[citation needed] The house was then leased by the Cathedral Chapter to a series of lay tenants, including Sir Richard Mompesson (from 1609) and John Wyndham (1718); the former rebuilt a large part of the property in the classic style of the day.

[3] It fell into serious disrepair after the war and the Cathedral Chapter, responsible for the Close, considered demolishing it, before the leasehold was purchased for a token amount by Mr and Mrs Robert Hawkings in 1964, and the property was subsequently renovated.

He engaged the renowned interior designer, Derek Frost, whose brief was to modernise the house in a contemporary fashion while paying respect to the Queen Anne original.

[citation needed] In spring 2014, the trustees opened some of the first-floor rooms for the first time, including Heath's study, where he worked at a desk which originally belonged to an earlier Prime Minister, David Lloyd George.

[9] The house contains a varied and unique collection of artefacts reflecting Heath's time in public life, his passion for art, and his notable achievements in music and sailing.

There is a large range of paintings, drawings, prints, European and Oriental ceramics, sailing memorabilia and political mementos, including:[10] Among the paintings and prints by over 20 artists on display are Yachts at Sea by L. S. Lowry; Between Aix and Arles and The Woods at Mimizan by Sir Winston Churchill, both given to Heath by the artist in the 1950s, one of which is unique in being signed 'WSC' twice; a series of scenes by John Piper, including two views of Arundells itself; three paintings by John Singer Sargent; one each by Augustus John, Walter Sickert and Ken Howard, and a collection of Japanese woodblock prints by Utamaro and Hiroshi Yoshida, including the latter's well-known 'Inland Sea series', six seascapes of the same scene at different times in the day.

When Heath died in 2005, his estate was valued at £5 million and the Foundation opened Arundells to the public in 2008, initially for a three-year period, under planning permission at the time.

[13] However, active grass-roots opposition from local supporters of the house, organized by the 'Friends of Arundells', led by Tony Burnside, prompted the Charity Commission to rule in September 2011 that any sale would be premature, with the Foundation asked to make more vigorous efforts to meet the central objective of Heath's will.

The Foundation began to undertake a series of lectures, seminars and exhibitions at the house and elsewhere in Salisbury, including talks by leading political and yachting personalities.