Ed Sheeran fulfills his wish to have a chapel in his home, with a crypt for when he dies

The love story of Ed Sheeran, 32, and Cherry Seaborn, 31, is straight out of a movie. They met when they were 11 years old and studied together as teenagers, when the British singer fell madly in love with her. But their paths separated: she decided to focus on her hockey career and he, on his music. They both succeeded in their fields — although after playing in the first division, Seaborn switched careers and started working on Wall Street. Fate brought them together again in the summer of 2015 at a Taylor Swift party.

Sheeran told People magazine how they reconnected: “I was texting [Cherry], and she was like, ‘I’m in Rhode Island at a 4th of July party,’ and I was like, ‘So am I.’ I kinda said to Taylor, ‘Can I invite one of my old schoolmates?’”

And the rest is history. The couple announced their engagement in 2018 and, to top off the fairy tale romance, Ed Sheeran said he wanted to get married in his very own chapel. The plan was to build a Saxon-style round tower on his country estate in the English county of Suffolk, where Sheehan is originally from and where the two studied together.

However, in the end it couldn’t be. Planning officials said the structure would cause “unsatisfactory visual impacts” and create “the impression of a second village church.” His application was rejected by the Suffolk Coastal District Council. It was a disappointment for Sheeran, who had even called in experts to see if nearby great crested newts could scupper his plans for the private chapel. In the end, Sheeran and Seaborn got married at her family church in Suffolk.

Sheeran — who is known for hits such as Thinking Out Loud, Shape of You and Photograph — has invested around $65 million in purchasing 27 properties, including apartments, houses, and the Suffolk country estate where he currently lives with his wife and two children. In July 2019, it was learned that Sheeran had also bought the two houses next to his mansion in London to avoid problems with neighbors due to possible parties and loud music. “Ed’s had neighbors grumbling about noise before so when he got a chance to buy up the two houses next to his London home, he jumped at the chance,” a source told The Sun.

Nothing gets in his way, and his wish to have a private chapel was to be no exception. And now, five years after his failed attempt, he has finally built one in his home in Suffolk.

Planners gave the project the green light in 2019, and scaffolding began going up in January 2022. The work was completed in August of this year. The Sheeran-Seaborn family’s chapel is a scaled-down version of what they planned for their wedding in 2018. According to building plans, the structure is a boat-shaped building with flint walls, a lead roof and a round tower.

“The relatively small structure would be clothed by the existing, emerging native planting in a similar way to other structures in the countryside, helping it integrate into the well wooded clay plateau,” said the architects responsible for the design, explaining why this plan had been accepted. “This will continue to establish over time, reducing views of the building (and other existing buildings) as the native wooded backdrop reaches maturity.”

The chapel is designed to hold eight pews, an altar, an upstairs gallery and a stair turret with access to the tower. But there is one detail that really stands out. According to U.S. media, the chapel also includes a crypt.

In an October interview with GQ, Sheeran explained that it is not a typical crypt, but rather a place to honor the memory of loved ones who were cremated. He also assured that the chapel could be used to host weddings for friends.

“It’s a hole that’s dug in the ground with a bit of stone over it, so whenever the day comes and I pass away, I get to go in there,” he said. “People think it’s really weird and really morbid, but I’ve had friends die without wills, and no one knows what to do.”

The four-time Grammy winner has suffered significant losses in recent years, including the passing of his mentor, Michael Gudinski, and his close friends Jamal Edwards and Shane Wane.

As well as the chapel, Sheeran’s estate also includes a pub, a wildlife pond, an outdoor kitchen, a football pitch, a walled kitchen garden, a farm for chicken, goats, and sheep and an entertainment area with hot tub and fire pit. Some of these projects have upset the neighbors. Sheeran, for example, was not denied permission to put up a five-meter sign for his pub. He was also warned that he could not swim in the wildlife pond, which authorities said must be used as a natural habitat for frogs, newts, and dragonflies. The City Council itself visited the property and specifically banned “recreational leisure such as swimming.” Sheeran was also forced to remove his outdoor sauna after neighbors complained.

But the singer has also caused a fuss about his neighbors’ reforms. His neighbor won a court battle in 2020 after Sheeran objected to him extending his backyard by 160 meters. He argued that his neighbor’s plan would “extend the village into the countryside in an unplanned and artificial way.” At first, the City Council agreed with him and rejected proposal, but the plans were finally approved. Despite having the odd neighborhood dispute, at least now Sheeran also has his own chapel which, according to the singer, is a place where he and his loved ones can “retreat for contemplation and prayer.”

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