Bamber Gascoigne’s Widow Disassociates the Gascoigne Name from West Horsley Place

Published on: 22 Jan, 2026
Updated on: 23 Jan, 2026

West Horsley Place

By Isabelle Trubshaw

The widow of the late TV presenter Bamber Gascoigne has ordered the withdrawal of both her own and her late husband’s association with West Horsley Place Trust following allegations of damage to the estate’s historical assets.

The claims of damage to artifacts at West Horsley Place were first aired in 2020, when a red Templeton chenille carpet was discovered by a gardening assistant cut up and damaged in the skip. A former volunteer for the Trust has described damage to other historically important artifacts.

Bamber Gascoigne in the library at West Horsley Place.

Bamber Gascoigne, presenter of University Challenge, was the previous owner of West Horsley Place. His widow, Christina Gascoigne, did not hold back in her criticism, saying: “I am appalled that the house’s assets have not been preserved accordingly. All the contents were either historically or culturally important.

“Our names suggest that we are supportive of this cruel and unnecessary behaviour.”

Christina Gascoigne and her late husband Bamber who died in 2022. Photo taken in 2000 and provided by Christina Gascoigne.

Ilona Harris, the Director of the Trust, said: “We are saddened by Christina’s recent decision but respect her wishes.

Ilona Harris

“This decision does not affect the Trust’s governance or primary objective of safeguarding the estate and its long-term sustainability for public benefit.”

Addressing the allegations of damage, Ms Harris  said the Trust’s duty was to safeguard the house and its collections and every decision made was guided by their responsibility “to protect this special place for the public benefit.”

She added: “Christina and the late Bamber Gascoigne have a lasting and deep connection to West Horsley Place and we are grateful for the vision, generosity and commitment they contributed to the creation and development of the Trust.”

The painting of Bamber Gascoigne that was being used as the website icon for Ilona Harris has been taken down, as has any mention of the Trust’s ‘founders’ on the site.

West Horsley Place Trust inherited the estate from Bamber Gascoigne in 2015, and since holds custodianship over the historic manor house, grounds, and assets related to and contained within the site.

Between 2015 and 2018, in consultation with the Gascoignes, some historical assets at West Horsley Place were assessed for retention, sale, or disposal with advice from Sotheby’s auction house. The items identified for sale were auctioned, with proceeds donated to the charity.

Mrs Gascoigne confirms that she and her husband had agreed to auction certain valuable items but said that nothing else important to the history of the house should have been disposed of.

The red Templeton chenille carpet dumped in a skip.

The red Templeton chenille carpet, at the centre of one of the allegations, was originally located in the drawing room of the Manor House, and appears in BBC’s late sitcom “Ghosts” and Netflix’s “Enola Holmes”. It is claimed this was discovered by a gardening assistant, cut up and damaged in the skip.

Two investigations have since been conducted ­– in 2020 and 2025 – by Charity Commissions and the Surrey Police concerning potential criminal damage. Both have subsequently been closed on the grounds that the monetary value of the items could not be established, which police said prevented further action under criminal damage legislation.

The Templeton carpet after it had been rescued from the skip

Carpet conservator Heather Tetley, however, informs that the Templeton chenille carpet in situ had great historical significance, with origins linked to Queen Victoria’s relationship with Hungerford Crewe, and later Lord and Lady Crewe.

Ms Harris confirmed that the carpet had been, at one stage, disposed of and acknowledged that it held historical value.

She said: “Since its retrieval, it has been inspected, placed in archival protection, and is now stored in the Manor House under monitored conditions, with annual condition checks.

“All assets are managed in line with the Trust’s conservation responsibilities.”

While Ms Harris confirms proper conservation of the Trust’s properties, a former volunteer, who did not wish to be named, disputes this, citing instances in which items were allegedly left unprotected during renovation work or found damaged.

“There were tools and debris where building work was actively taking place, spread on top of carpet amidst unprotected furniture and other items,” said the volunteer.

The volunteer has also described alleged damage to historically important “slap shoes” and curtains from the Red Drawing Room, as well as trunk straps labelled for the Duchess of Roxburgh, and a handwritten telephone list belonging to the Duchess, reportedly found in nearby rubbish bin.

Since the complaint, both the volunteer and the gardener have been dismissed and no longer have access to the site.

Mrs Gascoigne has expressed opposition to the dismissals and says that she is sincerely worried about the future of West Horsley Place and the Trust, adding that she believes her late husband would share these concerns.

Baschea Walsh The Sun

The Trust has also faced criticism over its recent decision to evict 71-year-old Baschea Walsh , who has lived  in a cottage at West Horsley Place for 20 years.

The Trust said it plans to convert her cottage into a holiday-let “to generate sustainable income” for the estate.

Ms Walsh said she was devastated by the decision to evict her. “I have lived a very peaceful life here and it has been a privilege,” she said. “I fell in love with it the first time I came here. I knew this was the place I wanted to be. I had dreamt about it.”

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