Arundells

Located within Salisbury’s magnificent Cathedral Close, the house is one of Salisbury’s most charming destinations. Arundells is the former home of Sir Edward Heath KG MBE, Prime Minister and Statesman. Sir Edward bequeathed Arundells to the Charitable Foundation set up in his name following his death in 2005. He very much wanted as many people as possible to “share the beauty of Arundells” and to enjoy his diverse and very personal collection.

Sir Edward’s many interests included collecting pictures and other works of art. Arundells reflects his time in public life, including a fascinating and amusing cartoon gallery and gifts from leaders as diverse as Sir Winston Churchill, US President Richard Nixon, China’s Chairman Mao and Cuba’s Fidel Castro.

The Drawing Room is home to his Steinway grand piano; and in the hallway can be found scale models of all of the Morning Cloud yachts. The Library contains some of his extensive collection of recorded music as well as books on both music and art. Sir Edward’s writing desk in his Study was previously owned by another Prime Minister, David Lloyd George.

His art collection includes works by Sir Winston Churchill, WL Wyllie, LS Lowry, John Singer-Sargent, John Nash, John Piper, Walter Sickert and both Augustus and Gwen John. There are also Japanese woodcuts and the spectacular hand painted Chinese wallpaper depicting the story of the “Monkey King”.

Sailing trophies, photographs, ceramics, model warships made by Napoleonic prisoners of war and musical memorabilia can also be seen in Arundells.

The garden was redesigned in 1985 to Sir Edward’s wishes and much of the garden has remained unchanged over the intervening years. There is an interesting range of trees, including Mulberry, Magnolia, Yew, Liquidambar, Davidia and Birch. Two particular features are the spectacular views of Salisbury Cathedral and the tranquil frontage to the confluence of two rivers — the Avon and the Nadder.

There are plenty of hidden spaces to explore — lots of nooks and crannies! Look out for the Victorian bronze figure of a girl holding a bowl by the sculptor G E Wade and the bow of Morning Cloud III, one of Sir Edward’s racing yachts. This is located within a quite wooded Dell and serves as a memorial to the two crew members who lost their lives when the yacht was sunk in a severe south-westerly gale in September 1974.