On his £3.7 million Suffolk estate, Ed Sheeran is building a new chapel. He has designed plans to protect it by adding a high-tech lightning conductor.
The Shape of You singer, who is frequently hailed for his electric stage presence, wishes to guard against any lightning strikes harming or igniting his peaceful retreat.
Any nearby lightning strikes will be attracted to the 42mm diameter rod that is sticking out at least 7 feet over the chapel’s tower, safely dissipating the 300 million volt electrical charge.
Sheeran, who became a father for a second time last month, has requested permission to post the conductor on the chapel.
According to documents provided to East Suffolk Council, it is intended to function as a so-called Early Streamer Emission system conductor in accordance with global standards.
One component of the ESE system is a device that, as a storm approaches, stores atmospheric energy and releases it just before a lightning strike when electrical levels in the area around it suddenly increase.
Lightning is drawn to the rod by the abrupt release of energy, which reduces the likelihood that it will strike any other parts of the structure.
According to the blueprints, any significant electrical charge will subsequently be safely dispersed via copper and aluminum connections that run along the chapel’s exterior.
By July 13, the East Suffolk Council will decide whether the plans are acceptable. The musician is constructing a chapel on the grounds of his sprawling estate not far from Framlingham, Suffolk, where he was born, but so far no neighbors have protested to the plans to protect the structure.
He is well-known for buying up a number of nearby properties in a village near his birthplace in order to build his own rural retreat, which the locals have dubbed Sheeranville.
In January of this year, construction on Sheeran’s chapel, which features a tower of its own, a spiral staircase, and a burial crypt, began.
A neighbor had objected to the structure and said that there were already enough churches in the neighborhood to accommodate the local populace. Initially, Sheeran’s plans to construct a larger chapel were turned down by council planners.
He reapplied in 2019, and it was approved, for a smaller, boat-shaped area where he could “retreat for contemplation, prayer, and relaxation.”
Because “the rising of the sun is relevant both in the Abrahamic and oriental traditions,” according to planning records, it would be constructed on the eastern side of Sheeran’s estate.
A design statement read: ‘It would address an important need for a private place of retreat for contemplation and prayer, for celebration of key life and family milestones, family and social gatherings, marriages, christenings, and so forth.
‘It would also allow the applicant’s family, friends and colleagues to be able enjoy these things and join them in their observance.
‘The proposed building would be a space truly ancillary to the main house, but apart from it in order to provide calm and separation.
‘The applicant has […] guests and visiting colleagues at [his home], people from around the world.
‘Many of these people are from many countries, faiths and customs, including for example the USA, Ireland, Ghana, Nigeria, Asia and Australia.
‘Thus, the applicant seeks to provide a space in which, he, his family and these different people can retreat for contemplation, prayer and relaxation, to meet celebrate and meditate in peace and safety from disturbance, when they visit.’
The application insisted that Sheeran was not looking to overshadow the village’s nearby medieval Church of England church.
It added: ‘Its design is reflective of shapes and forms that are familiar to all, allowing each person to interpret its symbolism freely in their own way, which reflects the principle of it being multi use and non-denominational.
‘It does not seek to follow or ape a previous building typology, but is an evolved form of the Suffolk vernacular, having echoes of round towers, mills, wind pumps and so forth.’
The building will have a lobby and a nave downstairs, with a spiral staircase to a small gallery, and a main space for activity, as well as a lead roof, flint walls and stained glass windows.
Sheeran has bought five houses to create his country estate, and is believed to have spent an additional £3million on extensive renovations, including building his own pub, tree house, underground music room and tunnels. He has also added his own wildlife pond, an outdoor kitchen and a football pitch, walled kitchen garden, an orchard, a mini paddock for chickens, goats and sheep and an entertainment area with a hot tub and fire pit.
In November 2019, it was reported that he may have to open his church to the public following a row with his local council. The millionaire music star lodged plans to open the boat-shaped ‘prayer retreat’ to be used as a private venue. But his local parish council then claimed that it would need to be publicly accessible for at least three years in order to be licenced.
Dennington Parish Council Clerk Lydia Kirk said at the time: ‘The applicant’s statement of need describes the use of the ancillary building as a potential venue for marriages, christenings etc. for family and close friends.
‘The parish council notes that additional licences would be required under the Marriages and Civil Partnerships (Approved Premises) Regulations 2005.
‘Which would require the licensed premises to be accessible and available for public use for a period of three years. As such, this proposed use would be out-with the scope of the current application which is for a private use ancillary building only.’
Regarding his rights and those of his neighbors to develop their respective properties, the celebrity has been embroiled in a number of court conflicts.
Anthony Robinson, the singer’s next-door neighbor, defeated the famous person in a legal dispute in 2020 after the latter protested to Mr. Robinson’s intentions to enlarge his backyard.
Despite Sheeran’s protests, Mr. Robinson, who lives three houses away from the music star’s mansion, was allowed permission to expand his back garden by 160 feet. Mr Robinson intended to expand his garden by utilizing a portion of a field he owned in the back.
Despite his own widely-publicized construction endeavors, Sheeran opposed domesticating the area and argued it would “extend the village into the countryside in an unplanned and artificial way.”
Despite the council’s initial opposition to Mr. Robinson’s proposal, a large number of his neighbors wrote in to support him, and his plans were ultimately approved. The musician had to struggle to maintain the 16-foot pub sign he had placed outside a barn that had been turned into a bar in June 2020.
Locals questioned the sign’s purpose because, despite receiving planning clearance for the pub in 2017, he did not receive permission for it.
In addition, Sheeran was informed that he was not permitted to swim in the wildlife pond he had been given permission to construct on the understanding that it would be used to provide a natural home for frogs, newts, and dragonflies.
The council particularly barred “recreational leisure such as swimming” after visiting his property.
After neighbors objected, he was also forced to remove his outdoor sauna, which was located in a caravan adjacent to the pond.
Sheeran purchased his first home on the property, a new build, for roughly £900,000 in 2012.