Since Jamie Oliver moved to his Essex home, Spains Hall, in 2019, he has renovated the property – which was previously “falling down” – into a stunning family home.
The Jamie: What to Eat This Week star, his wife Jools and their five children, Daisy Boo and Poppy Honey (when they’re not off studying at University), Buddy Bear, Petal Blossom and River Rocket previously lived in London.
Sharing an emotional insight into the reason they decided to relocate, Jamie told ES Magazine: “Home is a little village in Essex called Finchingfield. It’s a beautiful little place and somewhere I used to take Jools for dates when we were younger.
“Before that [home] was London for 25 years. After Covid, we decided to sort of make the jump.”
© GettyHe hinted there were other reasons behind wanting to move his family, but added he plans to keep the “intimate” motivations private. “No one really knows why I bought this house,” he told The Times as he discussed his move coinciding with the collapse of his restaurant chain, Jamie’s Italian. “I don’t feel ready to share yet… But if I was just being media savvy, I wouldn’t have moved there when everything was going wrong.
“There was a whole host of things that were quite specific, quite intimate… I don’t care what anyone thinks. They don’t need to know. It’s an old gaff that’s falling down; only an idiot would buy it. But to have come from where I was born to that house that’s only had three families owning it in 600 years, for me as a kid that went through special needs in school, it’s social mobility,” Jamie continued.
Set on 70 acres of land, the historic country property has ten bathrooms, two drawing rooms and a great hall, while the grounds also boast another six-bedroom 16th-century farmhouse, three-bedroom lodge and converted stables, and luckily for us, Jamie and Jools have revealed several glimpses inside.
The historic property has a whopping £6 million price tag and it has had an interesting past as it was once dramatically burgled, but the thieves were forced to leave their loot in the lake when their getaway car broke down. The buried treasure was then lost for 150 years before new owners discovered the silverware at the bottom of the water.
It seems Jamie is also generous with his space. While appearing on MasterChef Australia earlier this year, he revealed that he housed two Ukranian families after the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war. Keep scrolling to see inside the sprawling property, which they have
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Wild flowers
© InstagramJamie posted a series of images from their garden where the family enjoyed decorating some pumpkins to celebrate the spooky season. Jamie wrote in the caption: “Getting ready for Halloween with my gang big love everyone.” One photo saw his daughter Petal looking very grown up and she sat on a pumpkin. In the background, the beautiful garden and foliage could be seen.
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Outdoor dining
Jamie shared a look at a beautiful area of his garden in his Channel 4 show, Keep Cooking: Family Favourites. His family sat at a wooden dining table and benches in a walled garden, with an array of climbing plants, hedges and other plants growing in the background.
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Terrace
As they celebrated River’s fourth birthday, the family gathered at a circular wooden dining table surrounded by curved benches on a terrace outside their house, while their kitchen is accessible via a set of white barn doors.
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Playground
Lucky River looks to have his very own adventure playground in the garden, complete with a swing and wooden climbing frame.
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Living room
The living room looks like the perfect place for the couple and their children to snuggle up together, with comfy button-back sofas and blankets. A selection of framed artwork and a Hampstead sign from their former home add the decorative touches.
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Fireplace
The family’s home has lots of original period features, including an open fireplace in the living room, where they have added lots of family photos on the mantelpiece. Jools and Jamie have a patterned rug on their wooden floor, and a large taupe footstool where their son Buddy can do his homework in front of the fireplace.
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Kitchen
The kitchen has a rustic country aesthetic, with panelled walls, a ceramic sink with brass taps, and an assortment of candles lining the windowsill.
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Shelving
Jamie offered a closer look at a corner of his rustic kitchen, including an impressive collection of pulses, pasta and rice. The shelves were filled with cookbooks and what appeared to be Emma Bridgewater eggcups.
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Larder
Jamie previously filmed Keep Cooking and Carry On from what seems to be his larder, with white brick walls and shelving units holding various pieces of kitchenware.
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Island unit
The kitchen has tiled flooring and wooden panelling on the walls, with huge windows to flood the space with natural light. There appears to be an island unit with two bar stools where the family can dine, as seen here in Jools’ sweet snap of her youngest son River.
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Playroom
Jools recently shared a photo of River and Buddy playing in the playroom, revealing wooden floors, cream walls and a natural hemp basket in the corner.
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Toy storage
© InstagramThe space has large sash windows flooding the space with natural light, while shelves offer storage for plenty of toys.
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Bathroom
Jools shared a photo of her youngest children, sons Buddy, ten, and River, four, in the bathroom. The wallpaper featured flowers and birds in an elaborate design and muted natural shades and was surrounded by subtle grey paint.
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Bedroom
The couple’s bedroom appears to have a vintage cream headboard and patterned wallpaper.
