The ‘Giant Toilet’ That George Best Built: Retrotastic Look Around Man Utd Legend’s 1969 Dream House (Photos)

Chris Wright

13th, October 2016

2 Comments

george-best-man-utd-1969

Back in 1969, aged 23 and at the peak of his celebrity, Manchester United star George Best decided to shovel around £35,000 into building his ‘dream house’ in Bramhall, near Stockport, Greater Manchester.

The building was designed by architect Frazer Crane (presumably with help from his brother Niles), who created a sleek, angular, modernist home that was covered roof-to-floor, inside and out, in thousands of rectangular white tiles – leading many unimpressed locals to bluntly dub it a ‘giant gents’ toilet’.

george-best-house-bramhall

Inside, Best’s futuristic pad – which he christened ‘Que Sera’ – came complete with all the mod cons of the era, including a snooker room, a sunken bath, underfloor heating, electric curtains, a retractable television, a subterranean garage for his Jaguar and of course, a gentleman’s bar area.

Photos via Daily Mail

Sadly, after moving in in 1970, Best was forced to move out and sell ‘Que Sera’ just two years later after finding living there to be a constant hassle as fans camped outside and regularly pinched bits to take home as souvenirs.

In fairness, he didn’t seem overly cut up about having to let his dream home go…

Speaking in an interview with FourFourTwo many years later, Best revealed that he did come to regret having to up sticks and leave ‘Que Sera’ so abruptly, describing his former home as “beautiful”:

It was a stroke of genius, but it was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was the first time those white tiles had been used, which are used a fair bit now, so I suppose it looked a bit like a toilet.

But to me it was a beautiful house. It’s still there, it’s changed hands a few times though.

That was 2001 and, as of 2016, it’s still standing in Bramhall and still looking way ahead of its time!

Posted in Man Utd, Newsnow, Photos, Retro

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2 Comments

  1. sa says:

    I asked my Dad to take me and my bro to the house in 69/70. on Sunday AM we took the bus to Bramhall from Stockport. Walked to the house from the bus stop to find Mr Best in the garage playing table tennis next to an e-type, my pop approached Mr Best, we then went over and he gave us his autograph. we then had a picnic across the st and watched him hanging out, I was 12 at the time. My bro and I were laughing about it last week, it looked futuristic to us.

    • Tony Mc Donald says:

      I went to George’s house in about 1971 with school mate I lived in Cheadle we pressed the intercome at top of stairs to front door a lady I think who was a housekeeper came we asked if we could have George’s autograph she said he wasn’t yet up could we come back in an hour or so we did and George came to the door I was speechless it was like looking at god he was dressed in the smartest gear of the time amazingly good looking raven black long hair he spoke to us and signed his autograph
      I am still in awe of that day nearly fifty years later he was the best footballer ever to play in this country by a mile and maybe the best in the world
      Greatly missed
      Tony Mc Donald

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