Picture-perfectly perched on the outskirts of London is a 60-acre estate that’ll make you feel like you’ve been teleported straight to the East Coast of America. Built to bear an uncanny resemblance to its oh-so swanky namesake across the pond, the British version of The Hamptons can be found in Worcester Park, boasting 645 homes – most of which have been constructed in an ‘American Neo-Colonial weatherboard style’.
The Hamptons, Worcester Park
The rather eye-catching estate set up shop in the early noughties on a piece of land that was formerly used as sewage treatment works. Built by St James (which is part of the Berkeley Group), The Hamptons comprises 30 acres of residential housing and 30 acres of green space and wetlands. The houses have all quite clearly been inspired by architecture found just a stone’s throw from the Big Apple, with timber framing, white picket fences, and pastel-painted facades.
The estate is home to fishing lakes, tennis courts, an amphitheatre, and playgrounds. And slap-bang in the middle of the neighbourhood sits Maple Lodge, the community centre that looks exactly like the kind of town hall you’d see in a quintessential American town. Maple Lodge boasts a big old clocktower that’s frequently likened to the iconic Hill Valley clocktower in the ‘Back to the Future’ franchise. And on the subject of the big screen, The Hamptons in London has had its fair share of claims to fame.
The complex is frequently used as a filming location due to its similarity to its American counterpart. Three to four productions are apparently filmed there each year, and the money that the neighbourhood makes from its impressive acting career reportedly brings down the service charge for residents. Most recently, Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock were spotted filming scenes for ‘Practical Magic 2’ in the area, with the estate serving as the perfect stand in for the fictional New England town of Ashbury.
