Inside Rod Stewart’s 18th century Essex mansion with jaw-dropping football pitch

Sir Rod Stewart is taking to the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury this year – his first performance since his 2002 headline slot.

The Maggie May singer, 80, worried fans after cancelling a string of gigs due to illness just weeks before heading to Worthy Farm for his Sunday afternoon slot.

But the icon confirmed that his performance will go ahead, saying that he’ll be cramming his best hits into a short set which will include three guests.

After a weekend at the festival, Rod will no doubt be keen to return to his sprawling Essex mansion he shares with wife Penny Lancaster, 54.

The Loose Women star and Rod often share glimpses inside the £4,600,000 property which features a garden big enough for a football pitch and running track.

The pair, who tied the knot in 2007, purchased the Grade II listed mansion in 2013 before renovating it for three years and settling in.

As well as their Essex home, the couple also own a house in Beverly Hills, California, worth a whopping £70,000,000.

Speaking about his incredible garden and desire to stay healthy at 80, Rod told AARP in a recent interview: ‘To stay In shape and feed my competitive appetite, I recently began running 100-meter sprints on my private track.

‘I got it down to 19 seconds by learning how to push off. I’m going to try and do 17 seconds, which I think is a world record for an 80-year-old.’

Building a football pitch also turns out to be a kind gesture of Rod’s, after his son Aiden’s under-12s team lost their ground during Covid.

A source told The Sun at the time: ‘Sadly, they lost their usual ground because of the pandemic and have had nowhere to train, so Rod stepped in. He has opened his house to the entire team, along with the coaches and parents, to allow them to train.

‘Rod doesn’t want his son or the other kids to suffer, so he’s turned his place into their official training ground. Now, twice a week, the team turn up to play and train for their matches. It means the world to Rod that he is able to do that for his son and their team.’

He’s also the proud owner of a very modern gym, where Rod exerciseswith his personal trainer of 35 years. The workout space features a range of machines, punching bags, and weights.

Sharing a look inside the state-of-the-art room, Rod joked in a photo showing the walls adorned with his beloved Celtic FC gear: ‘Guess what football team I support.’

Penny and Rod are proud parents to sons Alastair, 19, and Aiden, 13. From his previous marriages, Rod is also a father to Sarah, 61, Kimberly, 45, Sean, 44, Ruby, 37, Renee, 32, and Liam, 30.

The Do Ya Think I’m Sexy? hitmaker’s first child was Sarah Streeter, who he welcomed with his girlfriend of the time, Susannah Boffey, when he was just a ‘stone broke’ teenager. She was put up for adoption, and they reconnected years later.

He then welcomed Kimberly and Sean with ex-wife Alana Stewart. Then came Ruby, who he shares with ex-girlfriend Kelly Emberg, before he and ex-wife Rachel Hunter welcomed Renee Stewart, 32, and Liam Stewart, 30.

A few months after Aiden’s birth in 2011, Sir Rod explained that he was hoping to enjoy his kids, rather than focus on his career.

He told People: ‘I’m trying to make more time now that I’ve carved out my career. I want to enjoy my kids. We’re all planning a massive vacation somewhere.

‘It’s hard to get them all together because they are all off in different directions. But I am so proud of them.’

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