To all progressively greying, hard-of-hearing Led Zep rockers, former groupies and tribute-band devotees (The Argus, September 12), this little-known fact might be of interest.
Led Zeppelin bought Hammerwood Park (near East Grinstead) as an investment in the early 1970s, when they had a lot of money to play with.
It was a neo-classical, Greek-styled mansion, built in 1792 - one of only two in this country built by the English-born American, Benjamin Latrobe, architect of the White House, Washington, in 1812.
The mansion is featured at the beginning of Led Zeppelin's film, The Song Remains The Same.
These rock legends had ambitious plans for Hammerwood Park - to be a recording studio and to garage their many cars - but spent little time there due to extensive touring abroad and much dry rot at home.
The mansion fell into further neglect and disrepair, due to lack of maintenance, lack of security, unneighbourly neighbours and vandalism.
In 1982, it was purchased and saved from destruction by the inventor John Pinnegar and his family.
The Pinnegar family continue their efforts to restore Hammerwood Park to its former glory and open to the public at certain times during the summer months.
-Richard W Symonds Ifield, Crawley
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