A RUINED 16th century West Somerset cottage used as a backdrop for one of the most famous music videos of the 1990s has been put on the market for sale.

Holford’s historic Silk Mills - literally a mill used for making silk - can be seen in the video accompanying the chart-topping song by Canadian star Bryan Adams ‘(Everything I Do) I Do It For You’.

The song was number one in the UK for 16 weeks in 1991 and was also the theme for that year’s Kevin Costner movie ‘Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves’.

Singer Bryan Adams performs in front of ruined Silk Mills, Holford.
Singer Bryan Adams performs in front of ruined Silk Mills, Holford. ( )

Silk Mills was chosen as a pop video location because it was near filmmaker Julien Temple’s home in Holford.

The cottage at the foot of the Quantock Hills is close to Alfoxton Park, where in the 1790s the poet William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy lived and walked in Holford Glen.

A waterfall in the glen became one of their favourite spots and was immortalised in Wordsworth’s 1798 poem ‘Lines Written in Early Spring’ reflecting on nature’s beauty and harmony.

Estate agent Ross Wallis said: “I am so excited to have launched this totally unique and historic property in Holford, a beautiful slice of woodland with former mill buildings and the Holford River running through, spanning nearly 1.5 acres.”

The site was later bought by music legend Sir Paul McCartney, who gave it to the League Against Cruel Sports to manage as a wildlife sanctuary.

Silk Mills, Holford, once used in a Bryan Adams music video, has continued to fall into disrepair. PHOTO: Ross Wallis, Next Associates.
Silk Mills, Holford, once used in a Bryan Adams music video, has continued to fall into disrepair. PHOTO: Ross Wallis, Next Associates. ( )

Mr Wallis said the site continued to be subject to a covenant which restricts both its hunting and fishing rights.

He said Silk Mills was a ‘truly magical’ place steeped in local folklore and boasting ‘a rich tapestry of cultural significance’.

Mr Wallis said: “This evocative site offers a rare opportunity to own a remarkable piece of Somerset’s natural and industrial heritage.

“With gated road access from Holford, the site includes areas of mature woodland, the fast-flowing Holford River, and the atmospheric remains of the former Holford Silk Mills, long since surrendered to nature.”

The property, in Back Lane, is close Holford’s St Mary’s Church and a third of a mile from the village public house the Plough Inn.

Mr Wallis said the cottage had a guide price of £75,000 and would be sold through an informal tender process with a June 4 deadline for bids.

He said planning permission to develop the site was refused in recent years, which was unlikely to change, so it was not suitable for anybody who wanted to make it their home.

However, it should appeal to ‘lifestyle buyers, creatives, conservationists, and those with a passion for nature and heritage’.

Mr Walls said: “Whether you are seeking a place to quietly reconnect with the land, explore rewilding and conservation potential, or simply become a guardian of an extraordinary story, Silk Mills is a sanctuary unlike any other.”

The mill site was founded in the late 1500s by Huguenot refugees from the Continent, but fell into disuse in the 1860s after foreign silk became cheaper and two fires mysteriously struck the building.