SteveAJones Posted December 26, 2019 Share Posted December 26, 2019 (edited) 2 hours ago, Chris Birghton said: I believe that Plumpton Place is currently owned by the Estate of the American Multi Billionaire Tom Perkins (former husband of the Author Danielle Steel). He died in 2016 but I do not believe it has been sold since. From what I understand he liked to visit there in the Summer Months, it can be a bit bleak in the winter. As with most of the super rich he was probably very concerned about security and I often saw people patrolling about the grounds on quad bikes when I assume he was in residence. Interesting. I wouldn't want quad bikes while in residence as it would disturb the tranquility. If they were only used while he was there then they may have been a personal security detail as opposed to something used to protect the property itself. Perhaps he and others just enjoyed riding them. Anyway, I have an original real estate portfolio in my archive that Jimmy's realtor had prepared when Jimmy decided to put Plumpton Place on the market (circa 1986). Here are scans: Edited December 26, 2019 by SteveAJones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted December 26, 2019 Share Posted December 26, 2019 Plumpton Place Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted December 26, 2019 Share Posted December 26, 2019 Horselunges Manor (circa 1974). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted December 26, 2019 Share Posted December 26, 2019 Horselunges Manor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Birghton Posted December 26, 2019 Author Share Posted December 26, 2019 (edited) "Interesting. I wouldn't want quad bikes while in residence as it would disturb the tranquility. If they were only used while he was there then they may have been a personal security detail as opposed to something used to protect the property itself." Thanks for posting those pictures. I think they were probably his personal security, on a number of occasions when I walked along the footpath that essentially runs along the back of the garden of Plumpton Place in the summer someone seemed to come along on a Quad Bike. There is nothing more than a small split rail fence separating the footpath from the gardens there and you can pretty much see the garden, lake and house. The fact that you can simply walk into the gardens from the footpath is probably why Jimmy Page used to find fans walking round his Garden. Given it is a Grade Listed Property there might be some planning permission reason why the bottom of the Gardens of the property cannot just be walled off from the footpath Edited December 26, 2019 by Chris Birghton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted December 26, 2019 Share Posted December 26, 2019 35 minutes ago, Chris Birghton said: The fact that you can simply walk into the gardens from the footpath is probably why Jimmy Page used to find fans walking round his Garden. Given it is a Grade Listed Property there might be some planning permission reason why the bottom of the Gardens of the property cannot just be walled off from the footpath When I lived in England many years ago I found the public footpath laws to be fascinating. It is possible to apply to a local authority to make an order extinguishing, diverting, upgrading or downgrading a footpath, bridleway or restricted byway in SOME circumstances. Nowadays, I imagine that does happen quite a lot more than it did in the 1970s and '80s but the justification threshold that must be met for doing so is likely quite high. Those public footpaths near Horselunges Manor and Plumpton Place have been there seemingly forever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodrigo Posted December 26, 2019 Share Posted December 26, 2019 7 hours ago, SteveAJones said: Plumpton Place Wow! So beautiful... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Birghton Posted December 27, 2019 Author Share Posted December 27, 2019 (edited) Went out for a short walk earlier and took a few pics of what you might be able to see of Plumpton Place from the footpaths. The best views are from the footpath that starts next to the gate at the front. The second footpath starts at the back from a door in the fence and leads to the back of the garden - where there is a bridge that crosses the river that runs from the lakes that surround the house. One of the unique features of this property is it is surrounded by the sound of running water from the waterfalls and riverlets that run from the lakes, this sound of nature and water is obviously something that Jimmy Page liked. Edited December 27, 2019 by Chris Birghton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walter Posted December 27, 2019 Share Posted December 27, 2019 Beautiful photographs, gentlemen. Thank you for sharing them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted December 28, 2019 Share Posted December 28, 2019 Wonderful photos that now have me missing Plumpton very much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Birghton Posted December 29, 2019 Author Share Posted December 29, 2019 (edited) Here are a few more shots of what you can see as a member of the general public of Plumpton Place: Edited December 29, 2019 by Chris Birghton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Birghton Posted December 29, 2019 Author Share Posted December 29, 2019 (edited) And the footpath that leads to the Half Moon Pub across the field that is part of the Plumpton Place estate. I would imagine this is the route Jimmy Page took when he went for a Pint at his Local in the 70s Edited December 29, 2019 by Chris Birghton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeaceFrogYum Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 Thanks for all these pics, Plumpton Place is truly a beautiful place. Personally, I would rather have and live at Plumpton Place then at Tower House but to each their own. At least at Plumpton there is no risk or fear of a neighbor's renovations causing damage to your home. Give me land lots of land...don't let Robbie Williams fuck-up my crib... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Birghton Posted December 30, 2019 Author Share Posted December 30, 2019 (edited) 19 hours ago, PeaceFrogYum said: Thanks for all these pics, Plumpton Place is truly a beautiful place. Personally, I would rather have and live at Plumpton Place then at Tower House but to each their own. At least at Plumpton there is no risk or fear of a neighbor's renovations causing damage to your home. Give me land lots of land...don't let Robbie Williams fuck-up my crib... It is an exceptionally lovely property but it is a bit out of the way and probably has very high maintenance (grade listed building, lakes getting silted up, risk of flooding, a large number of additional properties to maintain etc). I would also say there is an issue of security, it is pretty isolated and basically there is nothing stopping people just walking onto the property (and I would not be at all surprised if this had not happened more than once). Properties like Horselunges Manor are walled off and do not have the same issues. If I won the lottery and could afford it I would think twice about living there because of the privacy/security issues. The current owner has tried to improve the privacy by growing a hedge around the garden and putting restrictions on the use of the footpath for socializing by students from the college next door. The ideal situation for the owner would be to fence/wall off the main garden but it is possible this would run into planning restriction problems because of the historic nature of the property. Edited December 30, 2019 by Chris Birghton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Only Way To Fly Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 These are great! Thanks for sharing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Birghton Posted December 30, 2019 Author Share Posted December 30, 2019 (edited) Here are a couple of final pictures. The first is of the picture dating from 1979 of the regulars of the Half Moon Pub (Including Jimmy Page) that hangs on the wall in the Half Moon next to the bar (I asked permission to take the photo ). And the field at the back of the Half Moon where the concert with Jimmy Page and Ronnie Woods took place. Any Led Zeppelin fans should definitely visit the Half Moon Pub if they get the chance since this 200 year old establishment is probably very much the same as it was when it was Mr Page's local in the Glory Days of Led Zeppelin. Edited December 30, 2019 by Chris Birghton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADK-Zeppy Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 Chris, thank you for posting all of these to this thread. They all look very inviting and highly interesting to me as I've never been to Britain; although my ancestors came from Hampshire for the Plymouth Bay Colony in 1630 on the ship James. Your photos create a wonderful atmosphere of that area. ADK-Zeppo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeaceFrogYum Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 9 hours ago, Chris Birghton said: It is an exceptionally lovely property but it is a bit out of the way and probably has very high maintenance (grade listed building, lakes getting silted up, risk of flooding, a large number of additional properties to maintain etc). I would also say there is an issue of security, it is pretty isolated and basically there is nothing stopping people just walking onto the property (and I would not be at all surprised if this had not happened more than once). Properties like Horselunges Manor are walled off and do not have the same issues. If I won the lottery and could afford it I would think twice about living there because of the privacy/security issues. The current owner has tried to improve the privacy by growing a hedge around the garden and putting restrictions on the use of the footpath for socializing by students from the college next door. The ideal situation for the owner would be to fence/wall off the main garden but it is possible this would run into planning restriction problems because of the historic nature of the property. You make excellent points, security would be quite the issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 Chris Birghton, I've been seeking to commission or underwrite photography field trips to a few other Led Zeppelin related sites within two to three hours of Plumpton. You may be the right man for the job. If you're interested, please send me your email address via private message and we can discuss further. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Birghton Posted December 31, 2019 Author Share Posted December 31, 2019 10 hours ago, SteveAJones said: Chris Birghton, I've been seeking to commission or underwrite photography field trips to a few other Led Zeppelin related sites within two to three hours of Plumpton. You may be the right man for the job. If you're interested, please send me your email address via private message and we can discuss further. I am not a professional photographer but I would be happy to go along to a couple of sites to take some more pictures and post them on the forum. I dont think I have to be paid to do it since that would complicate my tax position Where abouts did you have in mind? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 (edited) 12 hours ago, Chris Birghton said: I am not a professional photographer but I would be happy to go along to a couple of sites to take some more pictures and post them on the forum. I dont think I have to be paid to do it since that would complicate my tax position Where abouts did you have in mind? Excellent. The first two that come immediately to mind are The Straw Hat in Rickmansworth and St. Michael and All Angels Church in Withyham. The Straw Hat was JPJ's personal residence in the early 1970s, and that church is where his fantasy sequence was filmed for The Song Remains The Same. I've been researching that location for awhile, and I have found the large cross he passes on horseback at night is a Baldwin burial plot. Unsure if they are directly related to him or not but it would seem it was not merely coincidental. I meant to go there during my last visit to the UK in 2018 but time did not permit. Edited December 31, 2019 by SteveAJones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Birghton Posted January 1, 2020 Author Share Posted January 1, 2020 On 12/31/2019 at 4:42 PM, SteveAJones said: Excellent. The first two that come immediately to mind are The Straw Hat in Rickmansworth and St. Michael and All Angels Church in Withyham. The Straw Hat was JPJ's personal residence in the early 1970s, and that church is where his fantasy sequence was filmed for The Song Remains The Same. I've been researching that location for awhile, and I have found the large cross he passes on horseback at night is a Baldwin burial plot. Unsure if they are directly related to him or not but it would seem it was not merely coincidental. I meant to go there during my last visit to the UK in 2018 but time did not permit. Withyham is only about 25 minutes away so I might try and visit in the next week or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Birghton Posted January 1, 2020 Author Share Posted January 1, 2020 (edited) 52 minutes ago, SteveAJones said: Perfect. It was JPJ himself, through Sam, who confirmed the film location for me, so we know he remembers it quite well. he didn't mention the cross is a Baldwin plot though. That is something I learned through further research after he confirmed the location. It will be very interesting to see I will try to get the pictures of the church that are used in the Song Remains the Same and some of the inside also. No Quarter is probably my favourite Led Zeppelin song and John Paul Jones probably had a big input into it. It is very close to JPJ's house at the time. Was John Paul Jones' family from Sussex? There is also a black windmill in the Film, do you know where that might be? Edited January 1, 2020 by Chris Birghton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted January 1, 2020 Share Posted January 1, 2020 24 minutes ago, Chris Birghton said: Was John Paul Jones' family from Sussex? There is also a black windmill in the Film, do you know where that might be? I'm not sure. JPJ was born in Sidcup, Kent and he apparently studied music at Christ's College in Blackheath (London). His father, Joe Baldwin, was a pianist and arranger for big bands in the 1940s and '50s. The large cross in the film is the grave of Charles Baldwin, but again, unsure if there is some direct relation. I presume that the windmill is (or was) in the vicinity of Withyham. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Birghton Posted January 1, 2020 Author Share Posted January 1, 2020 (edited) This is pretty close by: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutley_Windmill This is almost certainly the windmill from the film given that it is the only windmill in the area and has an unusual shape and window position which matches that in the Song Remains the Same. Ill visit that as well Edited January 1, 2020 by Chris Birghton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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