DARK SECRETS: I lost my heart to the place instantly legendary richmond home of lady annabel goldsmith for sale for ps25m | Rare Historical Photos

Built in the early 18th century, the Grade II*-listed building had been home to a string of distinguished residents before Goldsmith and her husband James, a financier and politician, bought it in the 1970s. This included Charles Townshend, former Chancellor of the Exchequer; MP Sir John Sinclair, and David Fane, who was Master of the Horse for Queen Elizabeth II.

Goldsmith had reluctantly sold Pelham Cottage, her Chelsea home of more than 20 years, and was looking for a new home. At the time, Ormeley was owned by Lord Howard de Walden, a racehorse breeder, whose wife had recently died.

“Rather boldly I wrote him a letter asking whether he was selling Ormeley and please to forgive my impertinence,” Goldsmith wrote in her memoir, Annabel: an Unconventional Life. “He wrote back straight away to tell me that although Ormeley was not yet officially on the market he was indeed planning to sell it.”

Goldsmith, who had visited the house before, went to visit. “Ormeley, a large red-brick Queen Anne house, was as magical as I had remembered and when I saw the glorious cedar tree that dominated the lawn, I knew that I would never find a more perfect place to bring up children,” she wrote. “I lost my heart to the place instantly.”

The vast estate, situated on the edge of Richmond Park, would be Goldsmith’s home for the next half a century. Goldsmith, who is the namesake of Annabel’s nightclub on Berkeley Square, was a prominent society figure, and the house became the setting for lunches, dinners – and her annual summer parties, staples of the British social calendar, with celebrities, politicians and aristocrats all in attendance.

At Ormeley, Goldsmith certainly had the space for them. The 10-bedroom main house covers almost 12,000 square feet, with two extra flats, a studio, garage and gardener’s store at Ormeley Mews. It sits on 2.3 acres of gardens with a tennis court and a swimming pool with a pavilion.

Princess Diana, Goldsmith writes in her memoir, came most weekends, and enjoyed the estate as a kind of sanctuary. “I was aware that she came there as much for the security and refuge that she found in the place as for the company of my family.”

Goldsmith would receive a call, asking if she was home, and Diana would “land like a butterfly, have lunch and dart off again, sometimes bringing the boys with her, sometimes not.”

Princess Alexandra, who still lives at Thatched House Lodge in Richmond Park, was Goldsmith’s neighbour, and became a “great friend”. Other guests included Kate Rothschild, David Frost, Hugh Grant, who previously dated Goldsmith’s daughter, Jemima Khan, and Imran Khan, who Jemima later married.

Goldsmith had five children, including the former Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith. She died in October last year, aged 91, and her legendary estate has now been put up for sale.

“Ormeley Lodge has been our much-loved family home for 50 years, the setting for countless happy memories,” the Goldsmith family commented. “We now feel the time is right to pass the property onto its next custodian, and we hope it will be enjoyed and cherished as much as it has been by our family”.

Today, Ormeley remains a grand country house. Built in the English baroque and classical styles, it has 10 bedrooms and seven bathrooms, with 11-foot ceilings in the main rooms and original fireplaces, detailed cornicing and wide sash windows.

The traditional country house interiors —rugs, draped curtains and rich, patterned fabrics— were designed by Colefax & Fowler, with Fortuny fabric.

The building is vast, with large entertaining and living spaces, including a drawing room and library, on the first floor, and a sweeping staircase in the entrance hall leading to the bedrooms, office and study above.

Outside, there is an orchard, a kitchen garden producing fruits and vegetables, wildflower meadows and extensive walled gardens, styled by big-name garden designers and opened to the public annual as part of the National Gardens Scheme. Arabella Lennox-Boyd, for example, designed the property’s formal knot garden, while the ornamental lawn and its planting was conceived by Mary Keen.

“The sale of Ormeley Lodge represents a rare chance to acquire not only a remarkable residence, but also a part of British cultural heritage,” says Paddy Dring at Knight Frank. Lovingly maintained over the past 50 years, we expect the property’s unique history to resonate strongly with discerning buyers around the world.

“Opportunities to secure a house of this size and character, surrounded by such established, picturesque and expansive gardens in a London setting are very uncommon, so it is certainly an exciting proposition for any prospective owner.”