Wilton Park Estate

The Wilton Park estate once belonged to the monks of Burnham Abbey. It is mentioned in 1412, with John Amond as farmer. In 1702, it was acquired by the Basill family, who built a house on the estate. Sometime between 1760 and 1770, they sold the estate to Josias Du Pré, the future Governor of Madras. He commissioned the building of a mansion house on the estate, also known as the "White House", designed by Richard Jupp, which was completed in 1779. In 1939, the house was taken over by the War Office and used as an interrogation centre for Nazi prisoners of war: German refugees working for the Allies would listen in secret into prisoners' conversations. After the Second World War, the house…