Tara was a house on St Anns Hill,

Chertsey Chertsey is a town in the Borough of Runnymede, Surrey, England, south-west of central London. It grew up round Chertsey Abbey, founded in 666 CE, and gained a market charter from Henry I. A bridge across the River Thames first appeared in the ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

owned by

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

's drummer

Keith Moon Keith John Moon (23 August 19467 September 1978) was an English drummer for the rock band the Who. He was noted for his unique style of playing and his eccentric, often self-destructive behaviour and addiction to drugs and alcohol. Moon grew ...

in the 1970s, but was demolished and replaced by a new home in 1990. The press party for the release of the ''

Who's Next ''Who's Next'' is the fifth studio album by English rock band the Who. It developed from the aborted '' Lifehouse'' project, a multi-media rock opera conceived by the group's guitarist Pete Townshend as a follow-up to the band's 1969 album ''T ...

'' album was held at Tara.

Description

The house was a one-story four-bedroom bungalow which enclosed approximately . The roof peaked in five pyramids, one on each corner of the house and one in the centre over a large sunken lounge. It featured French windows, a master ensuite, a study and the lounge. The house was semi-transparent, minimalist modern style pioneered by public galleries and recording studios (such as

Tittenhurst Park Tittenhurst Park is a Grade II listed early Georgian country house set in off London Road at Beggar's Bush near Ascot and over the parish border into Sunningdale, both in the English county of Berkshire. It was famously the home of musici ...

), and included futuristic appliances and labour-saving devices. The unusual roof emphasised post-war abstractism as opposed to

art deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

simplicity. The grounds included an extensive lawn, wooded areas and a large pond. The town centre was about away, beyond the foot of the knoll, stretching down as far as the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

, along which some members of The Who had homes and mainly in their in early years performed, particularly at the hotel/dance venue, ''The Eel Pie'' at

Eel Pie Island Eel Pie Island is an island in the River Thames at Twickenham in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is on the maintained minimum head of water above the only lock on the Tideway and is accessible by boat or from the left (generall ...

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

, London.

History

The house was reportedly named Tara after the mansion in ''

Gone With The Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * Gone with the Wind (novel), ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * Gone with the Wind (film), ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Win ...

''. It was built by Peter Collison, film director of ''

The Italian Job ''The Italian Job'' is a 1969 British comedy caper film, written by Troy Kennedy Martin, produced by Michael Deeley, directed by Peter Collinson, and starring Michael Caine. The film's plot centres around Cockney criminal Charlie Croker, rece ...

'' (1969) who blew up a Victorian home to film the demolition and built the contemporary home in its place. In 1971 Keith Moon purchased the property from Collison for £65,000 (), and he and his wife

Kim Kerrigan Kim McLagan (born Maryse Elizabeth Patricia Kerrigan; 30 December 1948 – 2 August 2006) was a British model during the 1960s. She was married to The Who's Keith Moon from 1966 to 1975, and to the Small Faces and Faces' Ian McLagan from 1 ...

launched an eccentric and extravagant open-house social life based at the home. "People would come to deliver a pizza or do a mural and be there for weeks," reported author Richard Barnes. In July 1971 the house and lawn of the property served as the venue for the ''Who's Next'' album launch party, and included an extravagant fireworks display. The Who also conducted photo sessions on the property. In 1972 Moon drove one of his cars into the garden pond. In 1975 Moon sold the property to

Kevin Godley Kevin Michael Godley (born 7 October 1945) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and music video director. He is known as the singer and drummer of the art rock band 10cc and later as part of collaboration duo Godley & Creme with Lol Creme ...

10cc 10cc are an English rock band formed in Stockport in 1972. The group initially consisted of four musicians – Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme – who had written and recorded together since 1968. The group featured t ...

, and in 1990 Godley sold it to

Vince Clarke Vincent John Martin (born 3 July 1960), known professionally as Vince Clarke, is an English synth-pop musician and songwriter. Clarke has been the main composer and musician of the band Erasure since its inception in 1985, and was previously ...

Erasure Erasure () is an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1985, consisting of lead vocalist and songwriter Andy Bell with songwriter, producer and keyboardist Vince Clarke, previously known as co-founder of the band Depeche Mode and a membe ...

. Clarke had the contemporary building demolished, and constructed a home and studio on the site called ''Ammonite''. Clarke put the property up for sale in 2003.

References

External links

Site of Tara
{{The Who Houses in Surrey