Jeremy Clarkson recently bought his village pub – the Windmill in Oxfordshire – with it being reported that he offered almost £1 million for the property that he was “so intent” on having.
Since opening his farm, Clarkson has faced a battle with the local council over his Diddly Squat restaurant and his application to open it was denied in 2021.
Writing for The Sunday Times, Clarkson said about the new venture: “I just needed the pub where this could all happen. And then, after I’d looked [at] about 14,000, I found just the place.”
The presenter is said to have bought the freehold to the pub and it reportedly isn’t tied to a brewery, suggesting that as a result he can sell his own beer and farm produce at the venue, which is located around ten miles from Diddly Squat Farm.
Clarkson teased the renovations which have started at the pub and posted on his Instagram: “New pub coming along. Only the water, gas, lavatories, staff and electrics to sort and we’ll be ready to go.”
According to MailOnline, the Amazon Prime star was “so intent” on taking over the pub that he offered the owner “almost £1 million” for it “within minutes of meeting her.”
Jackie Walker, 79, who is said to have opened the pub with her late husband Alan Walker in 1983, reportedly hadn’t put it on the market and was surprised to be told of Jeremy’s interest which “accelerated into a finalised deal within minutes of their meeting”.
She told the publication that a film crew came into the pub Jeremy knocked on the door and asked if she was interested in selling it, before meeting the 64-year-old at his home to discuss terms.
Walker said: “The first thing Jeremy said to me was I suppose you want a lot of money for this,” before revealing he quickly made her an offer which was much more than she expected.
She explained she accepted immediately and branded Clarkson and his partner, Lisa Hogan, as “charming”, and added that she “really liked them.”
“I had not been planning to sell the place, but I wasn’t that happy with how it was being run and I am not getting any younger.”
Walker said that she stepped back from day-to-day running of the pub after decades in around 2013 when her husband Alan died, aged 73, 11 years ago and allowed leaseholders to continue its operation.
Clarkson reportedly bought out the remaining five years on that lease from husband and wife leaseholders Barry and Vanessa Eason when he did the deal.
The latest project from the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? presenter is said to be a huge part of the upcoming season of Clarkson’s farm, with the pub expected to open later this year.
