Madonna is turning her Manhattan apartment into a replica of her British estate.

The '4 Minutes' singer - who split from her husband, film director Guy Ritchie, late last year - misses their Wiltshire manor so much she is spending a fortune replicating the period interiors in her luxurious new home.

A source told Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper: "She doesn't seem to want to give her old place up. Living there was like living in a dream.

"It would have been easier if she had just asked Guy Ritchie if she could take everything from Ashcombe with her.

"She has ordered her staff to go out and troll the Upper East Side boutiques for candelabras, side tables, and period chaises."

The 50-year-old star is reportedly distraught at leaving her belongings with Guy but believes it would be bad luck to have them shipped to the US.

The source added: "She had an amazing collection of Oriental carpets there, but she doesn't want any of them in her new townhouse. She thinks it's bad karma."

Madonna reportedly paid £27 million for the four-storey Georgian property on Manhattan's Upper East Side, which boasts 13 bedrooms, 14 bathrooms, a lift, wine cellar and 3,000 sq ft garden, earlier this year.

She is said to be so determined to recreate the feel of her former home she has replaced ancient wooden flooring with terracotta tiles similar to those at Ashcombe.

Madonna is even considering shipping over her old pet chickens.

The source added: "It's the genuine article - old world, home to New York's aristocracy for over a century."

Madonna - who already raises David Banda, three, Rocco, eight and 12-year-old Lourdes - bought the lavish family home for her newly-extended brood.

She was reunited with her adopted Malawian daughter, four-year-old Mercy at the weekend.