The charity is preparing to launch Trent Park House of Secrets next year to tell the story of the building’s role during the Second World War

Trent Park Museum Trust has been awarded £250,000 in lottery cash.

The grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund will help the charity to share the “remarkable story of wartime espionage and deception” relating to the ‘secret listeners‘.

One of England’s great country houses, Trent Park House in Enfield witnessed some of the most pivotal events of the 20^th Century. After being remodelled by politician and socialite Sir Philip Sassoon in the 1920s, it was transformed into a unique prisoner of war camp for some of Hitler’s most loyal officers during the Second World War.

Covert listening devices were installed throughout the estate and the basement was transformed into the headquarters of intelligence operators whose eavesdropping led to crucial wartime breakthroughs, including information about Hitler’s weapons programmes and Holocaust atrocities. They became known as the secret listeners.

After standing empty since 2012, the house is being restored and transformed into a museum and heritage site which will open to the public in spring next year as Trent Park House of Secrets.

This latest lottery grant will embed the Trent Park House story into local school history curriculums through outreach programmes and new in-school workshops. Volunteer historians will conduct vital archival research at the National Archives, Kew, where much of the house’s wartime history remains uncatalogued and is still being declassified.

Oral history interviews will capture memories before they are lost forever, while new digital resources will bring these extraordinary stories to global audiences.

Dr Giuseppe Albano MBE, director of Trent Park House of Secrets, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to receive this grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. While the building itself undergoes careful restoration, it is the house’s stories — and the memories of those who lived them — that are at greatest risk of being forgotten.

“Thanks to this support, we can now bring to life the story of the secret listeners and ensure that school pupils and visitors alike can discover the pivotal role this place played during the Second World War. Many thanks to our brilliant fundraising and project team for putting the successful bid together.”

Jason Charalambous, co-chair of Trent Park Museum Trust, added: “On behalf of the trust I express my sincere gratitude to The National Lottery Heritage Fund for its continued support for Trent Park House of Secrets. This generous grant supports our work to reveal and share the house’s extraordinary hidden histories with ever more people and communities as we gear towards opening to the public next year.”

The £250,000 grant is the third to be awarded to Trent Park Museum Trust by The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Stuart McLeod, London director at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “Thanks to National Lottery players, we’re proud to support Trent Park House in bringing to life the extraordinary stories that unfolded within its walls. By documenting and sharing this remarkable heritage with schools and communities in Enfield, as well as making it accessible online, this vital chapter of our national history is preserved for generations to come. We’re looking forward to the museum opening in 2026.”

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