Set in the heart of 413-acre Trent Country Park in Enfield, North London - easily accessible via the Piccadilly Line - the museum tells two extraordinary stories: the glittering interwar social world of Sir Philip Sassoon whose guests included Winston Churchill, Charlie Chaplin and Fred Astaire, Kings George V and VI, Edward VIII, and also a covert wartime intelligence operation.
During the Second World War, senior German officers - including 59 highest-ranking generals - were held captive here in luxurious surroundings, unaware that all their conversations were being recorded through a hidden network of miniature bugging devices. In concealed basement rooms, teams of Secret Listeners - almost all of them German-speaking Jewish refugees - recorded and translated those conversations, producing military intelligence that gave the Allies a crucial advantage.
Comparable in importance to Bletchley Park, this chapter of history remained largely untold for over 70 years.
This summer, visitors will be able to move between both worlds - the glittering social world created by Sir Philip Sassoon at Trent Park and the wartime operation hidden below stairs.
Dr Giuseppe Albano MBE, Director, Trent Park House of Secrets says:
For decades the story of Trent Park has been hidden in plain sight. Many people were aware that something unusual had happened here during the war, but its full significance only became clear much later, and that is what makes it such a compelling place to explore today. We are opening the house with many secrets to share, and there will be more to discover in the years ahead as the story of Trent Park continues to unfold.
Helen Lederer, Trustee, writer and comedian, whose grandfather was a Secret Listener says:
The fact that my grandfather was a Secret Listener was a secret he took to the grave. It means so much that this chapter of little-known history can be told through the museum. To imagine what the Secret Listeners may have felt as they listened to the captive generals upstairs is as important as it is humbling.
The announcement was formally made by Jason Charalambous, founding trustee and co-chair, Trent Park Museum Trust at the official café opening on Sunday 14 July.
Advance booking opens in early July
The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am–5pm | Cockfosters or Oakwood (Piccadilly line)
