The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Money
‘We have a fake front door – it’s just bonkers’
Writer and actor Ben Miller lives in a 1930s chauffeur’s cottage. By Angela Wintle
Actor, comedian and children’s writer Ben Miller, 57, rose to fame as one half of the comedy duo, Armstrong and Miller. He has starred in Death in Paradise, Primeval and Professor T, and appeared alongside Rowan Atkinson in the Johnny English films.
He bought his first property in Canonbury, north London, in his early 30s. In 2014, Miller, a father of three, swapped London for the Cotswolds. He and his wife, film producer Jessica Parker, now live in a former chauffeur’s cottage in Gloucestershire.
WHY DID YOU MOVE OUT OF LONDON?
We needed more room because our son, Harrison, who was three, was bouncing off the walls. I mean literally bouncing off the walls. We started looking around Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire because I was taken with the idea of joining the Chipping Norton set, but that was before I discovered what house prices were like. I realised that while my celebrity neighbours would be living on 1,000 acres, I’d be in a shoe box.
We then decided to live way beyond the commuter belt. We’d been looking around some slightly depressing houses in north Oxfordshire when we arrived back at Marylebone station and Jess received a message.
It was from her mum who said: “Get a copy of Country Life and turn to page 159.” We did – and saw the house we’re now living in.
WHERE IS YOUR HOME?
We live in a hamlet near Cirencester. It wasn’t an area we knew at all but the property was next to a school, which was handy for the kids. We’re at the top of a hill and you can only get to the house through woodland.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR COTTAGE?
The oldest part, built of Cotswold stone, was designed by the Arts and Crafts architect Norman Jewson in about 1930. It was a chauffeur’s cottage for the grand house next door. Then a clever architect called Robert Hardwick came to live here. He doubled the length by building a cottage next to it and two more cottages either side, using traditional Cotswolds materials. The cottages are all connected on the ground floor so it has an unusual layout, but it suits us to a tee.
I’ve got a teenage son who likes to be at one of the cottages at the end, the two little ones live with us in the middle part, and there’s another cottage to work in at the other end. We also have a fake front door. If you open it, there’s a little terrace and steps leading up to the woods. We love how bonkers it is.
WHAT’S THE HOUSE LIKE INSIDE? The kitchen is fabulous and laid with huge, polished Cotswolds stone flagstones. Our sitting room feels very Hollywood Regency because it has floors and shelving which are rosewood in texture, like they have in America. My wife has filled it with those weird gold pineapples they had in Hollywood in the 1920s. We also have a music room with stuffed animals.
DO YOU AND YOUR WIFE CLASH ON PAINT COLOURS?
No, I let Jess do what she wants because she’s great at that kind of stuff. One of my favourite things she turned up with were two wooden Tibetan snow leopards, which guard the front door. That’s not something I would go shopping for.
HOW HAVE YOU ADAPTED TO COUNTRY LIFE?
I thought I was going to be on holiday all year round but there are downsides to living in the country. If you live miles from a supermarket, you need to stock your house like you’re running a corner shop. You also socialise in a different way; you have to be proactive. Also, the time leading up to Christmas is lovely, but February goes on for about eight weeks. It’s a hard month.
WHERE DO YOU WRITE?
I have a wooden writing cottage in the middle of our beech wood. It’s the perfect place to write in the summer. In winter, I have to sit there with my ski hat on. I love writing for children – and having children the same age as my readers helps. They give me storyline suggestions.
WHERE WERE YOUR FIRST HOMES IN LONDON?
After Cambridge, I rented a house in Highbury, north London, with the director, producer and screenwriter Ol Parker. I then shared a house off Highbury Fields with the playwright, screenwriter and director Jez Butterworth. It was through him that I met Alexander Armstrong – or Xander, as he’s known to friends. Jez said Xander and I should do a double act together, so we went round to Xander’s houseboat in Chiswick. It was a memorable evening where we got drunk and Xander started playing Pennies from Heaven on the piano.
HOW DID YOU GET ON THE PROPERTY LADDER?
In the late 1990s I bought a raised ground-floor flat in Canonbury, north London. It was a beautiful place with access to a shared garden.
DO YOU GET HOMESICK WHEN YOU’RE FILMING ABROAD?
I miss home terribly. When I’m filming Professor T in Belgium, I travel back every weekend. I’m currently filming a new comedy series with Sally Phillips in Australia. I’ve never been away from home for as long as I’ve been on this job. But I’m in Australia. There’s not much I can do about it!
‘I have a wooden writing cottage in the middle of our beech wood. Perfect in the summer’