ON TOUR: De Vere Latimer Estate

There are three famed establishments synonymous with WWII counter espionage.  Two you probably would have heard about extensively, Bletchley Park and to a lesser extent Trent Park, but there is a third, what is now the De Vere Latimer Estate, just outside Chesham at the end of the London Underground network.  Chesham is very well located by road, 30 miles from Heathrow, and the M1, M4 and M40, each about ten miles away. 

Latimer House is now recognised by Historic England for the vital part it played with the code breakers of WWII.  One of the conversations eavesdropped was regarding Hitler's V-1 flying bomb and V-2 rocket missile. The information was quickly sent to Winston Churchill, who was also a frequent visitor.

Taken on its own the Latimer House De Vere luxury hotel is a fine getaway, set in the heart of some of the prettiest countryside within easy reach of London.  Dining is of a high standard, there is a large gym, spa and swimming pool and you can stay in the classic Manor House or the connected and much more recently built modern accommodation. 

Within the very pretty extensive grounds (30 acres) there are large self-contained conference facilities. Just a few steps away, and registered for civil marriages, is the lovely St Mary Magdalene Church.

Latimer House is a large Victorian country mansion once a home of members of the Cavendish family who became the Barons Chesham. It is a Grade II listed structure and dates from 1838, replacing a previous building gutted by fire.  Underneath are extensive cellars used as cells and interrogation rooms in the war.  When these were added is not known, even Helen Fry, author of “The Walls Have Ears”, the authoritative study of the wartime German prisoner interrogation programme, has not been able to find out.  It is rumoured that Hitler’s deputy Rudoph Hess was a “guest” at one time after his crash landing in Scotland with a so-called “peace deal”.  Hess would have stayed at the main house. It was the policy of the counter espionage team to look after senior prisoners well, even confirmed Nazis (not all were), some Trent Park residents even being taken to The Ritz for dinner.  It was part of the interrogation process.  Soften them up.  

Normally visitors are not allowed into the cellars.  The steps down have to be treated with great caution, the remains of daubing by prisoners very visible and at the very end of a long walk is a bricked up possible entry to a further underground tunnel.  There is a 50-year embargo on taking it down, and where it leads to nobody knows?  All the cells were bugged, eavesdropping one of the skills of the very inquisitive team of mostly Jewish German counter-intelligence agents. 

Senior officers were often taken for a walk on the estate as a way to extract information from them, and many were used to help the gardeners dig the vegetable garden on the estate.  It was where captured German U-boat submarine crews and Luftwaffe pilots were initially held before being transferred to conventional prisoner of war camps.

Guests have a selection of Victorian designed rooms in the Mansion, with its own check-in area, a short walk to the much more recently added reception with standard well sized hotel bedrooms connected by an internal walkway.  Wi-fi works everywhere and USB plus are offered in all the accommodation.

The Mansion offers the spacious Huntley Bar and Library and a terrace overlooking the glorious Chiltern Hills, some of the most magnificent countryside in the South of England.  Here you can take afternoon tea in a very British style. Savouries, sandwiches and scones plus a glass of Prosecco to help keep the flow.  

For dining (and breakfast) the 1838 Restaurant and Bar is attached to The Mansion.  Daylight streams through the glass ceiling whilst indoor trees and plants complement the colour scheme. The Courtyard offers alternative summer alfresco eats.  Feasting is all very British with locally sourced seasonally inspired menus.

Whilst De Vere acknowledges the history of the Latimer Estate its links to Bletchley Park and Trent Park are not particularly well highlighted.  This is something that the owners might like to look into for the future.

www.devere.co.uk/latimer-estate

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