The £40million Hamilton Palace near Uckfield in East Sussex eclipses Buckingham Palace size but has never had anyone live in it and the signs are it never will
A mansion which was to be the pride and joy home of one of the wealthiest people in the county has been left to rot for more than 40 years.
Hamilton Palace, near Uckfield in East Sussex, eclipses even Buckingham Palace in its size but has fallen into disrepair after it was abandoned by its owner, with residents now claiming the “death trap” property is home to antisocial behaviour.
It is surrounded by acres of woodland but anybody walking around its perimeter is also met with an abundance of hostile signs warning the public to stay away. It is now known as “The Ghost House of Sussex” as it is no more than a huge shell these days, with little sign anyone will ever live there again.
Built to house the art collection of property tycoon Nicholas van Hoogstraten – one of the country’s wealthiest people – the £40m construction also has its own mausoleum on the edge of a small lake. Being left to decay since construction stopped in 1985, the mansion wastes away in the countryside as its owner was convicted for the manslaughter of a former business rival Mohammed Raja in 2002.
The verdict was overturned on appeal and he was subsequently released. Three years later, Nicholas was ordered to pay the Raja family £6 million in a civil case. Construction was put on hold shortly after, and Mr Van Hoogstraten told The Argus that completing the renovations weren’t his “top priority”.
In 1968, he was jailed for paying a gang to throw a grenade into the home of a Sussex Rabbi whose son owed him money. In the 1980s, he was charged but cleared of harassing his tenants, but subsequently faced a fine for contempt of court. He was fined again in 2000 for contempt of court after using threatening language against a barrister.
The crumbling estate has been the subject of immense investment despite the fact that no one has ever lived in it and there is little sign that anyone ever will. Drone footage taken in 2022 showed the owner still has no plans to resume renovation as pictures showed the dilapidated building encased in scaffolding and overgrowing foliage, with discarded containers, construction equipment and other items littered throughout the grounds.
