Inside sleepy village dubbed the 'new Notting Hill' with celeb neighbours
The idyllic Somerset town of Bruton has become a stalwart of the rich and famous, with politicians and celebrities alike populating the unsuspecting rural location. In recent years its reputation has become so esteemed that British Vogue even dubbed it “the new Notting Hill”.
Bruton, which has a population of nearly 3000, is where film director Sam Taylor-Johnson and her actor husband Aaron, of Nowhere Boy fame, have a second home. Sir Cameron Mackintosh, who produced smash hit musicals such as Cats, Les Misérables and The Phantom of the Opera lives there too, and in a converted 13th century Augustine priory, no less.
Sam Taylor-Johnson and Aaron Taylor-Johnson have a home in Bruton (PA Wire/PA Images) Fashion designers Stella McCartney, Alice Temperley and Phoebe Philo also have properties in or around Bruton, cementing its stylish status. And if the town was to have a get together, they would have no trouble sourcing musicians as it is home to Caroline Corr, from the Corrs, and Dominic Greensmith, the drummer from the rock band Reef.
It is also where former Tory Chancellor George Osborne has a five-bedroom house, which he bought for a staggering £1.6 million. Famously, he got married in a church there to wife Thea Rogers earlier this year, and as they left, a woman threw orange confetti on them. Although this was initially suspected to be a Just Stop Oil stunt, the motive is unclear after the eco-activists denied involvement.
George Osborne recently got married in Bruton (PA)Bruton boasts two private secondary schools, and fancy shops and eateries including Michelin-starred Osip which is described as “a tiny, farm-to-table restaurant.” It is the brainchild of Merlin Labron-Johnson, who became one of the youngest ever chefs to be awarded a Michelin star in 2015 at just 24 years of age. With lunch or dinner starting at £120, and a shortened version at £69, it is clear the clientele have full pockets.
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The town, which was established in 1086, is full of listed buildings and in 2020 the Guardian reported that house prices were skyrocketing - estimated to have increased by a third in five years. Due to this added expense, many locals are starting to feel priced out of the location. Grandmother Deborah Eaton told the paper, “Bruton is not for locals any more. It’s all fancy restaurants we can’t afford and every other house is on Airbnb for silly money.”
Bruton is highly sought after by rich Londoners (Getty Images)Cathy Morris-Adams, who is a Managing Partner at local estate agent Lodestone Property told MyLondon that she estimates around “20-25 percent” of people buying homes in Bruton are from London. “During the pandemic we’ve seen Londoners increasingly looking to move out of London and discover new places, but as far as Bruton’s popularity goes, it has always been popular with Londoners, well before the pandemic,” she said.
“Interest in Bruton kind of started around the 1970s and grew gradually, and more recently we’ve seen that interest grow more rapidly. We have had a lot of people who once lived in Notting Hill moving here, and they’ve obviously told their friends from the area about Bruton," she added.
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