John Entwistle's executors sold his guitars, his cars, his house and its last 700 lots within three years of his death; his ashes stayed in the grounds

John Entwistle, the Who's bassist, died at 57 in a Las Vegas hotel room after taking cocaine, on the eve of an American tour. His body was cremated and his ashes were buried privately in the grounds of Quarwood, his 55-room Victorian manor near Stow-on-the-Wold, with 42 acres and seven cottages. On 13 May 2003 his executors sold his collection of guitars and basses at Sotheby's in London. The sale was expected to raise about £500,000 and made £1,093,372. His pink Fender Precision bass, "Frankenstein," sold for £62,400. All proceeds went to the estate. The cars and recording equipment were sold next. In 2004 his only son, Christopher, offered Quarwood for £3.75 million, and in 2005 it sold to a Dutch businessman for a reported £3 million. In April 2005 Humberts auctioned the remaining 700-plus lots, including two skeletons he kept to frighten guests. Reports say the sales were made to meet inheritance tax on the estate^†. In 2026 the house is in private hands and Entwistle's ashes remain on land the family no longer owns^†.