Oak Hall is rumoured to have a secret cache of gold hidden within and as yet, no one who has owned Oak Hall has discovered any sign of the gold which is rumoured to have to have been stashed there by murdered gold mining millionaire Sir Harry Oakes.

The home in Broad Oak, near Heathfield, was one of Sir Harry’s luxury retreats in England when he was not jetting round the world.

American-born Sir Harry was murdered in July 1943 at his home in Nassau in the Bahamas. His brutal killing prompted a worldwide feeding frenzy in the media as his mysterious death implicated some of Nassau’s rich and famous.

Sir Harry’s killing, at a time when Allied forces were about to invade Italy, made front page news but the case still remains one of the great unsolved crime mysteries.

Oak Hall, formerly called Tottingworth Hall, was built in the late 19th Century by Francis Logie-Pirie, whose family had owned the land for years.

When Sir Harry bought the estate, set within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, in the Thirties, he changed its name to Oak Hall, possibly in honour of himself.

Sir Harry’s lavish garden parties at the mansion, sited on an ancient Roman camp, were the stuff of legend, and in 1939 King George VI knighted him in the Birthday Honours List.

Guests at his functions would include the cream of high society, such as Edward VIII and Mrs Simpson.

Sir Harry’s wealth was colossal. He was Canada’s richest citizen and was rumoured to have hidden gold at each of his addresses around the world.