Trent Park House in Enfield, North London, was once the country home of Sir Philip Sassoon, a socialite known as “the greatest host in Britain”. Before the Second World War, it hosted lavish parties attended by the late Queen, Charlie Chaplin, and Winston Churchill. During the war, it became a makeshift jail for captured senior Nazi officers, where secret listeners eavesdropped on their conversations.
From Party Pad to Wartime Prison
Born in December 1888, Philip Sassoon inherited the 1890s-built house from his father, Sir Edward Sassoon, in 1912. He refurbished the house and 250-acre former royal estate to be the perfect “party pad”. His guests included King Edward VIII, Wallis Simpson, Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, Winston Churchill, Charlie Chaplin, T. E. Lawrence, and artist Rex Whistler.
David Page, a research consultant for the Sassoon section of the new museum, said Philip “entertained lavishly at all three of his houses” but Trent Park was his stage for weekend house-parties. “He had all the usual ingredients for a country house weekend: a large home with grounds to enjoy, a swimming pool, a golf course and two tennis courts,” David explained. “But Sassoon always seemed to go further, go bigger.”
The Secret Listeners of Trent Park
Philip died in 1939, aged 50. The house was requisitioned by MI-19 and used as a prisoner of war camp for senior Nazi officers, nicknamed the “Cockfosters Cage”. Prisoners were well fed, allowed their own staff, and taken on cultural day trips, but their conversations were secretly recorded using hidden microphones.
An army of “secret listeners” in the basement eavesdropped on the prisoners. These German-speaking listeners were mainly Jewish refugees. One was Ernst Lederer, grandfather of comedian Helen Lederer, who played Catriona in Absolutely Fabulous. Helen told the Express she had no idea about his work until a Channel 5 documentary revealed it. She showed a letter from The War Office congratulating Ernst on his “keenness and self-sacrifice”.
A Double Life Revealed
Further information suggests Ernst had an even deeper undercover role. “He disappeared for a year,” said Helen, “and we think he was a ‘Stool Pigeon’ which, in this regard, means that he acted as a valet to the imprisoned German generals.” His work yielded crucial information about Nazi hierarchy and military strategy.
Museum Director Dr Giuseppe Albano MBE said it was challenging to chronicle both aspects of Trent Park’s history. “Trent Park House has heard, and overheard, a lot of stories in its time,” he said. “There’s such a contrast between the two periods in its history.” The museum’s ground floor displays Philip’s furnishings and artworks for the first time since 1939, while the basement holds the “Secret Listeners” section. Both lives are now over, and the house begins its new life as a museum.
