Millionaire businessman pleads guilty to growing magic mushrooms at his £1.3m Henry VII Kent castle 

A millionaire businessman has admitted growing magic mushrooms at his castle home in Kent where King Henry VIII once jousted and hunted from.

Simon Giles, 44, pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court, Kent, today to producing the psychedelic substances psilocin and psilocybin – also known as magic mushrooms – between September 1 2020 and May 6 2021.

Police visited his home in the south wing of the Grade II-listed Lullingstone Castle in the village of Eynsford near Sevenoaks on an unrelated matter and discovered the class A drug during a search.

Millionaire businessman Simon Giles, 44, pleaded guilty to producing the psychedelic drug magic mushrooms at his castle in Kent. The class A drug was discovered following a police visit on an unrelated matter 

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He was then charged by post with producing ‘brown fungal material’. 

Prosecutor Bridget Todd told Friday’s plea hearing that at the time the drug was found, referred to by the judge as ‘a relatively small amount of organic material’, police also discovered fertiliser, a growing room and seal bags.

She said an expert’s report was needed ahead of sentencing to assess the quality of the psychoactive substance and clarify whether it was consistent with personal use.

Alexander Upton, defending Giles, told the judge, Recorder Edmund Burge QC, that a defence expert’s report may also be needed once they had seen the conclusion of the prosecution report.

He said: ‘These are magic mushrooms. A tiny pinprick of a mushroom might be zero grams in the morning but if one comes back in the afternoon, it might be four or five grams. Other drugs don’t multiply overnight as mushrooms do.’ 

PICTURED: The gatehouse of the castle home, which dates back from 1497. The estate was once used by King Henry VIII for jousting and hunting

The estate was also visited by Queen Anne and has a vineyard, a 19-acre lake, formal gardens, a Tudor gatehouse dating from 1497 and a chapel

In January last year, Giles, whose occupation is listed with Companies House as an investment manager, was reportedly facing eviction from his then £1.4million home at Lullingstone Castle following a High Court battle with HSBC bank.

The majority of the 15th century property, where the Tudor monarch was known to visit with Queen Anne and would hunt and joust in the estate grounds, is owned by the Hart-Dyke family.

It was also home to the 1930s Silk Farm which produced silk for Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation robes and wedding dress.

The majority of the estate is owned by the Hart Dyke family (pictured) and have presided over it since the 15th-Century

Giles, now living in Rectory Place, Hawkwood Lane, Chislehurst, Kent, also pleaded guilty at the same court hearing to possessing a prohibited weapon – a stun device disguised as a mobile phone.

Recorder Burge QC said a probation report may be ordered to assist with sentencing given Giles’s age and previous good character but no date was set for that hearing to take place.

He said the prosecution’s expert report would assess ‘the strength of the psychoactive substance inside the organic material’.

Miss Todd added that they needed to determine ‘whether it is consistent with personal use or not’.

The case has been adjourned for a mention hearing on July 26 for the prosecution to ‘update the court on its position and what the next steps are for the defence’.

Giles has been released on unconditional bail, but was warned by the judge to keep in touch with his solicitor.