Former Top Gear host Jeremy is busy expanding his latest business, adding a huge car park for punters to rock up, but is so massive — it can be seen with satellite imagery
Jeremy Clarkson has made a grand addition to his Oxfordshire pub, The Farmer’s Dog, with the installation of a colossal 100,000-square-foot metal car park. The structure is so big that you can reportedly see it from space.
Comprising 530-inch-thick strengthened aluminium sheets, each measuring 12 feet by 15 feet, Jeremy’s car park provides ample space for vehicles in the pub’s six-acre overflow area. The huge car park sits atop a former hilltop field in the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Former Top Gear presenter Jeremy is believed to have had to incorporate a substantial cover into the design to safeguard significant archaeological finds discovered beneath the car park. These are believed to be connected to a 1,400-year-old burial mound housing the remains of a Viking warlord.
According to the Daily Mail, Clarkson’s application for retrospective planning permission to use the field as a car park earlier this summer led to a geophysical survey. This investigation unearthed potential links to the nearby burial mound, located directly underneath the car park.
Weighing hundreds of tonnes, the metallic shield could spell trouble for Clarkson’s pub if the pending planning application falls through. If this happens, it could result in the potential closure of the car park altogether.
John Moore Heritage Services, in their specialist archaeological report on the area, noted: “[The car park is] located immediately adjacent to Asthall Barrow, one of the best-preserved examples of an Anglo-Saxon burial mound in Oxfordshire.” The report also highlighted that the car park would have a “visual impact” and could affect archaeological remains.
Historic England’s report, which was included in the planning application, added: “The Asthall Barrow is special because it represents a particularly rare class of monument, with only around 50-60 examples known nationally. These burial mounds, or hlaews, were constructed during the Anglo-Saxon or Viking periods for individuals of high rank, serving as highly visible and ostentatious markers of social position.
“Some were associated with territorial claims and appear to have been specifically located,” the report concluded. Clarkson forked out a hefty £1 million to take over the pub last summer, with the complex process being documented on his series, Clarkson’s Farm.
The huge addition comes after the Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? presenter almost broke down in tears as he gave a heartwarming tribute to his fans. He went on to praise his best pal and longtime co-producer Andy Wilman in the glowing video, as he got emotional speaking on his social media.
Recalling his shot to fame on Top Gear, he explained: “It started out as a regional programme about cars and became, in quite short order, the most successful, most watched show in the world, every week, 350 million people tuned in. You talk to people today in their 20s and 30s who describe it as the sort of Sunday night wallpaper of their childhood, a very important show, actually, it really was.”
He thanked Andy for sticking by him and his BBC co-stars through thick and thin, even as the show faced controversy after controversy. Gushing over the producer, he beamed: “He was there when we ended it in Zimbabwe, he was the producer, he was the editor, he had to deal with James, Richard and I.”
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