Five arrested after fatal stabbing released on bail as murder investigation continues, Person airlifted to hospital in 'life-threatening condition' being pulled from water in Eastbourne, An ambulance and coastguard were also called to the scene, Residents evacuated from their homes in early hours, Council refers itself to national regulator over standard of its homes, The authority - which covers Shoreham, Lancing, Southwick and Fishersgate - admitted some tenants live in homes that are below standard, which is "unacceptable", Plans released for a new Premier Inn hotel along seafront, The plans involve a 116-bedroom Premier Inn hotel, Snow and sleet set to hit Sussex towns next week, Horsham vets save dog who was hit by train after being scared by fireworks. A huge mansion, Hamilton Palace, near Uckfield in East Sussex, which Van Hoogstraten began building in the mid-1980s, remains unfinished and uninhabited. Braunstein's son David owed a debt to Hoogstraten over a failed textile business they had jointly owned. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. With the profits he made from his Bahama property deals, he moved on to the British housing market, buying six properties in Notting Hill, London, before moving on to Brighton. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. In desperation, Raja raised a building society mortgage on a property for which he already owed money to Hoogstraten. Over the past couple of decades, he has been involved in widely reported disputes with neighbours over the huge estate. Alexander Hamilton complained to Sussex Police over his arrest in August, 2019 on suspicion of wheelclamping a vehicle in a car park owned by his company in The Drive, Hove. Over the past couple of decades, he has been involved in widely reported disputes with neighbours over the huge estate. This is Hamilton Palace, designed for British multi-millionaire Nicholas van Hoogstraten. He also denied that the project had stalled, saying "Even the most moronic of peasants would be able to see from the pictures that we have been busy landscaping the grounds of the Palace. [4][38] He was charged with violating the Censorship Act by possessing pornographic photographs;[39] women in "indecent poses", a proportion of which also featured van Hoogstraten himself. Nicholas Adolf von Hessen[1][2] (born Nicholas Marcel Hoogstraten,[3] formerly known as Adolph von Hessen[4] better known as Nicholas van Hoogstraten; born 25 February 1945) is a British businessman involved in property and a convicted criminal. [5] According to Emma Brockes of The Guardian in 2000, Hamilton Palace was named after the capital of Bermuda, where van Hoogstraten owns property. "Obviously they mind but with me it's not much good minding, is it? ", People have suggested that the house - now dubbed the "ghost house of Sussex" - should be used for the homeless, Twice-married Mr Van Hoogstraten - who has changed his name to NicholasAdolf von Hessen - handed over many of his UK businesses to his children in 2002, Work stopped at the 100-acre site in 2001, The 40million mansion has been under construction for 35 years, Floyd Mayweather gives a guided tour of his LA mansion, Mystery of abandoned 40m mansion bigger than Buckingham Palace dubbed the Ghost House of Sussex, Frogmore eviction shows King Charles has drawn a line with Harry - now he must do two more things with the spoilt brat, Harry's vicious attacks on Camilla could not be forgiven by King Charles - he had to hit back, Constance Marten: Baby's body found after massive police search, as cops question runaway aristocrat & Mark Gordon, Rishi Sunak to finally unveil delayed small boats law next week after Brexit win, Ministers vow to never use draconian spy law to jail journalists, Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). In 2002, he was sentenced to 10 years for the manslaughter of a business . Either all private architecture is an insult to homeless people and to tenants or we should tolerate Hamilton Palace as the absurd and hideous ugly cousin of more fashionable private building ventures. If I wanted, I could pay 50 to men in London to get every Jew in Brighton bumped off". Five arrested after fatal stabbing released on bail as murder investigation continues, Person airlifted to hospital in 'life-threatening condition' being pulled from water in Eastbourne, An ambulance and coastguard were also called to the scene, Residents evacuated from their homes in early hours, Council refers itself to national regulator over standard of its homes, The authority - which covers Shoreham, Lancing, Southwick and Fishersgate - admitted some tenants live in homes that are below standard, which is "unacceptable", Plans released for a new Premier Inn hotel along seafront, The plans involve a 116-bedroom Premier Inn hotel, Snow and sleet set to hit Sussex towns next week, Horsham vets save dog who was hit by train after being scared by fireworks. In 2009, it was reported he had been "a generous contributor to Mugabe's Zanu (PF) party and [had] bought into several large state-owned companies". On Buzzlearn.com, Nicholas is listed as a successful Businessman who was born in the year of 1945. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. [4] Van Hoogstraten has said he uses many pseudonyms to conceal his involvement in property dealings in apparent contravention of UK company directorship laws, He told The Independent on Sunday in 2000: "I've actually called myself, in the past, Yogi Bear. That's the stupidity of it. However, in 2005, Rajas family successfully sued Hoogstraten and were awarded 6 million by Mr Justice Lightman, who found on the balance of probabilities the recruitment of the two thugs was for the purpose of murdering Mr Raja and not merely frightening or hurting him.. van Hoogstraten is known for his business empire as. The net effect of that would be having to restrict much more and impose a larger restriction on reporting this case than we would like. By 2013, he owned more than 1,600 square miles (4,100km2) of land including Central Estates, owned mineral rights in the Marange diamond fields, as well as houses in Harare. Reflecting on what his vast wealth, and accompanying power, brings with it, his first thoughts are "a headache" and "a pain in the arse", adding: "I don't believe money brings happiness. He is said to have started making money selling stamps as a teenager before moving into property and, by the age of 22, had 350 properties in Sussex alone. Its brick bulk suggests an attempt to recreate the great houses of Jacobean and Georgian times, to make a quasi-aristocratic or even monarchical mark on the landscape. In October 1972, he was sentenced to a further 15 months for bribing prison officers to smuggle him luxuries. When you come to me, you're going to deal with me on my terms and I want my money.". The building is still unfinished. Each day we'll be sending you a selection of our top stories from across our county, as well as breaking news so you can be the first to know. I don't have to be nice to anybody.". The scale of Hamilton Palace, pictured here in March 2020, is truly remarkable but whether anyone will ever live in it is another matter, The second building on the estate, reportedly a mausoleum, The stern words of warning at the gates to the estate, Sussex millionaire Nicholas van Hoogstraten, now Nicholas von Hessen, leaves Brighton Magistrates Court in March 2020, The huge and ornate mansion looks like it could have been built by royalty in centuries gone by, Parts of the 40 million mansion can be seen through woodland. He began his property business in the Bahamas with an initial investment of 1,000 realised from the sale of his stamp collection. They've normally tried to stitch me up but not very successfully I've got nothing to hide and don't give a f**k anyway. Their relationship went well until the housing-price bubble burst in 1989. I'm in Belmarsh, I've got nothing to lose and I've got an alibi. Nicholas van Hoogstraten produced the new musical The Fields of Ambrosia (Aldwych Theatre) and the benefit concert John Raitt - Broadway Legend (Prince of Wales Theatre), both in London's West End. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. The British landscape is marked with grandiose architectural indulgences, from the ruins of gothic towers built by slave owners to columns that commemorate long-ago battles. He left school aged 16, and joined the merchant navy for a year. His vast yet unused palace has now become a symbol of Britains housing crisis. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. But van Hoogstraten has been the subject of several interviews and documentaries over the years and has seemed happy enough to talk to journalists, many of whom have been on to the grounds of his vast Uckfield estate, which has been described in headlines as "devil's palace". [4] In 2000, he described his opponents in the case as being "a bunch of disenfranchised perverts". Locals have previously vented about the large area being left unused and there was a row over a public footpath that ran through it that van Hoogstraten did not want to be used. [12] In the second case, he was found guilty on eight counts of handling stolen goods. Because of this omission, Judge Mitchell decided that Hoogstraten could not have anticipated that Raja might have been killed and he acquitted Hoogstraten of manslaughter. PA Photo. It's a house of truly jaw-dropping scale that was once said to be the most expensive private house built in Britain for a century. Few have been inside, but one reporter who did, in 2000, when it was said to be two years off completion, described a grand central staircase and reception hall, with lift shafts already installed and expensive stone balustrades and pillars. 9 talking about this. He doesn't shy away from it, he never has. The closest glimpse you can get on foot is of a gated entrance onto the estate that gives nothing away, aside from a bricked unit and a large, white container. In April 1998, Raja sued Hoogstraten for conspiracy and fraud.[28]. Local residents complained it was a disgrace Hamilton Palace was being left to rot. The question is, does Van Hoogstratens lack of architectural taste, any more than his controversial business career, disqualify him from building his own house, in his own way, on his own land? HELP US TO DO MORE OF IT BY DONATING HERE. Van Hoogstraten would be far too corny a villain for a John le Carr drama. Van Hoogstraten, a convicted criminal who is now 75 and goes by the name of Nicholas von Hessen, is a Sussex native born in Shoreham who owns dozens of properties in the area. In the 1980s housing boom he acquired more than 2,000 properties and had sold 90 per cent of them by the 1990s. The Common Serjeant of. Nicholas van Hoogstraten is a super-rich business man whose ruthless exploits have kept his name in the headlines for 30 years. In October, Government placed Hwange Colliery Company Limited under reconstruction. After hearing our representation, the legally qualified chair of the panel turned his request down, citing the importance of transparency in maintaining public confidence in the disciplinary process. In July 2002, van Hoogstraten was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment for the manslaughter of Raja, after being found not guilty of murder: a jury at the Old Bailey decided that "although he clearly wanted Mr Raja harmed, there is no evidence that he had intended Mr Raja to be murdered". [3], Hoogstraten was arrested immediately after his release. Last edited on 23 February 2023, at 11:30, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Tycoon Nicholas von Hessen cleared over Hove car park row", "Property baron Nicholas Van Hoogstraten is defiant to the last", "Zimbabwe court clears Nicholas van Hoogstraten of porn and currency charges", "Slum landlord says his critics are moronic peasants", "Profile: Nicholas van Hoogstraten: Attila the landlord is back with a vengeance", "Explosives charge man 'was like one of family", "Jane Kelly meets Nicholas van Hoogstraten", "Von Hessen, and Yogi Bear: The many names of Britain's most notorious", "Property tycoon accused of threatening lawyer", "Brighton tenants win costs of action to acquire freehold", "Property millionaire fined for contempt", "Inside the mind of a power-crazed slum landlord with delusions of grandeur", Hamilton Palace designers A.J. You can also sign up to our website and comment on our stories by pressing here and signing in. He was convicted Rajas manslaughter in 2002 and sentenced to ten years, but this conviction was quashed and he was acquitted at a retrial and freed from prison, having spent a year behind bars. In 1999, one of his business partners Mohammed Raja was killed by two thugs Hoogstraten had hired. All the follies up and down the British Isles, from his lordships castle to that bungalow with a garden full of gnomes and a wishing well, are expressions of personality and flights of fancy. But, 35 years after work on the enormous 40 million mansion began in 1985, it remains no more than a huge shell and has been dubbed the 'Ghost House of Sussex', lying mostly abandoned. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. [16], Residents of 2-6 Palmeira Square in Hove took van Hoogstraten to court in September 1999 alleging he had used multiple aliases as a shadow director of Saga Properties (which owned the freehold in 1991) to indicate interests in the flats to block a property deal on the freehold. And he has also denied that the house is falling apart, saying: "Hamilton Palace is far from 'crumbling' and was built to last for at least 2,000 years. Today, the domed roof of the main building still rises over the top of the treeline and remains visible from a distance from the nearest set of houses in the hamlet of Palehouse Common. Something went wrong, please try again later. In October 1993, Raja went to the High Court alleging breach of trust, demanded the return of the property deeds he had lodged with Hoogstraten, and alleged that Hoogstraten had fraudulently seized his properties using blank transfer forms. View our online Press Pack. But despite its scale, there is little to hint at its presence as you approach. Neighbours call it the ghost house of Sussex and want it to be turned into a refuge for homeless people. Low-level lighting had been installed on the roof, where there was to be a garden, and there was space for a fountain below. It is a singularly macabre structure, with a golden domed mausoleum for Van Hoogstraten at its centre. "They all know so I'm not hiding anything," he says of his girlfriends. Nicholas Adolf von Hessen's son was arrested during a row over clamping at a car park in Hove last August. [15] Also in 1972, he was fined for forcible entry and conspiracy to cause damage. "You don't want to end up floating down the Thames", says Nicholas van Hoogstraten with a smile on his face. 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