ARUNDELLS HAS NOW RE-OPENED TO THE PUBLIC

Details on opening and timings can be found on our Visiting page above

The Trustees of the Sir Edward Heath Foundation are pleased to confirm that Arundells, the Salisbury home of the former Prime Minister, will be re-opened to the public from Monday 10th June. This has been made possible by the generosity of Peter Batey, who served Sir Edward as Political Secretary. The Trustees and Peter Batey, and a group of supporters from politics and business, are working to produce an agreed business plan and fund-raising strategy to put the finances of the house on a long-term sustainable basis. A further statement will be made in due course

(Statement 6th June 2013)

After our guided tours have ended, nearly all of our visitors tell us how much they have enjoyed the tour, giving them a completely new perspective on the owner, changing and enhancing their view of his personality, and what he achieved in his long and varied career.

He would be thrilled and proud that the details of his life were being discussed in this positive way.

I think this is just as Sir Edward Heath would have wanted it, along with the visitors' opportunity to 'share the beauty of Arundells', the beautiful two acre garden with its quintessentially English outlook, his fascinating, revealing, and personal art collection, sailing and musical memorabilia, and the homely lived-in aspect of the house itself.

I don't believe that he would have envisaged that just under 50,000 people have been delighted in taking the opportunity to visit Arundells in the first 5 years of our opening. He would be thrilled of course with the outcome and renewed interest in his home and eventful life. This feedback makes it so worthwhile and rewarding for all of us, and it is clear from the comments that the visitors loved to be welcomed into the house and be given a personal and informative tour of it.

My wonderful and knowledgeable guides and I have been privileged to show off this beautiful house and its contents, being informative about the details, and relating stories, anecdotes, and also to hear laughter and conversation reverberating around the rooms, bringing his home to life. Our friendly, welcoming and intimate tours were appreciated by all our visitors (if the visitors' book, emails and letters were anything to go by!), and return visits were frequent. The interior and feel of the house itself has been retained as he lived in it, and indeed almost as it was when he first moved here in 1985.

The Trustees of the Sir Edward Heath Charitable Foundation gave me the task of fulfilling this part of his Will in opening the house to the public, and I have been very proud to be part of its success. I have learnt so much myself over the years working at Arundells, and met so many interesting people, that it has become a real pleasure to share my experiences with our new visitors.

I was initially employed by Sir Edward in an horticultural capacity to redesign the gardens when he moved here in 1985. Arriving with a strong and enthusiastic background as a musician and also in art history, I remained working for him assuming many 'hats' right up to his passing in 2005.

I would like to welcome all our visitors to a fascinating and richly memorable visit, and as Sir Edward generously quoted: 'to share the beauty of Arundells'.