Trent Park House of Secrets gets funding to research stories of ‘secret listeners’

Trent Park Museum Trust has received £250,000 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to research, preserve and share the stories of the country house's “secret listeners”.

The trust is in the process of restoring and creating a new museum in Trent Park House, a country house in Enfield that became an espionage headquarters during the second world war.

Once the home of politician and aristocrat Philip Sassoon, the property was transformed in the 1940s into a prisoner-of-war camp for high-ranking German officers, who were eavesdropped on by intelligence operators via covert listening devices installed throughout the estate.

The secret listeners programme led to crucial wartime breakthroughs, including information about Hitler's weapons programmes and Holocaust atrocities.

The site, which has stood empty since 2012, is due to open to the public in spring 2026 as a new museum entitled Trent Park House of Secrets.

The lottery grant will enable the museum to embed the secret listeners story into local school history curriculums via outreach programmes and in-school workshops.

The funding will also support volunteer historians to conduct 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 be conducted to capture the memories of those who worked there before they are lost, while new digital resources aim to bring the stories to global audiences. 

Giuseppe Albano, the recently appointed director of Trent Park House of Secrets, said the trust was “absolutely thrilled” to receive the grant. 

“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,” he said.

“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.”

Stuart McLeod, director of England – London & South 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.”

The funding is the third grant to be awarded to the Trent Park Museum Trust by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.