J.K. Rowling | House Tour | Famous Killiechassie Estate & More

If we learn anything about JK Rowling through the course of her Harry Potter series, it's that she knows the importance of a good home. The series opens with Harry experiencing life in a depressed environment that belittles him at every turn, only for him to discover the magical hallways of Hogwarts that opens his eyes to the possibilities of the world. Harry's story is something of a reflection of Rowling's own. She grew up pretty poor and dreamed of one day being a success. Hard work and dedication to her craft paid off and she's now one of the richest women In fact, she recently revealed that she bought her childhood home, the one that inspired all of this magic in the first place, and today we're gonna tell you all about it. JK Rowling is the second highest paid author in the world, behind only James Patterson. Between June of 2019 and June of 2020, she's sold nearly 2.6 million dollars worth of books alone. For those of you keeping track at home, she hasn't released a new mainline installment in the Harry Potter series since 2007, so over 13 years later they're still selling better than most newly released books. But with the Harry Potter franchise taking on a life of its own in terms of movies and theme parks, her book sales no longer make up the mass total of her earnings. Today her biggest cash cow is Universal Studios' Wizarding World attractions. Forbes estimates that she brings in low double-digit millions from the parks. And the place is amazing, let me tell you. Ever since becoming world famous, Rowling has been somewhat reclusive in her personal finances. She's often denied being a billionaire, despite the fact that all the math points to that most likely being the case, even with the insane top tax rate of 45% in the UK. In 2016, the New York Times estimated her net worth to be in the 1.2 billion dollar range AFTER taxes. With magic money like that, you just know that Rowling lives in the nicest of homes and I'm gonna show you how true that is. Hey guys, it's Karen and today we're hopping on the Hogwarts Express to another house tour, here on Famous Entertainment. We're checking out not one, not two, not three, but FOUR homes that one of the world's most popular authors of all time has lived in. If you like this video, don't forget to subscribe and make sure you ring the bell for notifications. We've done other house tours in the likes of other billionaires like Mark Cuban and Elon Musk and we'll link to some at the end. Follow me on Instagram to chat and as usual, let me know what house tour you guys would like to see next in the comments down below. Now let's get into this video. After finding success with her Harry Potter series, the first substantial home that JK Rowling purchased was this residence located on Earl's Terrace in London's Kensington District. This 5,017 square foot home has been around since the early 19th century. The ground floor holds a family room and a spare bedroom. It also includes a grand drawing room with three floor to ceiling windows that dominates the majority of the floor. Completing this level is a sitting room, dining room, and a kitchen with wrought iron staircase. A bookshelf lined study at the rear leads out onto a first floor terrace that overlooks the communal garden and Edwards Square. The entire second floor houses the master bedroom which comes with a walk in dress room and en suite bathroom. On the top floor you can find 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Finally, the basement level of this 6 story townhouse has a wellness suite with Grecian style semi-columns. It includes a 33 foot swimming pool, a steam room, and a gym. Oh, and did I mention the property also has underground parking for 2 cars? In the middle of London that's kind of a necessity. Over the years this stunning home has been owned not only by JK Rowling but Madonna as well and most recently sold for $13 million. Another former home of JK Rowling's was this 19th century Victorian mansion that she sold back in 2012 for $3.6 million. She actually has a lot of history in this home having written 4 of her 7 Harry Potter books from this very writing room. At first glance you might think that it's simply a romantic stone cottage, while the exterior might have some old world charm, inside is a modern interior with a ton of sunlight spilling in through its huge windows and walls made of glass. As you can see from these pictures, this 8 bedroom home is beautifully proportioned with the two floors, incorporating a detached split level office, a full kitchen, shower room, a summer house, and a double car garage accessed from a cobbled lane at the back. The estate is situated in one of Edinburgh's most exclusive conservation areas and has a discreet landscape and walled garden. Rowling and her husband even built two interlinked Hogwarts-like treehouses for their children in the backyard, costing an estimated $330K. The couple had to apply for planning permission in order to knock down a $1.3 million house next to their own in order to build the treehouse, which must make these the most expensive treehouses ever built. Rowling originally owned the top half of the ivy clad building, but purchased the remainder of the property from her neighbors after the success of Harry Potter series, and then converted the entire mansion to a single home. At one point it became known as Fortress Rowling because of its security fences and reinforced doors. Giant trees were even added to give Rowling and her family added privacy. But the real question is, how many secret passageways does this place have? Sadly, unless someone's got 13 mil sitting around, I don't think we're going to find out. After moving on from Edinburgh, Rowling and her family took up residence in the world This is a home with a very impressive history, having been passed down between various members of the aristocracy. Legend has it that it was even once the hideout of Bonnie Prince Charles, a romantic figure of heroic failure from 18th century Scotland. There are also local legends that the small lock on the property is home to a water spirit. So it's extremely on brand for JK. In 2001, JK married her current husband Dr. Neil Murray in the library of the home after purchasing the property for an undisclosed sum only a month before. She later brought up all the surrounding property to ensure the estate was protected from public intrusion, spending close to 2 million pounds in the process. The current building was built in 1865 with its gothic symmetrical frontage and center tower with a pyramid roof. There aren't many pictures floating around of the interior of this place, but the house is classified as a Georgian property and has 2 halls, a dining room, a drawing room, a morning room and 7 bedrooms with a 2 bedroom extension added to the west wing. It also features a swimming pool and a state of the art security system with 6 foot high gates, CCTV cameras and 24x7 security, so don't plan on stopping by for a visit any time soon. Unless you happen to have a cloak of invisibility on you. Finally, we have JK's newest home, which also happens to be her oldest. This stone house, situated in Touchshaw, Gloucestershire and nicknamed Church Cottage, is believed to have been built around 1852 and is about 152 miles west of London. At different times, it has functioned as both a schoolhouse and a rectory. It was also JK's former home. She lived there between the ages of 9 to 18, which are pretty formative years. The gothic-style cottage is said to have inspired many famous aspects of the Harry Potter series While living in the home, Rowling wrote, Joanne Rowling slept here circa 1982 onto a bedroom wall in the cottage. She's secretly owned the property since 2011 when she paid $505K for it. Her ownership has only recently come to light because she's had to file permits to renovate the historic sites. Apparently she's planning on restoring the home's windows and garages, with more renovations to come on the bathrooms and roof. Because JK spends most of her time living at her residence in Kilichastie, many locals wonder what she's going to do with the property when the repairs are finished. Many believe she will turn it into a home for families in need. After all, if her recent $1.25 million donation to the homeless and domestic violence victims during the recent global pandemic has taught us anything, it's that JK loves to donate her money to magical causes. And that brings us to the end of this video. What did you guys think of JK Rowling's different homes? Which one would you prefer to live in? Or which one seemed the most magical to you? Honestly, thinking of it now, I should have worn one of my Harry Potter outfits, but I totally forgot. So, if you guys want to see videos on Daniel Radcliffe or any of the Harry Potter characters, let me know and I'll wear something then. But like I said, let me know which house you liked best in the comments down below. And don't forget to follow me on Instagram if you want to chat. I'll see you all in the next video. Bye!