Lady Edwina's historic home

Lady Edwina Snow, the new wife of historian Dan Snow, bought Inchmery House, Exbury, near Beaulieu, in 2009.  She purchased the house from convicted mercenary Old Etonian Simon Mann for more than £10 million.  Lady Edwina's father, the Duke of Westminster, is one of the Britain's richest men.

In the 18th century, Inchmery House was owned by the Mitford family. The house and estate was later acquired by Lord Foster, Governor General of Australia, who sold the home to to  Lionel de Rothschild in 1912.  Seven years later, he acquired the Exbury Estate in order to create a magnificent garden.  In 1943, Inchmery House was the base for the Bardsea operations during the second world war.  After the war, the house was returned to Lionel's son, Edmund.

During the 1930s,  the Hon. Mr. and Mrs. Denis Berry had acquired the house, and it was offered for lease for two years until December 1931.  After the second world, it was the home of Mr. and Mrs. Edmund de Rothschild.  They were still living at Inchmery House in the early 1970s.  Simon Mann bought the house in 1997.

The ten bedroom house has its own beach and overlooks the Isle of Wight and the Solent.  The sale, described as "substantial," was never marketed, and the offer was "life-changing" for Mann, then recently released from prison.
The Rothschilds now live at Exbury House, and they still own the Exbury Gardens.