Ed Sheeran’s childhood home

I heard Ed Sheeran when he was on Desert Island Disks and thought what an amiable earthy chap he is. I’ve tried listening to the songs but they’re a little a bit wishy-washy for my liking. I wondered how he’d fill Wembley central library never mind Wembley Stadium (which he did for three nights) but what do I know? This didn’t stop me visiting his childhood home “West Royd” in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire.

Ed lived here as a tot with his older brother and mum and dad in 1991 to 1992. He only lived here for about 18 months as his parents started an independent art consultancy which they ran for the next 20 years. Work often took them to London and Yorkshire was too far away (his parents and Ed now live in Suffolk; his bro Matthew works as a composer.)

Hebden Bridge is quite hilly and this large family house sits on one of the steep roads that takes you out of the centre. The uphill walk rewards the walker with a decent view of the town. When I found this house on a Sunday evening at about 8pm the front door was open and people were hanging around in the garden. I had to wait about 20 minutes for them to go. I sat in the car and have coffee but the milk had gone off. The curious part of me (90% of me) though seeing the current owners as an opportunity and I thought I may be able to get inside and take some photos but I didn’t fancy getting a black eye. I hadn’t eaten for hours anyway and wanted to get home for chips and vegetarian chicken nuggets.

Looking down into Hebden Bridge…