THE one-time home of a chart-topping musician is for sale with a guide price of £1.25m.

English blues and pop-rock singer-songwriter Chris Rea composed some of the songs which made his name in the basement of Mole End, the home in Cookham he shared with his wife Joan and their two daughters, Josephine and Julia.

He’s best known for some superb tracks such as Let’s Dance, Fool [If You Think It’s Over], Jacqueline, Stainsby Girls, On the Beach, Driving Home for Christmas, I Can Hear Your Heartbeat and Working On It.

His tenth album The Road to Hell released in 1989 topped the UK Albums Chart as did the next one, Auberge.

The house Chris and Joan bought next to National Trust land at the top of Winter Hill was designed to take advantage of the lie of the land.

The lower ground floor where Chris wrote his music gets lots of natural light.

The far reaching views of the surrounding countryside and the river in the valley below would inspire any artist.

In recent times the property has been refurbished from top to bottom by the present owner.

At basement level is the present owner’s office/study (23ft by 15) which could easily be turned into an additional reception room.

Also on the lower ground floor is one of the five double bedrooms (this one is the depth of the house).

There’s also a new shower room and a large utility room.

The ground floor includes the two principal reception rooms and the kitchen which has bi-fold glass doors opening onto a partly covered private courtyard,

The living room has an open fireplace, the dining room opens onto the kitchen.

At the top of the house are four double bedrooms including one en suite and a further bathroom, making five beds in total and three bathrooms.

Mole End is for sale through the Marlow office of Savills.