Type Residential Completed 1968~ Floors 1 Architectural style Modern architecture | Construction started 1968~ Floor count 1 Demolished 1990 | |
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Location St Anns Hill, Chertsey, Surrey Similar Holmshurst Manor, Quarwood, The Wick, Ashdown House - Oxfordshire, The Boathouse - Twickenham | ||
Tara was a house on St. Anns Hill, Chertsey, Surrey owned by The Who's drummer Keith Moon in the 1970s, but was demolished and replaced by a new home in 1990. The press party for the release of the Who's Next album was held at Tara.
Contents
Map of Tara, Chertsey, UK
Description
The house was a one-storey, four-bedroom bungalow which enclosed approximately 100 square metres (1,100 sq ft). The roof peaked in five pyramids, one on each corner of the house and one in the centre over a large sunken lounge. It featured French windows, a master ensuite, a study and the lounge. The house was semi-transparent, minimalist modern style pioneered at the time across the globe by public galleries and the recording studios (such as Tittenhurst Park), and included futuristic appliances and labour-saving devices. The unusual roof emphasised post-war abstractism as opposed to art deco simplicity. The grounds included an extensive lawn, wooded areas and a large pond. The town centres about 1 mile (1.6 km) away, beyond the foot of the knoll, stretching down as far as the Thames, along which some members of The Who had homes and mainly in their in early years performed, particularly at the hotel/dance venue, The Eel Pie at Eel Pie Island, Twickenham, London.
History
The house was reportedly named Tara after the mansion in Gone With The Wind. It was built by Peter Collison, film director of The Italian Job (1969) who blew up a Victorian home to film the demolition and built the contemporary home in its place.
In 1971 Keith Moon purchased the property from Collison for £65,000 (equivalent to £828,569 in 2015), and he and his wife Kim née Kerrigan launched an eccentric and extravagant open-house social life based at the home. "People would come to deliver a pizza or do a mural and be there for weeks," reported musician Richard Barnes.
In July 1971 the house and lawn of the property served as the venue for the Who's Next album launch party, and included an extravagant fireworks display. The Who also conducted photo sessions on the property. In 1972 Moon drove one of his cars into the garden pond.
In 1975 Moon sold the property to Kevin Godley of 10cc, and in 1990 Godley sold it to Vince Clarke of Erasure. Clarke had the contemporary building demolished, and constructed a home and studio on the site called Ammonite.