The Cotswolds may be better known for honey-stone cottages, sleepy lanes, and cream teas than Hollywood glitz, but thanks to Beyoncé and Jay-Z, that could be about to change.
The music power couple is said to be in the final stages of purchasing land on the edge of Wigginton, Oxfordshire, a village with fewer than 200 inhabitants, no shop, and not a single pub.
According to reports, Beyoncé, 44, and Jay-Z, 55,- estimated to be the world’s richest celebrity couple – have secured planning permission to build what is being described as a ‘spectacular rural estate’ on a 58-acre plot.
Designs for the new property reveal plans for a seven-bedroom, nine-bathroom mansion with sweeping views over a lake.
If the purchase goes ahead, the Carters would join a growing roster of A-listers retreating to the Cotswolds.
The Beckhams famously set up home nearby at their £6m Great Tew estate, while Ellen DeGeneres is also said to be among the recent celebrity arrivals.
The Wrap reported that Ellen and her wife, Portia DiRossi, left their life in Montecito and set themselves up in the Cotswolds, telling friends that Trump’s coming to power was the ‘primary motivation’ and that they planned to ‘never return’ to the US.
The couple reportedly bought their £15million Cotswolds farmhouse in June last year – for £2.5million over the asking price.
Kate Mass, 51, also has a picturesque Grade II listed property in the Cotswolds, where she has lived permanently since moving out of London in 2021.
While pricey, the Cotswolds have become something of a destination for celebrities, who are buying getaways there to escape constant reocgnition, security threats, and fast-paced llifestyles.
But in Wigginton, where the population hovers below 200, opinion is divided about whether the newcomers will be welcomed.
‘I don’t give a flying toss,’ one resident told The DailyMail, adding that his wife once spotted the pair in Range Rovers at Burford Garden Centre.
He continued: ‘When someone points them out to my wife, her first reaction is to ask who they are. Some of these so-called celebrities I’ve never actually heard of.’
At the Falkland Arms in Great Tew, a worker was more cautious, telling The Times: ‘We love our local clientele and we don’t want the couple’s arrival to bring in a different sort.’
The Cotswolds has long been a magnet for wealthy Londoners and expats, but Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s move appears to have been prompted by a more dramatic backdrop.
The couple reportedly began house-hunting in the UK following the devastating Los Angeles wildfires.
A source told Daily Mail’s Eden Confidential: ‘They will always be based in LA but the UK is on the agenda. Beyoncé loves the UK because they support everything she does.’
While they are expected to maintain their Los Angeles base, insiders say the Cotswolds appeals because of its privacy, rolling countryside, and sheer amount of space.
‘They’ve been looking for properties and will buy if they find somewhere that feels like home,’ the source added.
For Wigginton’s small community, that could mean an influx of paparazzi and curious visitors, or simply a famous family keeping to themselves behind tall gates.
For now, the village’s lanes remain quiet and its residents will wait to see whether global megastars will soon be calling their patch of Oxfordshire home.
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