Plantagenet Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_west/7136151.stm I just stumbled across this on the BBC. Personally I think the person concerned is being very silly. This cottage is part of the Zeppelin heritage and should be managed accordingly. He points out that they never owned it and only visited once but HELLO !!?? Most of II was inspired by it. Is it any wonder that people want to visit??? He should see what he could sell it for before moving in. Complete article below (excluding photographs ) also edited to remove photo credits Vicar's cottage plea to Zep fans Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant and Jimmy Page at Live Aid in 1985 Robert Plant and Jimmy Page are reuniting for a concert A vicar has asked Led Zeppelin fans to stop visiting his remote rural Welsh cottage made famous by the rock icons. Bron-yr-Aur in Gwynedd's Dyfi Valley was used by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page to write their third album in 1970, and one track is named after it. The Reverend John Dale, its owner for 35 years, says many fans have been to see it, and some have even broken in. But now, after the band played a reunion concert at London's O2 Arena, he is appealing to be left alone. "We've had more than one break-in and once a photograph was taken near the fireplace and posted on the web," said Mr Dale, vicar of St Michael's Church in Michaelston-y-Fedw, between Cardiff and Newport. "There have been other incidents too, with one quite amusing one where someone removed a piece of cement stuff from the house but later posted it back to us." Bron-yr-Aur It is a beautiful place, but people must remember that it is a private house Vicar John Dale Three house name signs have also gone missing, although Mr Dale hopes the current one will be left alone. "We've resorted to painting the house name on a ruddy great boulder which I've concreted into the ground." The vicar is not a Zeppelin fan and did not realise the connection when he first bought the property. He was later told "some pop musicians" had stayed there. But over the years fans from all over the world, including Italy, Japan, China and the United States, have trekked up the hill to see the property. Improve security "On the whole people are fine: they walk up and take a photo and go, but I don't want hundreds coming up here," said Mr Dale. According to him, there is also a misconception about the links between the house and band. Singer Robert Plant never owned the property, although he does have a property elsewhere in mid Wales, and Led Zeppelin only visited once. Mr Dale has had to improve security because of the visiting fans. "I'm preparing for retirement now and will live there permanently so I am there a lot more often, and we've also had builders working there. "It is a beautiful place, but people must remember that it is a private house surrounded by private farmland, although there is a footpath at the top of the field behind the house." His appeal comes as the band reunite onstage on Monday for the first time in 19 years for a tribute to the late Ahmet Ertegun, the founding chairman of Atlantic Records. Plant, Page and John Paul Jones are being joined by Jason Bonham, son of original drummer John Bonham, who died in 1980. More than one million people took part in a ballot for just 9,000 pairs of tickets for the show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquamarine Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 Nice name-check, Pauline! Personally, I feel sorry for the guy. A private house is a private house. He didn't buy it as a tourist attraction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plantagenet Posted January 1, 2008 Author Share Posted January 1, 2008 I can see that argument of course but I can't honestly believe there isn't a single other cottage in the whole of Wales that he could buy. He obviously does not live there at the moment as he would live in the vicarage. He probably bought it for a song at the time, but now he could sell it for ten times the value of any comparable property. Ultimately I wouldn't suggest people should terrorise the man. Of course he is entitled to his privacy. I just think he is a bit daft. I was going to call him sentimental but that would perhaps be a case of 'r botio yn galw 'r degell ddua! LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquamarine Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 Ignore what I said about Pauline's name-check. Gone with the wind. (Either that or I'm hallucinating, not unlikely on New Year's Day. ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninelives Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 Yeah I know it's part of Zep's history and certainly understand people wanting to take a pilgrimage to see it, but it is now someone's residence and should be respected accordingly, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ledded1 Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 Nice name-check, Pauline! Personally, I feel sorry for the guy. A private house is a private house. He didn't buy it as a tourist attraction. I would have thought the estate agent might have mentioned it to him before he bought it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquamarine Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 I would have thought the estate agent might have mentioned it to him before he bought it. Yeah, but 35 years ago it wasn't the holy shrine it is now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cactus Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 Jimmy should use his black magic and do away with the pesky vicar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgia Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 Well I can see his point , if he is there in his garden in summertime, having some tea, and a load of on lookers are watching him, I would not like it, if that was me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leddy Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 Yeah, but 35 years ago it wasn't the holy shrine it is now! Kind of ironic its a holy shrine now, you would think a VICAR would like that http://forums.ledzeppelin.com//index.php?s...ost&p=57196 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquamarine Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 Kind of ironic its a holy shrine now, you would think a VICAR would like that http://forums.ledzeppelin.com//index.php?s...ost&p=57196 I suppose it's the other people who want to worship at it he's not so keen on! (Love your new sig.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ledded1 Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 Yeah, but 35 years ago it wasn't the holy shrine it is now! The estate agent was probably a Stones fan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leddy Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 I suppose it's the other people who want to worship at it he's not so keen on! (Love your new sig.) But being a man from the cloth you would think he would have Patience ??...No I guess if it was my place I would be the same !! I think as long as people go outside but not go though the gate into his land then its OK !! Cheers !! The estate agent was probably a Stones fan Yes damm Stones !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BonzoEqualsGoodStuff Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 Honestly reading this just makes me want to break in more. I'm such an ass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gervox Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 Nice name-check, Pauline! Personally, I feel sorry for the guy. A private house is a private house. He didn't buy it as a tourist attraction. I think the guy must be either rich or stupid! I live less than 15 kms away from a major tourist attraction from the Lord of the Rings movies. The farmer was apparrently most reluctant to give over prime sheep grazing land for a whole year and more. It was only after the movie became popular that he fully realised the benefits. Six years later, with business still booming, his tourist Industry has made him a very happy and wealthy person indeed!. My point is, I knew when I first heard Zeppelin III in 1982, that Bron-yr-aur would be considered a place of pilgrimage.I would have loved to go there myself. I have some bad news for the present owner. It will be so, for centurys to come! He might as well get used to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 What's the vicar's problem? By making Bron-Yr-Aur tourist spot he can make a business out of it just like China's Mao Zedong's house or other famous people's house for tourist spot and then buy another house for himself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternal light Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 Perhaps God has sent the vicar to protect Bron-Yr-Aur and preserve it as holy ground from all who would defile it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgia Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 But being a man from the cloth you would think he would have Patience ??...No I guess if it was my place I would be the same !! I think as long as people go outside but not go though the gate into his land then its OK !! Cheers !! :ran t: Yes damm Stones !! There is no gate there is a path and then your there on top of it,it is all open. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leddy Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 There is no gate there is a path and then your there on top of it,it is all open. So are you saying he owns all the land then in the area to the cottage ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 ^Yes, he does... I'm sorry, but I think this guy is an idiot. The Led Zeppelin fandom is a community, a culture... maybe even a religion to some. Places like Bron-Yr-Aur are meccas. I don't care when, how much, or why this guy bought Bron-Yr-Aur, but he should realize Zep fans want to see it. He should use that to his monetary advantage. Too bad it's no longer a cottage and is now a real house. If I could buy it I would knock the house down, get the original plans, and rebuild the cottage as it was. But then, unless I'm very much mistaken, even the surrounding hills have been flattened and the over-all landscape changed. The owner is an idiot. Sorry. I know my take may come across as selfish or short-sighted or whatever, but he's an idiot. If I owned it, I would be making a crap-load of money off it. I would personally sponsor group trips to the cottage, where some sleep in the cottage and the rest camp outside, and it's rotated each night. I'd even put in a replica of the recording studio Zep used and let people, for a cheap fee, make their own personal recordings. Of course, sponsorships would be available to make the trip, and it would be treated as mecca. The only change I would have made is a fence and security to keep out people who just showed up and criminals and such. But that's just me... I would NOT try desperately to turn it into a private residence. That's like buying out the Wailing Wall and trying to build a private residence on that while getting annoyed with all the Jews and others who come to pray (yes, I realize that can't be done, but I think it illustrates my point best). Stupid, stupid, stupid move. I always wanted to visit Bron-Yr-Aur, but now I can't because some "viccar" wants it all to himself? Uh... no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquamarine Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 Nathan--may I call you Nathan? --like I said before, when he bought it, he couldn't have known that interest in the place would reach this proportion, which it did partly because Zeppelin ceased to be a functioning band so everything associated with it became sacred ground. He probably just liked the place. There's no law that says you HAVE to go after your monetary advantage. Vicars often don't (and often don't live in vicarages, either). I still feel sorry for a guy who didn't expect all this, 35 years ago. You were joking about the recording studio bit, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 Nathan--may I call you Nathan? Well, now that you know my real name vs. knowing me as "jimmyRRpage" for so long (lol J/K )... --like I said before, when he bought it, he couldn't have known that interest in the place would reach this proportion, which it did partly because Zeppelin ceased to be a functioning band so everything associated with it became sacred ground. He probably just liked the place. There's no law that says you HAVE to go after your monetary advantage. Vicars often don't (and often don't live in vicarages, either). I still feel sorry for a guy who didn't expect all this, 35 years ago. 35 years ago, I would agree. Now? Now, he's bitching? After 35 years? Little late to bitch, IMO. Look, I'm sorry. I really am. I just feel this guy's being an idiot. Either that, or he figures he could get more publicity bitching about it than he evercould opening his doors to the "pilgrims." 35 years ago, he shouldn't have expected it. Now? He's dumb as hell not to. You were joking about the recording studio bit, right? Maybe... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquamarine Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 Now, he's bitching? After 35 years?Little late to bitch, IMO. Look, I'm sorry. I really am. I just feel this guy's being an idiot. Either that, or he figures he could get more publicity bitching about it than he evercould opening his doors to the "pilgrims." 35 years ago, he shouldn't have expected it. Now? He's dumb as hell not to. Well, he says he's about to retire and live there permanently, and also things seem to have heated up visit-wise since the O2 concert. I really don't think publicity is what he's after! I mean, I've never been there either, I sympathize with you, but I sympathize with him, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 Well, he says he's about to retire and live there permanently, and also things seem to have heated up visit-wise since the O2 concert. I really don't think publicity is what he's after! I mean, I've never been there either, I sympathize with you, but I sympathize with him, too. bold mine And I go back to my analogy of the house on the Wailing Wall. Stupid move. edited because I was afraid you (Aqua) might think my "stupid" comment was directed at you... it was in response to the viccar, his bitching, and my analogy... heh... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cactus Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 If I owned it, I would be making a crap-load of money off it. I would personally sponsor group trips to the cottage, where some sleep in the cottage and the rest camp outside, and it's rotated each night. I'd even put in a replica of the recording studio Zep used and let people, for a cheap fee, make their own personal recordings. Are you for real? Next you will be telling them how to write their songs too. Why does it matter who sleeps where? Zeppelin NEVER recorded at Bron-yr-aur, so I don't know what 'replica' studio you would put in there...Jimmy bought a 4 track recorder I think, thats all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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