James Corden forced to scrap planned pool house at £8m Berkshire home due to Jersey dolmen

Comedian James Corden has been forced to scrap plans for a new pool house as part of a refurbishment of his £8.5 million Berkshire home as it was too close to a Jersey dolmen.

The Hollywood star bought Templcombe House near Henley-on-Thames in 2020 and is expected to move there when he completes filming The Late Late Show and returns to the UK later this year.

The neolithic Mont de la Ville stone structure was given to then-Governor of Jersey, Henry Seymour Conway, as a gift in 1788.

He arranged for the dolmen to be re-erected as part of his 43-acre Berkshire estate.

Mr Corden's planning application shows he wanted to build an indoor swimming pool, massage room, sauna and steam room as part of an overhaul of the property, which would also see the current 1960s house demolished.

In recent years, there have been calls for the stones to be returned to Jersey.

In 2021, the minister responsible for culture, Deputy Kirsten Morel, said he would be writing to Mr Corden formally requesting the dolmen be repatriated to the island.

Planning officer Simon Taylor recommended the plans be approved, but with some alterations to remove the planned pool house.

Mr Taylor recommended: "Following discussions with the applicant’s agent, it has been agreed that these aspects of the scheme be deleted from the current application to allow the application to proceed to Planning Committee for determination.

"It is possible that the pool house and outdoor swimming pool will come forward in a future planning application to be considered at that time."

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