The former home of Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts, Halsdon House in Devon, has been listed for sale at £2.75 million. The Grade II listed property, spanning 55 acres, served as a rural retreat for Watts and his family for nearly four decades. Their daughter Seraphina is now selling the estate through Savills.
Halsdon House, located near Dolton in mid-Devon, is a traditional country residence that combines architectural grandeur with a warm feel, according to its listing. The property, which the Watts family discovered in Country Life magazine in 1983, includes an 8,500 square foot main house across three storeys, featuring nine bedrooms, period details such as sash windows, high ceilings, decorative plasterwork, and elegant fireplaces.
Charlie Watts and his wife Shirley purchased the estate as a peaceful escape from the band's touring life. Watts, who joined the Rolling Stones in 1963 and died of cancer in 2021 at age 80, once described their life there: his family were "content to live their solitary human lives amongst a menagerie that includes 15 Arabian horses, 18 dogs, and two cats." Shirley, who ran the onsite Halsdon Arabians stud farm, passed away at the property in December 2022 after 57 years of marriage.
The estate offers a self-contained one-bedroom annexe for independent living, along with outbuildings suited for equestrian pursuits, including a stable yard with multiple loose boxes, a tack room, and a feed room. Workshops, barns, and other structures support smallholding or lifestyle farming. Surrounded by sweeping lawns, formal gardens, mature trees, rolling pasture, and paddocks, the grounds also feature a substantial water reservoir.
Set within private grounds approached by a long drive, Halsdon House provides privacy and tranquillity while accessible to local villages and market towns. Seraphina Watts, who was 15 when the family moved there, is handling the sale. The listing emphasizes the estate's 55 acres as offering beauty, privacy, and practicality.