The 23-year-old singer - who was raised in a small London apartment by her mother Penny Adkins - is paying around £15,000 a month in rent for the 10-bedroom Grade II listed property in Sussex, South East England.

Despite admitting she is likely to keep nine bedrooms unused, Adele loves the property because it allows her to escape her fame.

She told `60 Minutes` host Anderson Cooper: "This is just safety, this house."

The huge estate is set in 25 acres of land and boasts two swimming pools, tennis court, helicopter landing pad and a separate cottage for staff.

The house - which is just 30 minutes away from Adele`s boyfriend Simon Konecki`s home in Brighton - was briefly used as a convent in the 1970s, when it was extended to include a private chapel and nuns quarters.

During her `60 minutes` interview, Adele recalled how she struggled when she first moved out of home - and decided to move back in with her mother.

She said: "After my first record I moved out of my mum`s to Notting Hill on my own.

"My life fell apart. My phone got cut off, my credit card got cut off, the house was a mess. It was awful.

"I couldn`t function without my mum so I moved back in with her. I`d rather be defeated than one day come in and the rats would be eating me.

"It was basically a bedsit with walls."
sections: Celebrities