Famed Depeche Mode musician Alan Wilder tells of 'sorrow' at selling his luxury Sussex home

The musician and songwriter has lived in the £4.5 million eight-bedroom property in Itchingfield near Horsham for the past 33 years. But now he says he wants to downsize.

As well as the eight bedrooms, the property has a gym, sauna, swimming pool, tennis court, stables and chauffeur’s lodge set within 28 acres of gardens, parkland and paddocks.

"It’s the sheer size of the place,” said Alan. “My family are growing up and we rattle around here. It’s beautiful but it’s a lot to look after. We want something more manageable.”

But he’s not planning to move out of Sussex. “I have really loved being in this area. We are probably not going to move far away,” he said.

Alan is only the second owner of the property which was built in 1936 and it holds many cherished memories for him – including rock-star-style parties held in the lavish grounds.

"We’ve had a few gatherings over the years,” he said, “decade parties, 40s, 50s, 60s. I have speakers we put on the outside walls for those occasions. There are no neighbours nearby so we can crank it up a bit.”

And now, while looking for somewhere smaller for his Norwegian wife Britt and children Clara and Astrid – his two older children Paris and Stanley have flown the nest – “I still want to have everything we have now,” he says, “like the pool, gym and cinema. I like to swim. I’m still trying to keep fit even at my age.”

The 63-year-old has a separate music studio in another building which is not part of the current sale. “There’s lots of bits to this estate,” he says.

The property is on sale through agents House Partnership.

Alan was a member of Depeche Mode from 1982 until 1995 when he became dissatisfied with the working practices of the group. He was later asked if he would like to join Crawley-born Robert Smith of The Cure. “But I was looking to get out of bands,” he says.

At the moment, he says, he’s not ‘actively pursuing any ventures’ – apart, that is, from looking for a new, smaller, luxury place to live.