An escape from politics

Arundells, 59, The Close, Salisbury, Wiltshire Property of the Sir Edward Heath Charitable Foundation An ancient house in the magical setting of Salisbury Cathedral became the home of a former Prime Minister. John Goodall looks at its remarkable story

- John Goodall

IN the early 1980s, the former Conservative Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath was searching for a country house. His requirement was for something Georgian with a view of the sea, a concession to his passion for sailing. The house had to be small enough to be comfortable, but large enough to entertain and within easy striking distance of London. Sir Edward failed to find what he wanted but discovered instead a property with which he fell in love: Arundells in the Cathedral Close at Salisbury.

The introduction was made through Robert Key, his then parliamentary secretary and MP for Salisbury, who had been educated at the cathedral school in the close. At the time, the property was available for only nine years, the tail end of a lease. Nevertheless, in the spring of 1985, Sir Edward bought this for the then astonishing sum of £120,000. Seven years later, he secured the freehold. It was, as he liked to say, the only home he ever owned.

The history of Arundells is inextricably bound up with that of the great cathedral that overshadows it. In the 1190s, plans were drawn up to move the seat of the see of Salisbury from nearby Old Sarum and, with the approval of Richard I, the site for the present church was identified two miles southwards at the confluence of the Avon with four tributaries.