Think of the Cotswolds and chances are idyllic scenery, picture-perfect limestone cottages and quaint settlements come to mind. Less spoken of are shouting matches with neighbours, passive aggressive wars of attrition with local councils and villages brought to a standstill with traffic from the celebrity convoy. Such is the case when the A-list descend on an area, leaving a trail of disgruntled locals in their wake. Just last week, US vice president JD Vance caused a hullabaloo when his convoy blocked up the car park of popular local shop Daylesford. The week before that, Apple heiress Eve Jobs tied the knot with equestrian Harry Charles in a small Cotswolds village, and made a move one local described as “uncharitable”.
It turns out even Beyoncé wants in, as she and Jay-Z reportedly visited a property near Wigginton. The A-list couple naturally travelled in by helicopter – they didn’t fancy reversing down single-track country lanes, no doubt. The property they viewed is now off the market, meaning the couple may have found their dream Cotswolds home. While the move itself isn’t inherently controversial, the couple’s presence in the area will inevitably fuel the media circus many locals already find so troublesome.
What was once a green and pleasant land is now the hunting ground of the celebrity elite, where mega-mansions house the wealthy and well-known looking to take a break from the brouhaha of London. Simon Cowell, Elizabeth Hurley, Kate Winslett and Moss, Hugh Grant and even Princess Beatrice are just a few of the many elite who have made the Cotswolds their home, but their presence isn’t always well-received. Read on to find out the biggest celebrity controversies in the Cotswolds…
JD Vance
I’m not sure it’s possible to live in the locale – or any of Britain for that matter – and not notice that the US vice president took a holiday in the Cotswolds this summer. His chosen location was the sleepy hamlet of Dean, which not only played host to the vice president and his family, but also to US secret service officers, sniffer dogs and the Thames Valley Police, who were stationed at footpaths in and out of the village to check the identity of residents.
© GettyNaturally, the Vance entourage decided to pay a visit to Daylesford Organic, a quintessentially Cotswolds shop which sells high-end groceries for eye-watering prices, including bone broths, sourdough starters and organic pasta. A packet of crisps costs almost £7, while a bar of chocolate containing edible flowers will set you back £15. An eyewitness counted 23 blacked out vehicles, eight UK police motorcycles and a police van, which soon filled the Daylesford car park. HELLO! was told attending staff were described as “very twitchy” and the atmosphere “strange” – hardly conducive to a wealth of sales, although no doubt a shopping cart full of Vance groceries would help matters.
© Alamy Stock PhotoLocal journalist Emily Evans told HELLO! why the Cotswolds’ appeal stretches across the pond. “The Cotswolds has become a magnet for celebrities thanks to its blend of rural charm, stunning countryside and ultra-luxury living – all within easy reach of London. World-class spots like Soho Farmhouse offer privacy and exclusivity, which is why the Beckhams, Simon Cowell and even Ellen DeGeneres have been drawn to the area. Jeremy Clarkson’s farm has also added a whole new layer of interest and tourism, further boosting the region’s star power.”
© PATRICK T. FALLON, GettyBe this as it may, I can’t imagine the locals being too impressed by the Daylesford queue, nor being asked to flash their IDs to go for a countryside walk. A local resident told me: “Celebrities coming in ruin the tranquillity of the area. It causes a stir in the media… and locals don’t like that.” She added that celebrity presence at popular restaurants, cafes and pubs does have an adverse effect. “Some companies see it as a marketing ploy to say that celebs ‘do this’ and ‘go here’ and inevitably it means prices are hiked up as these places and things become more desirable because of media attention.”
Eve Jobs
Another case of media frenzy took shape in the form of the hotly anticipated society wedding between Apple heiress Eve Jobs and Olympic equestrian Harry Charles. The secretive wedding took place in St Michael and All Angels Church in Great Tew – you guessed it – mere moments away from celebrity hotspot Soho Farmhouse, and was attended by the likes of Elton John and former vice president Kamala Harris. The bride snuck into church through a secret door, disappointing the crowds of well-wishers and reporters who had descended on the sleepy Oxfordshire village in the hopes of getting a peek at the dress.
© Alamy Stock PhotoA local in attendance on the day told HELLO! that it was “quite uncharitable” of Eve not to make an appearance, a feeling likely exacerbated by the chaos of a celebrity wedding and the associated entourage putting pressure on nearby roads and resources. One local told me the bigger impact comes when celebrities visit an area and post on social media. “Kourtney Kardashian came to my village a couple of weeks ago, and although she didn’t specifically name the village, it draws attention to it and ultimately brings in more tourists. This is good for the small businesses in the village but can be a pain for locals as it means more traffic and more tourists milling around which can be an inconvenience.”
Jeremy Clarkson
The founding father of irritating one’s neighbours in the countryside, Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson is known for clashing with both the council and neighbours at his Chadlington farm. Jeremy may have captured hearts with his honest portrayal of farming life in his Prime Video show Clarkson’s Farm, but there is no love lost between him and his rural neighbours. He bought the thousand-acre farm in 2008 but it wasn’t until the contract farmer working the land retired in 2019 that Jeremy decided to turn his own hand to farming, first opening ‘Diddly Squat’, and then an accompanying farm shop.
© Getty ImagesPerhaps less expected was the positive reaction from fans, who descended on the village of Chadlington in their thousands and queued all day to purchase some of Jeremy’s home-grown wares. At one point, the queue of cars caused a traffic jam going back five kilometres, requiring police management and intervention. While the presenter took to X, formerly Twitter, to apologise to his neighbours, bad blood continued to boil, escalating to disputes with the local governance, West Oxfordshire District Council. It blocked attempts by Jeremy to build a car park, then a restaurant on his land. He opened The Farmer’s Dog, a nearby pub, in 2024, which also brought the wider population into the Cotswolds. While the show is widely praised in the farming community, it does poke fun at ‘NIMBY’ neighbours, who are displeased and even hostile to Jeremy’s presence in the locale.
© Getty ImagesEllen DeGeneres
JD Vance might have been the most high-profile US guest to the Cotswolds in recent memory, but Ellen DeGeneres can certainly say she got there first. Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres and her actress wife Portia Di Rossi left the sunny climes of Montecito, California, for an altogether rainier existence in the English countryside, purchasing a £15 million stone farmhouse in 2024 with plans to stay on a part-time basis, but decided to make the Cotswolds their permanent residence when Donald Trump was made president of the US.
© Christopher PolkAs with many of her extensive portfolio of properties in the US, Ellen applied her ‘house-flipping’ treatment to the home, adding amenities including three more bathrooms, an extra bedroom as well as a separate cottage on the property with two bedrooms for guests. Slightly more eyebrow-raising is the gym, indoor pool, game room, private offices, a helipad and accompanying shed to store said chopper (as can only be expected of a Hollywood A-lister), and a party barn complete with its own pub. “The idea was that we would be here for three or four months of the year – but always when we came here we loved it and we thought it was beautiful,” Ellen said of the area.
© InstagramWith such luxuries as a party barn and helicopter shed, it seems unbelievable that Ellen and Portia would ever leave their abode, but it turns out the Cotswolds may not have been quite so hospitable. First, the local council reported concerns that Ellen may have made a “technical breach” by adding a single-storey extension to her farmhouse. Then there were concerns that Ellen’s extensive renovation work – including a team of 70 builders – had disturbed Roman ruins on the property. Finally, council documents revealed “concern” from residents about flooding in the village, positing that “the hedge and wire fence could increase flood risk in the village” if rubbish were swept down and “caught on the fence’, thereby ‘limiting flow across the field’.” The couple are putting their original rural abode up for sale for a neat £22.5 million and moving to a hilltop property nearby, but appear adamant it isn’t the neighbours forcing their move – Portia needs adequate space for her horses.
© @ellendegeneresThe Beckhams
Ellen and Portia’s celebrity neighbours, the Beckhams, are the original Cotswolds poster celebrities. However, they too are not immune from planning-related difficulties. The couple faced opposition over their manmade lake, and recently won a dispute over plans for a glasshouse and kitchen garden. Local Harriet Jones told The Hereford Times: “This is just the latest in a long line of applications to build new structures on this land, plus a giant lake.
© @davidbeckham“Why do famous people move out to the country and then clutter up their land with endless buildings and make silly alterations? It makes no sense.” “I guess what they do on their land is their business as long as it doesn’t affect the landscape or neighbours,” a resident of Cotswolds village Bibury told me. Arguments against the Beckhams have focused on their additions changing the character of the local area, suggesting that despite choosing the area, they do not seem to respect the environment they find themselves in.
© @davidbeckhamSoho House
One of the many examples of culture in the countryside is Soho Farmhouse, an exclusive hideaway set across 100 acres of land. It’s frequented by stars like Eddie Redmayne, Liv Tyler, Jonathan Bailey, Cara Delevingne and Dua Lipa, not to mention pop royalty Taylor Swift, who notably absconded to the Cotswolds with NFL star boyfriend Travis Kelce to a £3.3 million cottage a mere stone’s throw from Soho Farmhouse to unwind during the Eras Tour.
© Getty Images for the Business ofAs well as pop royalty, the members’ club also enjoys the patronage of the real thing. Meghan Markle had her hen do at the Farmhouse, while Princess Eugenie is reportedly a regular visitor. Even this hallowed Cotswolds institution did not manage to escape its own share of countryside controversy, as Ron Burkle, a majority shareholder in Soho House, came under fire for plans to build a mansion in the nearby village of Little Tew. One disgruntled resident wrote an objection to the planning application, stating: “Rather than being a development of ‘truly outstanding quality’, I believe it to be a proposal of truly outstanding grotesquery.” Another suggested the mansion was better suited to Disneyland. It might fly elsewhere, but not in Little Tew.
© Alamy Stock PhotoNo ‘flash in the pan’
Despite the celebrity Cotswolds influx incurring the displeasure of most of the region’s denizens, it doesn’t look to end any time soon. Giles Lawton, national country house department at estate agency Strutt & Parker, assured me the Cotswolds craze is not just “flash in the pan”. “The Cotswolds has long held an allure for celebrities and those in the public eye. It is peaceful and picturesque, yet it’s far from sleepy. There’s an astonishing number of celebrated pubs, restaurants, and members’ clubs – particularly bearing in mind the area’s size – so residents don’t have to sacrifice culture for countryside.”
© Strutt & ParkerWhen on the hunt for their country bolthole, you can imagine the Hollywood A-lister has a rather extensive list of requirements to convince them to settle down, which don’t necessarily include the typical Cotswolds cottage. “A sought-after home here often has the quintessential architectural charm of the Cotswolds, high levels of privacy, and a prime location to the popular hotspots,” Giles told HELLO!. “Architecturally, if it’s an older farmhouse or former rectory, the home will have been sensitively updated with modern touches and features – whether that’s an impressive wellness centre, a high-spec kitchen, or a home cinema. Contemporary homes will be finished to a turnkey standard throughout, making it easy for those who split their time between here and elsewhere.”
© @davidbeckhamBut it isn’t enough for a home to be equipped with all the modern amenities, bringing the city to the countryside. A celebrity has criteria us mere mortals will not: the desire for high levels of privacy at all times, which Giles described as a “major factor” in the celebrity Cotswold criteria. There is a sense of the Cotswolds evolving into a playground for the rich and famous, rather than an area of natural beauty and a heritage which should be preserved. While it’s easy to see how many view the celebrity presence in the Cotswolds as a major imposition – just ask West Oxfordshire council – I was surprised to find out that not all locals share animosity towards their celebrity neighbours.
© Alamy Stock PhotoOne told me: “There is no doubt a large number of celebrities and foreign nationals have moved to the Cotswolds and surrounding area either permanently or as weekenders, noticeably by an increasing number. As a local, I think this is a huge compliment to the Cotswolds, a stunning location with fantastic communication links and local facilities. The benefits to a local are far greater than any possible negatives due to the positive impact on house prices and local facilities constantly improving. It is also rather fun when out and about if you spot a famous or well-known person.” Whichever way you fall, it’s clear that the Cotswolds is only going to keep changing as it receives more celebrity attention, although for now the Land Rovers, £15 chocolate bars and glitterati don’t look like they’re going anywhere.
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