[title]
From James Bond, to Slow Horses, Brits famously love a good spy story. Soon a new museum will open in the capital unveiling some of Old Blighty’s wartime secrets: think espionage, deception and histories that have been hidden for 70 years. Trent Park House, in north London’s Enfield, has announced it will open the ‘House of Secrets’, a museum dedicated to Second World War spycraft inside a historic stately home.
During WWII Trent Park House became an key location for British espionage, and has been compared with Bletchley Park in its importance. Between 1939 and the end of the war senior German officers, including 59 generals, were held captive in the luxurious surroundings. They were treated with unusual privileges, but were unaware that their conversations were being recorded through a complex network of miniature bugging devices, hidden places such as plant pots, billiard tables and light fittings. Beneath the state rooms a team of ‘secret listeners’, many of whom were German-speaking Jewish refugees, listened in on the Germans from concealed basement rooms. These recordings produced intelligence that gave the Allies a crucial advantage against Germany. Visitors will be able to uncover this fascinating story inside Trent Park’s newly restored rooms.
The mansion inside 413-acre Trent Country Park is also the erstwhile home of aristocrat and politician Sir Philip Sassoon, who was named ‘the greatest host in Britain’. Sassoon often entertained guests including Winston Churchill, George Bernard Shaw, Noel Coward, Fred Astaire and Charlie Chaplin. For the first time since 1939, furnishings and artworks once belonging to Sassoon will return to the house and be displayed in their original setting.
The House of Secrets will open in time for summer 2026, with the exact date still to be confirmed.
ICYMI: This historic east London picture house is reopening – and it could have a surprising new operator.
Plus: Designs have been revealed for the National Gallery’s biggest ever revamp.
Get the latest and greatest from the Big Smoke – from news and reviews to events and trends. Just follow our Time Out London WhatsApp channel.
Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out London newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox.