Arundells

About

Arundells is a Grade II* listed house at 59 Cathedral Close, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. Located on the West Walk of the Close, next to the 'Wardrobe' (Rifles Museum), it was the home of Edward Heath, the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1985 until his death in 2005. The house and its extensive garden are open to the public five days a week from late March to late October each year.

History of the house: Arundells has its origins as a medieval canonry in the thirteenth century; its first recorded occupant was Henry of Blunston, Archdeacon of Dorset, who was resident from 1291 to 1316. Many other canons lived there up to Leonard Bilson, who was imprisoned in 1571 for practising sorcery and magic. The house was then leased by the Cathedral Chapter to a series of lay tenants, including Sir Richard Mompesson (from 1609) and John Wyndham (1718); the former rebuilt a large part of the property in the classic style of the day. Wyndham gave the house to his daughter, who married the third son, James Everard Arundel, of the sixth Baron Arundell of Wardour in 1752, resulting in the house acquiring its current name. Arundells housed Godolphin Girls' School and a boys'...