Going to go her own way: Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie puts her 19-acre Grade II listed Kent home on the market for £3.5million ($8 million).
- Christine McVie, 72, has been spending an increasing amount of time in London since rejoining Fleetwood Mac
- So now, she has decided to put stunning Grade II-listed country home in Kent village of Wickhambreaux on sale
- She is selling the mansion – where she wrote some solo material following band’s disintegration – for £3.5million
- It boasts six bedrooms, four reception rooms, a three-bedroom outhouse, two cottages and sprawling gardens
McVie, a famed vocalist and pianist, purchased her six-bedroom Wickhambreaux home, dubbed The Quaives, in 1990. She worked on solo material in the 19-acre estate’s converted barn following the continued disintegration of Fleetwood Mac through the 1990s. When McVie moved into the property, it was in dire need of refurbishment, and over the past 25 years, she has overhauled the entire estate.
The star officially left Fleetwood Mac in 1998 and all but retired from public view. She released just one solo album in 2004, written with her nephew Dan Perfect at The Quaives. But now, she has listed her home for sale – less than a year after stunning the music world by rejoining Fleetwood Mac for the On With The Show tour.
Strutt and Parker estate agents, which is selling the mansion, said McVie has been spending more time in London since the band’s reform.
Simon Backhouse, of Strutt and Parker, said:
- Christine McVie bought this house in 1990 and when she did it was in a bit of a state.
- She has spent an enormous amount of money on it since then, putting a new roof on it and restoring it to its former glory.
- She has family in Kent and it’s a very beautiful and private house. It’s quiet and you can’t see it from anywhere so that ticked a lot of boxes for her.
- The house itself is stunning and the village it’s in is a quintessential chocolate box village.
- The full Fleetwood Mac line-up have reformed recently and Christine now spends more time in London than she had been doing.
- She’s looking to upsize in London and downsize in the country.
- The Quaives is new to the market but already there has been much interest in it.
- Whether you’re a music fan or not, this is an incredible opportunity to own something very special indeed.
As well as six bedrooms and a converted barn, The Quaives boasts four reception rooms, a massive kitchen, a saloon and a thatched stable. It also features a three-bedroom outhouse, two separate cottages, a tennis court, a croquet lawn, paddocks and extensive gardens.
McVie, who is currently on tour with Fleetwood Mac in Australia and New Zealand, spoke fondly of the property.
“I have whiled away many peaceful days song writing in this tranquil home. Much fun was had by all on the croquet lawn,” she said.
McVie joined Fleetwood Mac in 1970, where she joined her husband John McVie, the band’s bassist, and drummer Mick Fleetwood. American guitarist Lindsey Buckingham and his singer girlfriend Stevie Nicks were added in 1974. Three years later the group released their most celebrated album, Rumours. Fleetwood Mac were one of the biggest bands in the world until Buckingham and Nicks left in 1987.
The band then went on to perform in various incarnations but only appeared again as the full Rumours line-up in September last year. McVie is responsible for some of the most-loved songs including “Songbird,” “Everywhere,” “You Make Loving Fun” and “Oh Daddy.”
The singer and her husband divorced in 1976 and she went on to marry keyboardist Eddy Quintela in October 1986. She and Quintela split up in the mid-1990s. McVie has no children.
Sophie Jane Evans / Daily Mail (UK) / Thursday, September 24, 2015
