Abandoned country mansion ‘left to rot’ is ‘bigger than Buckingham Palace’

Nestled within the stunning Sussex countryside lies an unexpected and quite remarkable sight: a colossal mansion that, had it been completed, would have rivalled some of the UK’s royal abodes. Believed to be even larger than Buckingham Palace, the property has been under construction for decades but now stands in decay – much to the dismay of some locals.

Despite being an unfinished ruin, Hamilton Palace remains a prominent landmark. Construction on the vast and ornate estate commenced in 1985, commissioned by the contentious business tycoon and multi-millionaire Nicholas Van Hoogstraten. The businessman, who hails from a working-class Sussex background, became a millionaire at the tender age of 22. At his zenith, he was reported to be worth up to £800million, although recent estimates place his family’s wealth at £25million.

Van Hoogstraten’s property portfolio extended far beyond the grand mansion he elected to construct in the mid-1980s, tucked away in the scenic woodland near Uckfield, East Sussex. At one stage, he owned substantial portions of the county and professed to be largely mortgage-free, reports the Mirror.

The business magnate has frequently made headlines with his forthright comments defending his commercial interests, while becoming entangled in numerous scandals and controversies. During the 1960s, he faced repeated allegations of being a slumlord due to the dreadful conditions his tenants suffered and the purportedly aggressive tactics employed during evictions.

In 1968, he was imprisoned for hiring a gang to lob a grenade into the Brighton home of Rabbi Bernard Braunstein, whose son was in debt to him.

Speaking to the Express last year, the tycoon alleged: “Some gangsters from London used to come down here to Hove regularly. They wanted to try and impress me and, on the basis they were doing me a favour, lobbed a hand grenade into [Braunstein’s] house.”

In 2002, he faced charges of murdering business rival Mohammed Raja, who was stabbed five times before being shot dead outside his South London home. An Old Bailey jury acquitted van Hoogstraten of murder but found him guilty of manslaughter.

He was later exonerated of that charge following a retrial. Mr Raja’s family subsequently filed a £6million civil claim against the landlord and, in December 2005, the High Court ruled he should be held accountable for the killing.

Robert Knapp, the hitman employed by the infamous property magnate, was sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in prison in 2002 after being convicted of murdering Raja. Mr Justice Lightman determined that, on the balance of probability, Van Hoogstraten was implicated in the death.

It was alleged in the High Court that Van Hoogstraten was a psychopath who orchestrated the “assassination”. Now known as Nicholas Adolf Von Hessen, he was neither present nor legally represented during the hearing.

Alongside Knapp, David Croke was also convicted of murder. Croke has since died, discovered in his cell at HMP Whitemoor just five years following his conviction.

Last year, Knapp’s murder conviction was referred to the Court of Appeal as “unsafe” because the jury should have been given the option of an alternative verdict of manslaughter.

Throughout his legal difficulties, Van Hoogstraten stated that completing work on the sprawling estate, thought to be worth £40million, was not a “top priority”.

Local residents have voiced significant discontent with Hamilton Palace’s declining state, but Van Hoogstraten rejected their complaints about the property being in disrepair and “crumbling” with construction work halted by calling them “peasants”.

“Even the most moronic of peasants would be able to see… that we have been busy landscaping the grounds of the palace so as to prepare for scheduled works,” he remarked in 2016. Hamilton Palace has never been lived in – and Van Hoogstraten is now understood to be residing in Zimbabwe, seldom spending time in Britain.

He’s reported to have been a close associate of Robert Mugabe before the ex-leader passed away in 2019, and is said to have acquired an estate in the country when he was only 19. A local inhabitant has labelled the incomplete mansion as the “biggest slum in Britain”, whilst another dubbed it the “ghost house of Sussex”.

Some neighbours have voiced worries that the structure is a “death trap” and fosters antisocial behaviour in the area.

“The site is not secure. Fencing is always being ripped down and youths get onto the land and head to the house. The place has become a magnet for kids with nothing better to do. It is high time the local authority did some checks on the property to ascertain its security and safety because youths who get in there could be killed,” one resident disclosed to the Manchester Evening News.

Another neighbour alleged that the council was “scared” of the property tycoon. “‘I feel the council have bent over backwards for this man because they are a little bit scared of him and his wealth,” they revealed to the Daily Mail.

Wealden District Council has previously stated: “Hamilton Palace is not located in a densely populated area. The closest public right of way is situated to the very east of the estate, divided from the main building on site by several field parcels and blocks of woodland.

“However, if there are concerns about a dangerous structure, this can be reported to the Council and we will investigate further. With regard to anti-social and or unlawful behaviour, this is a police enforcement matter.”