EXCLUSIVEJeremy Clarkson's next door neighbour puts £4 million Cotswolds mansion yards from Diddly Squat Farm up for sale... but will Britain's most famous farmer be snapping it up?
By his own admission the enormous crowds that flock to Jeremy Clarkson’s farm shop are ‘a bloody nuisance’ - leaving neighbours complaining they have been driven round the bend by speeding cars and traffic jams.
And now, after years of chaos, the family who live closest to the former Top Gear presenter are selling up their farmhouse home, MailOnline can reveal.
Property developer Graham Bourne, 71, lives just 500 yards from Clarkson’s country mansion in a pocket of land almost completely surrounded by the star’s colossal farming enterprise ironically named Diddly Squat.
One neighbour said of Mr Bourne: ‘He’s not been well and doesn’t get down here very often. I think he can do without the hassle.’
But potential buyers need not fear as the upmarket estate agents instructed to sell the property with a guide price of £3.85million are highlighting the connection as a key selling point.
After years of chaos, the family who live closest to former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson (pictured) are selling up their farmhouse home, MailOnline can reveal
Foxglove Farm is a property for sale which includes a 10 acre plot is surrounded by Diddly Squat Farm in Oxfordshire
Neighbours told MailOnline that people visiting Clarkson's farm shop (pictured) - which is just a mile away - often wander through their village trying to find Clarkson himself
The sheer number of people visiting Clarkson's farm shop has irritated locals in the village
Knight Frank’s glossy brochure describes Foxglove Farm as a ‘beautiful eight bedroom country home in its own very quiet oasis next door to famed Clarkson’s Farm’.
Its sale also appears to be offering a rare opportunity to the upwardly mobile to get a foothold within the famed ‘Chipping Norton set’.
Mr Bourne bought his 10-acre farmhouse home in 2017 - three years before the quiet of the idyllic Cotswolds retreat was shattered when Clarkson, 64, opened up his world-famous farm shop.
Visitors from around the globe began flocking there after his countryside escapades featured in the smash hit Amazon Prime reality series Clarkson’s Farm.
The roaring success of Clarkson’s enterprise created mayhem in the previously quiet country roads surrounding the star’s 1,000-acre farm.
Locals have complained of three-hour traffic jams as hundreds of visitors flood into the area five days a week.
The farm shop is also said to be a magnet for ‘petrolheads and boy racers’ who park their souped-up sports cars outside the popular shop along with the Range Rovers and SUV’s more suited to the local terrain.
While Mr Bourne’s home sits on the edge of the Oxfordshire village a mile down the narrow country lane where the shop is sited, it hasn’t stopped visitors blocking the entrance to his driveway.
His home, and another similar one next door, are thought to have previously been part of a stud farm which was sold off and divided up.
Mr Bourne's second wife, Brazilian-born second wife Sylvia (pictured), 60, is a renowned art dealer and philanthropist
The woman who lives in the property next to Mr Bourne’s house told MailOnline: ‘There’s no problem with Clarkson apart from the traffic and getting in and out.‘One day there were so many people there, they parked right the way down to our drive.‘
'One Bank Holiday you could hear people shouting down there. I think people sometimes come down looking for him.‘ You tell them he doesn’t live here. They don’t believe you. You have to have an argument with them and tell them to get lost.‘
'We’ve put in a new drive because they used to come down here and leave a right mess of the verges.’
The woman said matters had improved after Clarkson was granted temporary permission for a car park next to the shop which is due to last three years.
He also has an overspill car park in a field he owns on the other side of the road from the shop.
But she added: ‘The road was shut yesterday because there were that many people.’
She said of Mr Bourne: ‘He’s mainly in America - this was like a holiday home for his family.‘It’s been on the market and the people have pulled out twice.
‘Clarkson’s not interested in buying it. He’s never shown any interest in either of our properties - I think he’s got enough land already.’
The property consists of a five-bedroom farmhouse along with a separate three-bed cottage, two stables, two-bay carport and workshop surrounded by open countryside.
In its property description Knight Frank says: ‘Built in 1954 of a stone construction under a pitched tiled roof, it has been almost doubled in size creating comfortable family accommodation in this enviable position.‘
The house enjoys a feeling of space and privacy complemented by landscaped gardens and grounds, and glorious views across the Evenlode Valley.‘
Whilst extensively modernised and extended the house has lovely traditional features such as stone mullioned windows, flooring and fireplaces.’
Describing the property’s ‘situation’ the brochure says: ‘The village is easily accessed by direct railway from Paddington to Charlbury station from one hour 10 mins.
Hugely popular not least as the setting for the popular TV series, Clarkson’s Farm.’
It adds the area is well known ‘for the finest gastro pubs’ and ‘abundant schools ranging from excellent primary schools to preparatory schools including Summerfields and the Dragon’.
And the brochure helpfully points out the property is ‘equidistant to exclusive members club Soho Farmhouse and Daylesford Farm Shop & Spa’
In 2018 Meghan Markle chose Soho Farmhouse for her hen do while Daylesford has been dubbed the UK’s poshest farm shop and is popular with royals and A-list celebrities.
It caters for the likes of David and Victoria Beckham, Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Blur’s Alex James who have homes there.
Former Prime Minister David Cameron, now Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton, lives nearby and pop superstar Taylor Swift reportedly rented a £3,000-a-night country bolthole in the area during her recent sell-out tour.
Father-of-four Mr Bourne, who is twice married and divorced, was said to be one of Britain’s most successful investors during the property boom years of the late 1980s in partnership with his brother Robert.
His second wife, Brazilian-born second wife Sylvia, 60, is a renowned art dealer and philanthropist who divides her time between London, Monaco and Switzerland.
In February this year, the couple’s son Maximillian, 25, was charged with attempted murder after allegedly stabbing the live-in maid at his mother’s £15million Chelsea home.
Clarkson bought his farm in 2008 but did not take over its management until 2019.
He named it Diddly Squat after the amount of income it is said to have generated.
But the reality TV series and the opening of his farm shop has proved a huge money-spinner.
From Wednesday to Sunday for 10 months a year visitors queue for up to two hours to snap up Clarkson’s best selling products such as Bee Juice Honey at £12.20 a jar and £39 bottles of Excellent Cow Juice vodka while a case of 12 bottles of Hawkstone lager costs £28.
Clarkson has admitted to locals that the ‘enormous crowds’ that flocked to the shop had been a ‘bloody nuisance’
During a 90-minute public meeting at the village memorial hall he told villagers: ‘You have my absolute sympathy.’
Locals have complained of three-hour traffic jams as hundreds of visitors flood into the area five days a week
Property developer Graham Bourne, 71, lives just 500 yards from Clarkson’s country mansion in a pocket of land almost completely surrounded by the star’s colossal farming enterprise
Clarkson has also fought bitter running battles with West Oxfordshire County Council over his plans to develop Diddly Squat
Clarkson has also fought bitter running battles with West Oxfordshire County Council who have thrown out a series of his planning applications to develop the business which largely sits in an area of outstanding natural beauty.
They included a bid to convert his lambing shed to a 60-seat restaurant with an alcohol licence and add another 70-space car park.
Clarkson has described local councillors as being ‘made entirely from a blend of skin and hate’ while a barrage of complaints from his supporters led to the council being forced to deny it had a 'personal vendetta' against the celebrity farmer.
And despite the traffic complaints some locals back the star for helping to bring business and tourism to the area as well as highlighting the plight of struggling farmers.
One local resident even insisted he had helped boost the values of property in the area.
The woman told how her family had lived in a semi-detached former council house in Chadlington for 76 years.
She said: ‘My parents lived there and then I lived there with my late husband and my children.
‘We bought it in 1999 for £26,000 - it’s worth £420,000 now.
‘Property prices certainly haven’t gone down since the TV series started - quite the opposite. He’s helped put the place on the map.’
