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dropped the ‘de’ in 1863 – became the new owner, but preferred the social life of London and his spacious flat in
Knightsbridge. He visited the property, and declared that it was one of the most unattractive houses he had ever seen, and certainly the ugliest property he had ever had the misfortune to own. He
had the place cleared out and cleaned up, then secured it against intruders and the winds blowing off the North Sea, and virtually forgot about it.
    For no readily discernible reason, the house was requisitioned by the Ministry of Defence in the latter stages of the First World War, but was not actually used for any known purpose. In 1919,
with the male line of the Verney family all but exterminated in the carnage of the Somme and in Flanders, the few surviving members decided they had no need of this big, draughty old place on the
edge of the fens, and gratefully accepted the ministry’s somewhat niggardly offer to purchase it.
    Builders were employed to sort out the damp in the extensive cellars, windows and doors were replaced, and the interior was repainted and redecorated. Then, perhaps not knowing quite what else
to do with the place, the ministry closed up the Hall and employed a local building firm to visit and inspect the premises on a monthly basis.
    With the outbreak of the Second World War, the place was hurriedly opened up again and converted: first into a rest and recuperation centre for injured RAF airmen, and then into a training
centre for Special Operations Executive (SOE) personnel. The explosions and noise of small-arms fire that echoed through the surrounding woods were a constant reminder of the difficult and
dangerous missions being undertaken by the young men and women that the locals occasionally spotted in the village.
    Oddly enough, nobody seemed particularly surprised when those noises continued after hostilities had ended. Locals who thought they knew exactly what was going on – which in Suffolk meant
almost everyone – nodded wisely when asked about the Hall, and it soon became common knowledge that Royal Marine Commandos had taken over the estate for training purposes.
    When the Special Air Service stormed the Iranian Embassy in London in April 1980, word spread quickly around Felsham that the Hall had been used for the final training before the attack. Many
locals claimed to have noticed one or more of the troopers drinking in the local pubs before the assault took place and even to have recognized some of the black-clad figures seen clambering over
parapets on News at Ten .
    All of which, of course, was complete nonsense, but the stories suited the authorities well enough. In fact, neither the Royal Marines nor the SAS had ever been anywhere near Paxton Hall. At the
end of the Second World War, ownership of the building had been quietly transferred from the Ministry of Defence to the Foreign Office, and the Secret Intelligence Service had moved in.
    Or, to be exact, a caretaker staff moved in, and the Hall became one of two SIS safe houses in Suffolk. The cars and vans occasionally arriving at odd hours of the day and night did not contain
SAS troopers eager to improve their shooting skills, although there was a firing range on the property which was still used occasionally. Instead, the vehicles conveyed SIS agents who had to be
briefed prior to undertaking missions abroad; or defectors – only a few, but one of the most important sources of foreign intelligence – fetched in for initial debriefing, and
intelligence professionals who needed a secure and discreet location for their meetings with members of other services.
    The first car to arrive, early that afternoon, was a dark green Jaguar saloon with a single occupant. The vehicle stopped at the guardhouse, just outside the electrically controlled gates, and
after a few moments was permitted to proceed up the drive. The second vehicle – also a Jaguar, but black and with three men inside – arrived ten