JK Rowling’s Father Ran Illegal Marijuana Operation From Childhood Home in 1990s, Book Says

A forthcoming biography states that JK Rowling’s estranged father secretly ran a large-scale marijuana-growing operation from the family’s former home in southwest England during the 1990s. The allegations appear in “A Pen to Change the World,” a book by Solomon Schmidt scheduled for release on June 23, 2026.

com, the claims come from Peter Rowling’s nephew, Ben Rowling. Ben Rowling told the author that his uncle said he had been one of the largest growers of marijuana in South West England and Wales in the years before 1997. The book reports the operation began after the death of JK Rowling’s mother from multiple sclerosis in 1990 and ran from roughly 1991 to 1995.

The family home, Church Cottage in Gloucestershire, reportedly contained a hidden cellar accessed through a trapdoor under a carpet or rug. The space was equipped with lighting, ventilation and harvesting systems, according to the account. "Pete always had a carpet or rug over the trapdoor entrance, and so you would never know the space even existed unless you lived there or were family," Ben Rowling is quoted as saying in the book.

The book states that another man identified only as “Derek” handled cultivation, packaging and sales. It adds that the cellar’s thick brick-and-concrete floor and ventilation system helped conceal the activity. At the time, marijuana cultivation in the UK carried the risk of a substantial prison sentence.

The operation reportedly ended when the house was sold in 1995. Manuals detailing the grow setup were later found in the attic by an estate agent, but no further action resulted, according to the book. There is no suggestion that JK Rowling was aware of the alleged activities.

She was living as a single mother in Edinburgh, Scotland, at the time. com. Peter Rowling could not be reached for comment. The author said his research indicated Peter Rowling is now incapacitated and living in a nursing home. Representatives for JK Rowling declined to comment.

The allegations add to the public record of the fractured relationship between JK Rowling and her father. She has previously spoken about the difficulties in interviews, saying she had been afraid of him for a long time and stopped communicating with him in 2003.

Peter Rowling attended her 2001 wedding in Scotland but the relationship broke down about two years later. JK Rowling has said the final break came after he auctioned Harry Potter first editions, including a signed copy of “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” that sold for $48,000.

At the time Peter Rowling told a reporter he feared he had lost his daughter and hoped she would one day understand why he sold the books when he needed money. JK Rowling has described seeking his approval for years before reaching a point where she could no longer do so.

Her mother was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when JK Rowling was a teenager and died before the Harry Potter series was published. JK Rowling has spoken publicly about living in near poverty as a single mother in Scotland before the books brought her financial success.