TV star James Corden abandons plans to demolish and rebuild home

ACTOR James Corden has abandoned plans to demolish his home near Henley and has sold the property after six years.

Corden, 47, who has three children with his wife Julia Carey, bought the C-shaped property off Wargrave Road in December 2020 for £8.5 million, about £2 million above the asking price.

The house was built in the Sixties in an Art Deco style, with grounds that feature a tennis court and a listed Druidic stone circle known as the Mont de la Ville dolmen.

The dolmen were transferred from St Helier to the estate by Henry Seymour Conway, the governor of Jersey, in 1788.

The couple were granted planning permission in January 2023 by Wokingham Borough Council to demolish the building and pool house and build a six-bedroom mansion in its place.

However, these plans have since been abandoned after representatives of the Gavin and Stacey actor confirmed to the Henley Standard that he had sold the property.

Despite purchasing the home in late 2020, it is understood the 80-year-old home remained untouched up until its recent sale.

Until 2023, Corden was living in the US with his family during an eight-year stint as host of The Late Late Show.

During this time, videos appeared online after trespassers shot footage showing boarded-up windows and overgrown gardens.

Corden’s initial plans for the revamp involved building a new swimming pool and pool house but this was later removed after concerns were raised by Built Heritage and Historic England over proximity to the dolmen stone circle.

Conway was gifted the stones in 1788 after installing a series of defence towers to prevent the French from invading the island.

In June 2021, Jersey’s government ministers agreed to ask the Cordens to repatriate the stones, so they could be displayed at Fort Regent, a 19th-century fortification which now stands on the hill where the stones were dug up.

At the time, Corden’s representatives said that he would be happy to assist in further investigating the stones.

However, it was later found that the protection given to the Grade II-listed stones by UK heritage bodies meant it was unlikely permission would be granted for them to be moved.