Friar Park

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Friar Park is the 120-room Victorian neo-Gothic mansion built by the eccentric Sir Frank Crisp near Henley-on-Thames and bought by the musician George Harrison as his new home on January 14, 1970, as he left his former home Kinfauns, in Esher.

It has extensive gardens and water features, and one main theme to the decor: mockeries of organised religion. Among the statuary is a monk holding a skillet, with a plaque reading "Two Holy Friars". Ironically, Friar Park's owner between Crisp and Harrison was the Roman Catholic Church when nuns were in residence. That's when the first Garden gnome statues appeared. George Harrison was photographed amongst these for the cover of All Things Must Pass, and again with his father Harry a few years later (with the photo appearing in his album Thirty Three & 1/3).

A 16-track tape-based recording studio was installed in a guest suite, which at one stage was superior to the one at EMI's Abbey Road Studios. Harrison's albums recorded there usually mention F.P.S.H.O.T., or Friar Park Studio, Henley-on-Thames. Besides records by Harrison or artists he produced, the studio was also used by Shakespear's Sister to record their 1992 album Hormonally Yours.

Another interesting fact: George or someone in his organization "Hand Made Films" had made a deal with the Shah of Iran to allow filming in the Iranian desert for his film pojects. The deal was that Hand Made Films people would teach the Shah's cameramen (the Shaw had invested in state of the art film equipment) how to operate the camera's etc. in exchange for inexpensive desert filming rights for Hand Made Films. The Shaw died before the deal went into effect. This fact was told to me by Allan Jones who along with his wife Rachael and their children, were living in the Middle Lodge at Friar Park, at one time occupied by Klaus Voorman.

Harrison immortalised the building in his song "Crackerbox Palace" (his nickname for the mansion, after Lord Buckley's home in California). A further powerful song, The Ballad Of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll), was also inspired by the mansion's history. Harrison loved tending to the gardens personally, and among the groundskeepers were his older brothers Peter and Harry.

The mansion was largely open to the public, until the murder of John Lennon in December 1980; shortly afterward, the gates were locked, and a sign was posted with no-entry messages in six languages, with accompanying national flags, including an American flag next to the words "GET YOUR ASS OUTTA HERE."

Harrison's widow, Olivia, and son, Dhani, continued to live in the mansion for months after George's death. The rumours about the sale of this property are unfounded.

Position: grid reference SU753829