Rock stars and the country house: Liam Gallagher's life in the Cotswolds is in the finest tradition of music A-listers, from The Beatles to Beyoncé

‘We have a big problem in Japan,' Country Life's editor Mark Hedges was once asked while having lunch at the Japanese Embassy. 'We cannot get our people to live in the countryside. Everyone wants to live in Tokyo or Osaka. What does your government do to make people move out of towns?’

'I explained that it was the opposite in the UK, where people aspire to live in the countryside,' Mark wrote in 2017, as he told the story. 'A move to the provinces is seen as a mark of success. This desire for rural life is a defining part of our nation.'

Those words seem even more apt today than they did eight years ago — as does Mark's prediction, even pre-Covid, that 'as super-fast broadband is eventually rolled out, village life will undergo a renaissance, these settlements transformed from dormitories to workplaces.'

But it's not just the Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday commuters who are more and more likely to live in the British countryside these days. There are billionaires and Hollywood A-listers buying huge country piles at an amazing rate, and next week Sir David Beckham is editing Country Life magazine's October 22 issue to share his love of the countryside, and why he loves living in the Cotswolds.

Why is it? You'll have to wait until next Wednesday for Beckham's own explanation (spoiler alert: it's worth waiting for). For his part, Mark talked about the unique variety and beauty of the nation's geology, and on the Country Life podcast earlier this week the historian and writer Adrian Tinniswood made the point that the reason we love country houses is that they're quite simply wonderfully beautiful places.

Beckham and Beyoncé aren't blazing a new trail, because Britain's A-listers have long appreciated everything that a home in the countryside has to offer — and rock stars have been at the top of the list. From George Harrison's house (and amazing garden) at Friar's Park to Bob Monkhouse's Bedfordshire home, a long line of actors, musicians and more have taken up residence. Brian Ferry's Roxy Music even released an album called 'Country Life' in the 1970s, while in the 1980s Shakin' Stevens swapped the city for a thatched cottage, and in the 1990s one of Britpop's most successful hits was Blur's Country House.

Even Noel and Liam Gallagher of Oasis have been hit with the country house bug. Noel actually lived for a while in the same Hampshire village as Mark Hedges; and just recently, the huge Gloucestershire house that Liam Gallagher had been living in has come to the market: Stanley Park, in the village of Selsey, near Stroud. The rock star was reported to have been renting the house with fiancée Debbie Gwyther at around £17,000 a month, making house here before going off on Oasis's reunion tour. That tour is under way, and the Savills are now selling Stanley Park for £5.895 million.

Image 1 of 5

It's quite a place: a Grade II-listed house whose oldest parts date to the 16th century, but which was given a Gothic-influenced rebuild in the 1850s.

Image 1 of 5

Completely renovated throughout, it's a home which blends new and old with real grace: original Tudor walls are preserved here and there, as are Victorian plasterwork ceilings, 20th century chandeliers and huge fireplaces — yet they sit in a house with underfloor heating, a sauna and a cinema room.

Image 1 of 6

Wood panelled walls and ceilings give huge character to the ballroom and billiard room; a vast cellar has room for 4,0000 wine bottles, there are 11 bedrooms for all your friends, family and a decently-sized entourage.

Image 1 of 3

And the garden, Savills add with a nod to the former resident, is an 'oasis for relaxation and outdoor activities'.

Savills are handling the sale of Stanley Park for £5.895 million — see mode details.