Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour is widely considered one of the most iconic guitarists of all time, but the neighbors around his $18.1 million home might not agree!
The music legend has found himself in, ahem, hot water after he demolished a historic bathhouse to build a luxury estate.
He now plans to sell the luxury seaside mansion after falling out with the locals over his development of what they said was a building of historical significance.
The abandoned, 19th-century bathhouse located on the Southern coast of England in Brighton was built during the Victorian era for those who were too poor to afford to wash at home.
During the second world war, it was used as a make-shift hospital before falling into ruin. In the 1990s, it was inhabited by a group of nomad artists who were allowed to squat in the derelict building before being evicted due to noise and litter.
Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour can start to feel comfortable during heatwaves as his bid for air conditioning units has been approved.
The rock star and his novelist wife Polly Sansom are building a home on the site of Medina House in King’s Esplanade on Hove seafront. pic.twitter.com/rWU2qIwEZB
— BBC Radio Sussex (@BBCSussex) August 9, 2019
Gilmour, 76, and his wife Polly Samson, 60, purchased the derelict building for $3 million in 2015 and works began to convert it into a luxurious home with panoramic sea views.
After hiring a team of surveyors, it was established that the baths were beyond repair due to fire damage, and so they were demolished, but locals say the rockstar should not have transformed the old building beyond recognition.
The works were delayed due to Covid lockdowns in the UK, but in 2021, Gilmour and his wife were able to move into the 8,000-square-foot home.
The waterfront mansion features 15 bedrooms, a dog shower room, a cottage, a Victorian terrace overlooking the sea, and a recording studio.
Acclaimed architect, Keb Garavito Bruhn designed the living space with the Victorian bathhouse in mind. Some of the original tiles from the pool have been retained in the building, and the enclosed courtyard gives the house brings the outside in for the family:
“The main bedroom, with sea views in all directions, is a beautiful place from which to watch the sunrise and sunset across the sea,” said Pereds, a London-based real estate company.
“When you wake up in the morning, the view is always a surprise: the sea and sky are never the same. At night, it’s intoxicating to watch from bed the moon reflected in the water.”
But just a couple of years after having moved into the finished mansion, Gilmour and Samson have put market following an ongoing rift with neighbors.
One local pinned: “Hey Gilmour, leave our hood alone,” to the building as construction works began.
“All in all it’s just another betrayal of us all, to you it’s just another brick in the wall,” continued the message, as a nod towards Pink Floyd’s song Another Brick in the Wall.
This isn’t the first time that the Gilmour family has found themselves dealing with a spot of controversy.
In 2011, Samson’s son, Charlie Gilmour, was photographed by the British press hanging from a union jack flag which was attached to the Cenotaph World War memorial in central London.
Before #stellaswain … Another Cambridge student: Charlie Gilmour, son of Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, swinging from the Union Jack on the Cenotaph. Guilty of desecration. #Cambridge shame. Millions died for their freedom, for their existence. #RemembranceDay @TuckerCarlson pic.twitter.com/o09gToA3EB
— Alex (@Alex26449251) October 13, 2018
Charlie, then 21, had attended a protest organized by university students to campaign for lower tuition fees. Thousands turned up, and mass rioting ensued.
The multimillionaire’s adopted son was also snapped trying to set fire to a building before leaping onto the hood of a car that was part of a Royal convoy.
Later, the left-wing activist said he had taken LSD and Valium and was not aware of the significance of the war memorial he had desecrated.
Charlie was jailed for 16 months for violent disorder. David Gilmour and his mom, Polly Samson both attended the court hearing.
This story syndicated with permission from For the Love of News
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