The Goddard family owned the estate from 1565 until about 1830. Oliver Cromwell stopped at Stargroves after the second battle of Newbury, and was entertained by the owner, John Goddard; the basin or china bowl in which his breakfast was served is in the custody of the rector besides some letters referring to the incident. Edward Goddard owned the estate from 1778 to 1788. It was also owned by Capt. Sir F. H. W. Carden. In the early 1840s Stargrove House was destroyed by a fire. Around 1848 a new manor house was built, designed in an ornate, Victorian Gothic style in the manner of a French château. The new manor house was bought by a Captain Ramsay, and in 1879, the house was sold to Sir Frederick Walter Carden, who made alterations to the house and landscaped the park. Stargroves is noted for its revivalist architectural features such as castellations, corner turrets and Tudor revival windows. Today, Stargrove House is a Grade II listed building.
1970s
Mick Jagger purchased the estate in 1970 for £55,000 from Sir Henry Carden. The Rolling Stones recorded at Stargroves before their move to France in spring 1971. These recordings were laid down via a mobile recording studio control room located in a custom-built truck known as the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. The band recorded a number of albums and singles at Stargroves, including various tracks that appeared on Exile on Main Street, Sticky Fingers and It's Only Rock 'n Roll. Other bands also recorded at Stargroves using the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. The Who recorded songs such as "Won't Get Fooled Again" and "Pure and Easy" in 1971. In 1972, Led Zeppelin recorded songs that later appeared on the albums Houses of the Holy, Physical Graffiti and Coda. Other artists to have recorded with the RSM include Deep Purple, Status Quo, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Horslips and Iron Maiden. In the 1970s, Sir Mark Palmer and his band of wealthy New Age travellers and their horse-drawn caravans spent much time at Stargroves. The exterior of the house and its grounds were extensively used for filming the Doctor Who serials Pyramids of Mars and Image of the Fendahl, which both featured Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor.
Later owners
Jagger sold Stargroves in 1979, for £200,000, to Boxford businessman John Varley. It was then bought by Swedish businessman, Claus Bourghardt, in 1984, for £500,000. In 1998, Rod Stewart bought Stargroves for £2.5 million from Frank Williams but never moved in. He split with his wife, Rachel Hunter, soon after exchanging contracts and sold up. In 2012, Stargroves was sold for more than its £15 million listing price to a member of the Sackler family.
