Beatles drummer goes back on his promise.

Beatles legendary drummer Ringo Starr has put his Rydinghurst estate up for sale in Cranleigh, only a few months after saying England would always be his home. The former Beatle drum master is offloading his 200-acre estate so he and wife Barbara Bach can make the full use of his Beverley Hills mansion in Los Angeles.

Starr, born Richard Starkey, bought the Grade II-listed building in 1999 from previous owner Count George Bardeau for just under £2m – but it is expected to now sell for almost 10 times that amount. Spea king to the Sunday Times, the 74-year-old, said: “We have spent 15 years at Rydinghurst and will always have wonderful memories of our time there. “It is a beautiful home with some very special features, but we are, reluctantly, unable to spend as much time there as we would wish. “With commitments in America and our family all in England, we will continue to divide our time between Los Angeles and London.”

The eight-bedroom mansion in Elmbridge Road is being sold by estate agent Knight Frank. It has an indoor swimming pool, stable block, four cottages, indoor riding school and a walled garden. The Jacobean mansion had been untouched for 25 years, prior to the millionaire’s move from Berkshire 15 years ago. With the help of celebrity interior designer, Nicky Haslam, the couple completely redesigned the 17th century house.

Extensive renovation work has been carried out on the 200-acre estate costing hundreds of thousands of pounds, which has included turning a large library into a music room and building a courtyard with a fountain. A 500ft x 300ft ornamental lake was also built within the grounds to protect Starr’s privacy in 1998 after being granted planning permission from Waverley Borough Council. The home also boasts it own cinema, helipad, drawing room, hot tub and air conditioned gym.

Although it is believed Starr and Miss Bach had not spent much time in their Cranleigh home for the past four years, the couple had shown strong support for the community. Lighting the fireworks on the village’s bonfire night in 2004, and also in 2002, followed a previous special guest appearance at Cranleigh’s celebrity cricket match in 2003 where £3,500 was raised for the Cranleigh Village Hospital Trust – which the couple had become patrons of.

In 2003, the former Beatle also helped to raise almost £2,000 for the Royal Surrey County Hospital’s Liver Cancer Surgery when he donated a signed print of himself for the Country Pictures Gallery auction in Grafham. A spokesman for Cranleigh Lions said: “Ringo and Barbara have been strong supporters of the Cranleigh & District Lions Club in the years they have been in Cranleigh, and have lit the bonfire on several occasions. “We’re sorry to see Ringo and Barbara leave the area and would like to thank them for their support and wish them well for the future.”