Jamie Oliver (pictured) will soon be able to work from home after he was granted permission to build a TV and film studio in the back garden of his multi-million-pound country pad in Essex
Jamie Oliver will soon be able to work from home after he was granted permission to build a TV and film studio in the garden of his multi-million-pound country pad in Essex.
The TV chef has got the go-ahead to convert a barn in the grounds of his £6million family home, Grade I listed Spains Hall in Finchingfield, into a kitchen film set.
The old open-fronted agricultural barn in the former farmyard area is currently used for general storage but Mr Oliver now has permission to change its use.
It comes after the 47-year-old filmed a TV series from the main kitchen of his house during lockdown, with his family acting as the crew.
Plans lodged with Braintree Council show the new studio could be used seven days a week from 7am to 7pm and suggests filming periods ‘are likely to last up to five weeks at a time’.
It states production would attract a maximum of 25 cars to the site daily and four transit vans a week.
Mr Oliver plans to keep the existing steel barn structure, which measures 60 feet (18m) by 39 feet (12m). He will remove the asbestos and cement cladding and re-clad the walls with shiplap timber, which will weather to a pale monochrome colour.
The TV chef has got the go-ahead to convert a barn (circled) in the grounds of his £6million family home, Grade I listed Spains Hall in Finchingfield, into a kitchen film set
Mr Oliver plans to keep the existing steel barn structure, which measures 60 feet (18m) by 39 feet (12m). He will remove the asbestos and cement cladding and re-clad the walls with shiplap timber, which will weather to a pale monochrome colour
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As part of the works he will also fit two bird boxes, a hedgehog box and a bee box, as recommended in an Ecological Assessment.
In 2020 Mr Oliver filmed 20 episodes of Jamie: Keep Cooking And Carry On at his home as he prepared food with limited ingredients for viewers isolated by the Covid pandemic. Episodes were filmed on his phone and his family also served as the crew.
He had filmed some Christmas specials at home in the past but lots of his shows had also involved travelling around and trying out different cuisines, such as Jamie Cooks Italy in 2018 where he went on a tour of Italy with fellow chef Gennaro Contaldo.
After Keep Cooking And Carry On, his next series, Jamie: Keep Cooking Family Favourites, was filmed in the grounds of his home.
Mr Oliver bought his Essex mansion in 2019 and had building work done on the house before he moved in, including the restoration of many original features.
In 2020 Mr Oliver filmed 20 episodes of Jamie: Keep Cooking And Carry On at his home (pictured)
Mr Oliver bought his Essex mansion (pictured) in 2019 and had building work done on the house before he moved in, including the restoration of many original features
The house had only been used by three families and hadn’t been sold for 250 years when Jamie bought it.
The manor house boasts 12 bedrooms, ten bathrooms, a large games room, a great hall, dining room, two drawing rooms and a wine storage area.
Original features include a well on the ground floor, a priest hole on the first floor and a two-storey red brick Tudor gazebo in the gardens, which is named The Prayer house.
The property also has an outdoor swimming pool, tennis courts and fishing lakes.
