Bushy Park is the second largest of London’s eight Royal Parks, a supremely peaceful 1,099 acres of ancient woodlands, resident deer and small skylarks nesting. It is also the site of Rotunda, a contemporary home with a heritage every bit as thrilling as its striking design. Variously described by visitors as a property straight from Thunderbirds or a Bond villain’s lair, Rotunda is now for sale, offering a spine-tingling opportunity to own a unique piece of Cold War history.
Rotunda started life as a torpedo testing facility built by the British Admiralty in 1955. A vast 46-metre round water tank, with a revolving circular arm and reinforced with blast-proof concrete walls, was topped by a self-supporting dome to keep out enemy eyes. When the research facility eventually fell out of use, English Heritage briefly considered taking the site, but it wasn’t until 2001 that a developer arrived, aiming to create a spacious family home following the shape of the original testing tank. The brutalist practice Norman and Dawbarn was commissioned for the project – a celebrated architectural team whose earlier work included the former BBC Television Centre site in west London.
Close to completion however, work stalled and the property was once again abandoned until 2011 when the current owners, a family of five, moved in. Their visionary outlook, property development experience and creative skills – not to mention their stoicism at points during the thorough four-year renovation – saw Rotunda’s full potential finally realised.
