National Trust accused of letting historic house used in Harry Potter films fall into disrepair
Former tenants of Cantax House in Wiltshire say the trust has done little to ensure its proper upkeep since they left in May 2022
Patrick Sawyer & Robert Mendick | The Telegraph | 10 June 2023
With its Queen Anne era facade and neatly trimmed hedges, Cantax House is familiar to fans of the Harry Potter films as the place where Harry and Dumbledore find Horace Slughorn hiding from the Death Eaters.
The handsome Grade II listed red brick property, which dates back to 1700, has long been a jewel in one of the most attractive villages in the west of England.
But there are now claims that much of the house, the once grand vicarage of the village of Lacock, has allegedly been allowed to fall into ruin by its owners, the National Trust.
There are also claims the trust has failed to adequately maintain other vacant properties in the Wiltshire village.
The accusations come amid claims the trust - which owns and manages most of Lacock - has neglected its core role of preserving the country’s historic buildings at the expense of promoting educational programmes about the slave owning past of their previous owners, or highlighting the secret LGBT heritage of the properties it curates.
Cantax House’s former tenants, who redesigned and cultivated its once immaculate gardens, say that since they left in May 2022 the house has lain empty, and they accuse the trust of doing little to ensure its proper upkeep.
Deborah van der Beek, a sculptress who made Cantax House her home and studio for three decades, maintains that even before she and her husband left, its outbuildings were allowed to fall into disrepair, including the village’s former surgery, which dates back to the 18th Century.
This has suffered from water damage as a result of an unlagged pipe and its ancient staircase appears to have suffered from rot.
Other outbuildings, such as the stable and an early 19th century outdoor closet, have also seen woodwork damaged by rot and damp.
Ms van der Beek said: “We repeatedly warned the National Trust that the outhouses, which were their responsibility, needed repair when we lived there. Since we left a year ago the situation has got even worse.”
As well as using the house as the setting for many of her eye-catching sculptures, Ms van der Beek transformed its gardens, planting yew edges and abundant flower beds, to the point where it featured the cover of the Royal Horticultural Society’s magazine The Garden.
She even cut a topiary in the shape of a castle and one as the figure of Queen Boudica.
But she says that since leaving the house to move to London in May 2022 the garden has become overgrown and uncared for, with the topiary having lost its shape, lawns overgrown and hedges and fruit trees in dire need of pruning.
“The garden has been completely neglected,” said Mrs van der Beek.
She said she had found a suitable new tenant who was willing to move in after she left, but that bureaucratic inaction by the trust meant the house has continued to lie empty.
“It’s terrible the way the trust has allowed things to slide,” she said.
Lacock’s picturesque streets and historic cottages are a favourite for film and TV drama location scouts.
Lacock Abbey served as the interior for Hogwarts School in the Harry Potter films and the Fantastic Beasts film The Crimes of Grindelwald, while a cottage in the village was used as the exterior of Harry’s family home.
The village has also been used as the setting for Downton Abbey, Pride and Prejudice, the Hollow Crown, Wolf Hall and Cranford.
Ms van der Beek said: “It’s a very special house in a very special village that people are very affectionate about because of the Harry Potter and other films and it’s a shame it’s come to this.”
George Hardy, 73, the former landlord of The Sign of the Angel pub, once frequented by Diana, Princess of Wales, says the trust appears to have forgotten its original purpose.
“Their core mission is conservation of historic buildings, but they rather seem to have lost their way at the moment and can’t seem to decide what to concentrate on,” he said.
“They have allowed Cantax House to fall into disrepair and there are about 12 other empty properties in the village all owned by the National Trust which are in need of maintenance. It’s very sad, because people flock from around the world to see this village, but they’re letting much of it fall into ruin.”
The National Trust defended its management of Cantax House and the wider village of Lacock.
A spokesperson said: “Cantax House has not yet been advertised for let on the open market. Surveys have been carried out and the buildings are listed for attention.
“However, as a charity with limited funds, our tenancy teams are prioritising lived-in properties to ensure the comfort of residents.
“The garden at Cantax House, created by previous residents, is in hand and contractors are scheduled to visit soon to carry out maintenance work.”