Friar Park

Friar Park is a Victorian neo-Gothic mansion near Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire. Built between 1889 and 1895 for lawyer Sir Frank Crisp, it stands on a 30-acre estate of wooded slopes and formal gardens. The house is Grade II listed, as are the three lodges at its entrances and the entrance walls. Crisp filled the grounds with caves, grottoes and underground passages, alongside an Alpine rock garden and a sandstone replica of the Matterhorn. Garden gnomes were scattered among the statuary, including a friar holding a frying pan and a plaque reading ‘Two Holy Friars’. The house became famous as the home of George Harrison after he bought it in 1970. He turned a guest suite into a 16-track studio, FPSHOT, which at times rivalled Abbey Road. Albums recorded there include Living in the Material World, Cloud Nine and Brainwashed. The Traveling Wilburys’ tracks and The Beatles’ Anthology material were also cut at Friar Park. Harrison restored parts of the gardens, tending them himself at night with the help of his brothers. His son Dhani recalled evenings spent gardening by moonlight to avoid seeing the weeds. Visitors walk past the lodges and along tree-lined drives to reach the mansion. Inside the Alpine garden stands the Matterhorn model, while the Topiary and Dutch Knot gardens frame the house. The Japanese garden and glasshouses remain from Crisp’s original design. Harrison filmed promotional videos for songs such as ‘Ding Dong, Ding Dong’ among the hedges and statues. The tranquil grounds once open to the public now sit behind security fences installed after the 1980 murder of John Lennon.