Freddie Mercury | House Tour | His £500,000 Garden Lodge Mansion | IN MEMORY

Located on a quiet residential street in Kensington, London, you might never guess that the Garden Lodge mansion, sitting behind an 8 foot tall stone wall, was the former home of one of rock music's most energetic and beloved performers of all time, Freddie Mercury. Only a few years ago, if you were visiting the outside of this landmark home, you would have seen hundreds if not thousands of sorrowful letters paying tribute to the rock star great pinned to the exterior wall. But over the past few years, the current owner and former lover of Freddie Mercury, Mary Austin, has taken them all down for reasons we'll get into as we embark on our latest house tour with a trip through the estate of Freddie Mercury. In these videos we don't reveal any addresses, and even though I've done a house tour of my own place, please do not show up at any private residences because it's not safe for anyone. Freddie Mercury was a British singer, songwriter, record producer, as well as the lead singer of the rock group Queen. Needless to say, he was an icon and one of a kind talent with his legacy following his untimely passing in 1991. Freddie was regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of rock music, known for his flamboyant stage persona and 4 octave vocal range. He defied boundaries of a rock frontman at the time with his theatrical style influencing Queen. At the time of his death, it's said Freddie's net worth was at about 50 to 60 million dollars. Hey everyone, I'm Kara the Vampire Slayer bringing you another exclusive house tour here on Famous Entertainment, this one checking out where the legendary Freddie Mercury once called home. If you haven't already, be sure to subscribe and ring that bell for notifications cause we post brand new videos daily. As always, you can follow me on Instagram to chat, and now let's get into this video. The borough of Kensington Street in Chelsea is world famous for being home to some of the UK's most infamous celebrities. I'm talking the likes of not only Sir Richard Branson, but Robbie Williams and Sir Elton John as well. Another of the most famous residences located in this district rests somewhat unassumingly on a street named Logan Place, a quiet residential area just off of Earls Court Road. This is where Garden Lodge sits, surrounded by an 8 foot tall stone wall, the former home of legendary Queen frontman Freddie Mercury. Originally built for the early 19th century artists Cecil Ray and Constance Halford in 1908, this elegant home was designed in the Neo-Georgian style by architect Ernest William Marshall, and from its inception, featured 8 bedrooms alongside a studio wing. At the height of Queen's popularity in 1986, Freddie bought this home from its then-owner Peter Wilson for 500,000 pounds, an amount that he reportedly paid for directly with cash. Upon moving into this stunning mansion, Freddie immediately began throwing lavish parties, and over the years, he would spend much of his time living alongside his feline friends, as well as a handful of close relations that he would regularly allow to come stay with him. That includes his best friend and former lover, Mary Austin. Before we get to the story on how Mary would become the owner and permanent resident of this remarkable home, let's take a look at some of Freddie's first class decorating. Freddie's former neighbour and frequent guest at his many soirees, Leigh Mason, once told MyLondon about the interior of Freddie's home. It was very antique and sumptuous with lovely sofas everywhere, it had lots of art inside as well. As a privately owned residential home for the past few decades, it's been hard for us regular folk to catch an inside peek at Freddie's former mansion, but every once in a while we've been offered a brief glimpse of this trademark style. For instance, Freddie's music room features a large main window that filters daylight through its giant chandelier and mirrors. And this room also housed his incredible grand piano, where Freddie wrote some of his biggest smash hits. Then there's the drawing room, where Freddie would reportedly spend the majority of his time entertaining his guests, in a room full of beautiful Japanese furniture and art, alongside oil paintings adorning the walls. In terms of the main foyer, the spacious front hall is decked out with even more fine art, as well as delicate china that Freddie was reportedly quite fond of searching for and collecting from flea markets all around London. Upstairs, Freddie had his very own jacuzzi and sauna combo, which considering this was the mid 80s and something like this was pretty rare, had to be a huge selling point. And his master bathroom, well simply put, it was beyond elegant with some fantastic marble finishing. Wanna hear another huge selling point? Throughout the entire home are beautiful wooden floors, which honestly might have been put through the wringer considering that Freddie used to live alongside his group of beloved cats. While residing in Garden Lodge, Freddie reportedly owned as many as 10 cats at once, and his former personal assistant Peter Freestone once revealed that Freddie treated these cats like they were his own family. Each one of them would even get their very own Christmas stocking hung by the fireplace full of toys and treats during the holidays. Sounds like something I would do for my dogs. As spectacular as the inside is, the exterior is equally nice. Take a few steps outside, and you'll quickly notice that surrounding the property is a truly inspired Japanese garden. Freddie was clearly a huge fan of Japanese arts, and encouraged his friend and former boyfriend Jim Hutton to create this garden, which is made up of flowering trees and multicoloured flowers. When Freddie came to his untimely death as a result of the AIDS virus in 1991, he left this remarkable property behind in his will to be given to his longtime friend, Mary Austin, for whom he once wrote the song, Love of My Life. Earlier in his life, Mary and Freddie had dated for 6 years before he openly began exploring his sexuality. Shortly before his passing, Freddie had become anxious to provide for Mary since she'd been such an important part of his life for so long. Considering she had two small children to care for as well, Freddie made the decision to leave her his dream home, which is now estimated to be worth as much as $20 million. While Mary moved into the home soon after Freddie passed, it took her quite some time to get used to living there. When speaking about their relationship with OK Magazine, she told them Before we wrap this up, I should make a point to mention that over recent years, Mary's ownership of the home has stirred up a tiny bit of controversy. Remember how I mentioned off the top that after his death, fans would flock from all over the world to pay tribute to Freddie by leaving a loving letter taped to the wall that surrounds the home? Well by 2017, Mary had officially had enough of that. She took down all of the letters and put up her own sign, warning that anyone who posts further debris on her property could face prosecution. As you very well might imagine, this has ruffled some feathers, especially when it comes to Freddie's massive fanbase who long to make the pilgrimage and pay their respects. Meanwhile, Mary's friends say that the wall had been damaged so often that it cost her a small fortune to repair it regularly. So now we've taken a look at the iconic home of Freddie Mercury, one of my favourite musicians out there, and I for one was excited to check out where he once lived. If you've watched the film Bohemian Rhapsody, you might remember them showing Freddie's flamboyant home. So in reality, did it look like you imagined? Be sure to tell me your thoughts on the legendary rock star's home down in the comments. If you enjoyed this look at the former home of the late and great Freddie Mercury, please like and subscribe. My name is Kara and if you have another idea for a home you'd like to explore then leave it in the comments down below. Thanks for watching! Feel free to follow me on Instagram and I will see you all in the next video. Bye!