£3 Million Mansion Linked to Oscar Wilde Burns After Drugs Bust

A grand old house in Chorleywood burned down. The house, called The Court, was built over 100 years ago and is a listed building. The fire happened early Sunday morning.

The fire left the mansion ruined. The house had eight bedrooms and was worth £3 million. People are calling the fire mysterious. Firefighters arrived around 12:13 AM, using water from a pond, and six fire engines were present.

Neighbors described a sad destruction, with one neighbor seeing flames at 1 AM and feeling bad about the house’s decline. The Court was originally built for Sir George Alexander, who produced Oscar Wilde’s play.

Wilde tried to sell the play to Alexander for £150 in 1894, which is around £25,000 today. Fay Caplin lived there later, moving in with her husband in 1954 and remaining there until her death in 2022.

People called Caplin the heart of the village, as she often hosted parties. The Court sat empty after she died, and Tarun Agrawal, a property developer, bought it, stating he loved the house.

Months later, police found a cannabis farm there and deported some people. A neighbor said the events were strange, hearing about the cannabis farm before the house burned down.

Agrawal never lived in the house and claimed he did not know about the cannabis farm. He wanted to build a wall to protect the property, but the council did not allow it.

Agrawal requested a two-meter wall, but the council refused his request in June 2024. Their reasoning was that it would hurt the trees near Chorleywood Common.

A local councillor expressed shock and wants the house rebuilt with a full investigation. The fire does not remove its listed status, and restoration should be the goal.

Police are investigating the fire, which happened on Rickmansworth Road, working with the fire service. Road closures were in place, and the council is assisting the police.