that show there are two distinct living quarters – of equal size – each with their own kitchen, bedrooms and a courtyard. A huge party could go on in one part of the house and guests in the other wing 50 yards away would be none the wiser.
The home – not far from uber-trendy Soho Farmhouse in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire – has been created from three barns. The living quarters are separated by a gallery, and work is due to be completed this summer.
A source says: ‘The planning permission was pretty restrictive and stated the three barns had to stay separate.
‘It actually works out well for David, Victoria and the kids. If they are all driving each other mad, they can retreat into these wings like they are living in separate houses. It is handy for Soho Farmhouse, so David can escape for a party whenever he fancies it – and that seems to be one reason he chose to buy that property.’
Although Beckham, 42, can easily afford a cook and a butler after amassing a fortune from football, modelling and various business ventures, the former England captain has asked if he can call on the services of Soho Farmhouse waiters, drivers and cooks whenever he is at home. He entered into talks with the members-only group after the couple bought the retreat.
If the deal with Soho Farmhouse comes off, Beckham will effectively be able to order room service and even make use of the club’s trademark disco van – a 1960s bus which pootles around the 100-acre site playing music and delivering made-to-order cocktails. The star will also be able to summon the socalled fry-up van to rustle up a full English. The service is offered to guests staying in one of the luxury cabins.
A villager in nearby Chipping Norton tells me: ‘It’s a genius idea. David would be able to call them at any time, day or night.
‘If he so much as needs a phone-charger, he can drop them a line and they will drive to his house and deliver whatever he wants.’
Soho Farmhouse staff drive a fleet of electric cars and BMW 4x4s around the venue, but guests are also encouraged to use one of the pastel-blue Foffa bicycles, favoured by Meghan Markle, who regularly visits with her boyfriend Prince Harry.
David drives a Land Rover Defender, which he bought as part of the ‘country squire’ makeover he has seemingly been undergoing since quitting football. He has learned to shoot, bought a gundog called Olive and now pairs Le Chameau Wellington boots with full tweed – all of which he sports during visits to his pal Guy Ritchie’s Aschombe estate in Wiltshire.
But chums in the know tell me that a true rural aristo would never ring a trendy club for room service – they’d far rather drive for half an hour in a mud-spattered Land Rover to get a pint of milk!