During the Second World War, Holocaust survivors lived in a dream country house that is now for sale for £13.5m.
Holmehurst is a ten-bedroom house in the middle of Epping Forest in Essex, close to London. It has a swimming pool, ten acres of gardens and woods, a private fishing lake, a tennis court, and even two places for helicopters to land.
The main house is almost 14,000 square feet and has ten bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a ballroom, a gym, and several living rooms.
In 1940, Sudentenlanders who had fled the Nazis met at the Victorian Gothic revival mansion to make the Loughton Declaration. This was a plan for Czechoslovakia to be re-established as a federal state, with Sudetenland as a nation, after the Allies won the war.
Later, it became a safe house for anti-Nazi VIPs, and between December 1945 and January 1947, it was home to orphaned Holocaust survivors, who became known as the Loughton Boys.
After the war, the boy came to Britain as part of a group of 715 children who had survived the Holocaust. They were first moved to the Lake District, then to Jewish-run hostels around the country, and some of them ended up at the country estate.
The last group to leave Windermere in December 1945 was made up of 30 young men between the ages of 16 and 21. They wanted to be close to London, so they went to Holmehurst, which is near Buckhurst Hill and Loughton.
During the Second World War, Holocaust survivors lived in a dream country house that is now for sale for £13.5m.
One of the ten bedrooms is huge, with plenty of room for chairs, a desk, and your bed. Large windows let in natural light, and you can see the woods outside through them.
The property has a 10-bedroom house with a pool, 10 acres of gardens and woods, a private fishing lake, tennis courts, and even two places for helicopters to land.
The Victorian Gothic revival mansion, shown here with one of its beautiful staircases, is also where Sudentenlanders who had fled the Nazis met in 1940 to make the Loughton Declaration. This was a plan for Czechoslovakia to be set up again as a federal state after the Allies won the war, with Sudetenland as a separate nation.
There is an original Victorian coachhouse, a private fishing lake, a tennis court, barns, and two places for helicopters to land on the ten acres of land.
On the huge estate, there is also a tennis court, and part of the planning for a four-bedroom house with a separate driveway has already been done.
The mansion was built in 1865 for the wealthy shipping magnate Theophilus Westhorp. In 1937, the house and land were sold to make way for new homes, but when World War II broke out, these plans had to be changed.
During the war, the house was bombed three times. The first two times didn’t do much damage, but the third time, in January 1945, did a lot of damage that needed to be fixed before the Loughton Boys arrived.
The boys were the only members of their families who were still alive, and many of them had been forced to work as slaves and lived in concentration camps.
Last year, a blue plaque was put up to remember the home’s role, and some of the boys came back for the event.
The current owner, who has lived there for 23 years, has spent a lot of money to improve and expand the house, but has kept almost all of the original features. It has a lot of fancy cornices, marble fireplaces, and big sash windows.
The current owner, who has lived there for 23 years, has spent a lot of money to improve and expand the house, but has kept almost all of the original features. It has a lot of fancy cornices, marble fireplaces, and big sash windows.
The dining room is a place where you can have important dinners with guests. It has many beautiful features, like a wooden floor and a chandelier.
The beautiful Victorian Gothic house is in its own private and secluded grounds. However, Holmehurst is surrounded on all sides by Elizabeth’s hunting ground, Epping Forest, which is the crown jewel of the City of London.
There is a kitchen in the main house near two bathrooms and the living room. There is also a kitchen in the lodge.
The main house has almost 14,000 square feet of living space, with ten bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a gym, a ballroom, and several reception rooms (one of those toilets which include a bath and a large space)
Holmehurst is a very rare chance to live in the country while still being close to the city. It could be the last country house in the city.
After the war, 715 children who had survived the Holocaust were brought to Britain. Most of them were teenagers. After getting better in the Lake District for a while, they were moved to hostels all over the country.
There is an original Victorian coachhouse, a private fishing lake, a tennis court, barns, and two places for helicopters to land on the ten acres of land. There is also a partially built plan for a house with four bedrooms and a separate driveway.
Tim Phillips from Savills, which is selling the house, said, “Holmehurst is a very rare chance to live in the country while still being close to the city. It could be the last country house in the city.”
“Although there has been a rise in flexible work in the past few years, buyers still want to be able to commute into the city when they need to, for work or for fun. This is why Holmehurst is a very special offering.”
“The beautiful Victorian Gothic house is in its own private and secluded grounds. However, Holmehurst is surrounded on all sides by Elizabeth’s hunting ground, Epping Forest, which is the crown jewel of the City of London.
“Every inch of the inside of this house has been carefully brought back to its original beauty, and almost all of the original features are still there.”
“I can see Holmehurst being very popular with people who want their dream country house but also want to be close to all the culture and conveniences that make London famous around the world.”
How D-Day started the chain of events that led to the end of WWII and the final push to defeat Adolf Hitler
The Second World War was the most expensive war in history, killing about 57 million people. It was fought on every continent where people lived.
By 1944, things were going badly for the Nazis, especially after the D-Day landings went well in June of that year.
Germany lost the Battle of the Bulge in January 1945, and the soldiers who were still alive limped back to the Rhine to defend the border. They were finally pushed out of the way by a big Allied attack with a million men.
Here is a schedule of the most important events:
1944
On January 22, troops from Britain and the United States land at Anzio.
On June 4, the Allies take control of Rome.
June 6: Operation Overlord, also known as D-Day, starts on the beaches of Normandy.
The first V-1 bombs hit London on June 13.
Hitler is almost killed by a bomb plot on July 20.
The Allies attack the south of France on August 15.
On August 20, when the Falaise Pocket is closed, the Battle of Normandy is over. Move toward where the River Seine starts.
Paris is freed on August 25.
Brussels is freed on September 3.
From September 17 to September 26, Operation Market Garden, the “Bridge Too Far” airborne mission to cross the Rhine at Arnhem, fails. About 18,000 Allies die in the mission.
The British land in Greece on October 5.
The Battle of the Bulge starts on December 16 when the Germans attack in the Ardennes region.
1945
On January 17, Russian troops take control of Warsaw.
On January 27, Russian troops free the Auschwitz concentration camp. Slowly, the horrors of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust become clear.
On January 28, the last shots are fired in the Battle of the Bulge. The Allies win, but they lose a lot of people and things in the process.
On February 13, the RAF starts a carpet bombing raid on Dresden. The US Air Force then does three more raids.
During Operation Plunder, on March 23 and 24, a million Allies cross the Rhine.
April 12: US President Franklin Roosevelt dies.
April 30: As Soviet troops move toward the Reich Chancellory in the heart of Berlin, Hitler kills himself in his Berlin Fuhrerbunker by shooting himself in the head and taking a cyanide pill.
Joseph Goebbels, who worked as Hitler’s minister of propaganda, and his wife both kill themselves on May 1.
On May 2, German troops in Italy give up.
On May 4, German forces in the Netherlands, northwestern Germany, and Denmark give up on the Luneberg Heath.
May 8: Victory in Europe Day (VE Day), when Admiral Karl Donitz, who Hitler had named President before he died, gives up without conditions.
May 9: In Berlin, Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel of the Nazis signs an agreement to give up without conditions to the Red Army.
On August 6, the US B-29 bomber Enola Gay drops the “Little Boy” atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
On August 9, the atomic bomb called “Fat Man” is dropped on Nagasaki.
On August 14, Emperor Hirohito says that Japan will give up without any conditions. Papers are signed on the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.
On August 15, people celebrate Victory over Japan Day (VJ Day) or Victory in the Pacific Day (VP Day).