Opening date of Enfield's new Second World War museum announced

Trent Park House of Secrets will be opening to the public next month after an almost decade-long restoration project

A new museum that will tell the story of how an Enfield mansion house played a crucial intelligence role in the Second World War will open to the public next month, it’s been confirmed.

Trent Park House hosted the wartime ‘secret listeners’ who covertly gathered intelligence from high-ranking Nazi officers held at the mansion, and the creation of a museum to highlight this history was one of the promises made when developer Berkeley Homes won permission to convert the upper floors of the building into luxury flats as part of a wider redevelopment scheme in 2017.

Following several years of painstaking work, partly supported by the National Lottery, the ground floor and basement will finally open to the public as the Trent Park House of Secrets museum on Tuesday, 21st July.

From this date the museum will be open every week from Tuesday to Sunday, 10am–5pm, with entry tickets costing £14 for adults and £12 for children and students. Under-fives can enter for free. Advance booking will open early next month.

As well as the Second World War exhibitions and interactive displays, the museum will also explore Trent Park House’s pre-war history under the ownership of famous socialite Sir Philip Sassoon, who used it to entertain the likes of Charlie Chaplin and Winston Churchill.

Dr Giuseppe Albano MBE, director of Trent Park House of Secrets, said: “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.”

Writer and comedian Helen Lederer, a museum trustee whose grandfather was a secret listener, added: “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.”

Earlier this month a new café also opened at Trent Park House, while Berkeley Homes has also recently confirmed that it is planning to restore public access for a shuttle bus service to the museum from Oakwood Station.

Local news needs your support

We are proud that we were at the forefront of reporting on the recent local elections. We can’t do this without the support of our readers.

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

ACT NOW!

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.