Multi-millionaire plans to turn mansion into venue inspired by Batman

Multi-millionaire ‘rave king’ upsets locals with his plans to turn Grade I Elizabethan mansion into visitor venue inspired by Batman, space travel and astrology

• James Perkins, 51, has ‘unbelievable’ plans to restore an Elizabethan mansion
• He wants to turn the 500-year-old house into a Batman-inspired visitor venue 
• The ‘king’ of the rave scene turned to property development in 2006
• Locals have complained his ideas may override the historical value of the home

A 500-year-old derelict mansion in Dorset could become a Batman-inspired tourist trap, its new owner has revealed. 

James Perkins, 51, has upset locals with his ‘unbelievable’ plans to turn the shell of an Elizabethan mansion into a ‘space travel and astrology’-inspired visitor venue.

Mr Perkins, friend to celebrities including Liam and Noel Gallagher and Kate Moss, made his fortune from raves in the 1990s with his Fantazia empire.  

The ‘king’ of the rave scene turned to property development when he bought and built up Anyhoe Park in Northamptonshire in 2006.

His latest project involves restoring Parnham House near Beaminster – which has suffered two roof collapses since the purchase went through in March last year.

A devastating fire in 2017 completely gutted the interior and Historic England placed the building on the ‘Risk Register’ in 2018.

James Perkins, 51, has upset locals with his ‘unbelievable’ plans to turn the shell of an Elizabethan mansion into a ‘space travel and astrology’-inspired venue. Pictured, Parnham House on fire in 2017

Mr Perkins and his creative director wife Sophie Taylor (pictured) worked on Anyhoe Park in Northamptonshire together after buying it in 2006.

Mr Perkins said he wanted to ‘bring some magic’ to the house with a restaurant and ‘pub in the wall’ in the grounds. The house itself will feature secret doors, ‘inspired by Batman’.

He added: ‘The opportunity to work on a Grade-I listed building is exciting and I have unbelievable ideas for Parnham House. 

‘The main house is going to be a little bit inspired by Batman so it will have secret doors and I am also using the narrative of space travel and astrology to inspire the restoration.

‘The idea is that the garden will have a wonderful restaurant and a small, intimate pub in the wall. 

‘There will also be a children’s area and space for an artist workshop, as well as actors performing immersive theatre so guests can be involved. It will be an adventure wonderland.

‘This is the biggest challenge I have taken on but I want to bring some magic to Parnham.’ 

After Mr Perkins’ plans were shared online a local, Mik Nilreb, wrote: ‘Batman? How can a 1950/60’s American comic book character be an appropriate basis for a theme around a beautiful and historic English house?

Mr Perkins said he wanted to ‘bring some magic’ to the house with a restaurant and ‘pub in the wall’ in the grounds. The house itself will feature secret doors, ‘inspired by Batman’

The ‘king’ of the rave scene turned to property development when he bought and built up Anyhoe Park (pictured) in Northamptonshire in 2006

‘I’m truly grateful to the new owner for buying it and wanting to invest the money to create something that will provide both jobs and visitor revenues, but what about British culture, in particular English culture?

‘In common with many countries, our culture is easily overridden and crushed by the easy-sugar-flow from north America that is based on popcorn, a lack of history and enough money to suppress everything else. We should, must, celebrate our own culture. We must keep it alive.’      

History of 500-year-old Parnham House 

Five-hundred-year-old Parnham House was left on the verge of collapse after it was gutted in a fire in April 2017, after being valued at £15 million in 2016.

Michael Treichl, an Austrian-born hedge fund manager who’d bought the mansion in 2001, was accused by Dorset Police of arson following the mystery blaze.

But he was never prosecuted – he was found drowned in Lake Geneva, Switzerland, in June 2017 and police treated it as suicide.

In 2018 Parnham was offered for sale for a cut-price £3 million, a fifth of what it was valued two years earlier.

Mr Treichl had spent 16 years and a small fortune restoring the huge house to become a family home.

The fire left the house virtually a burnt-out shell.

Selling agents Knight Frank insisted it was the ‘opportunity of a lifetime’ though they admitted the house, set in 131 acres of magnificent parkland, is ‘completely derelict, requiring total restoration’.

The sale was instructed by receivers Sanderson Weatherall on behalf of Coutts Bank.

A report from Historic England said stabilisation work should be carried out in 2018 to ‘prevent likely collapses’ of the walls of the house.

In the 19th Century John Nash, the man behind the building of Buckingham Palace, was commissioned to renovate and improve Parnham.

Following the First World War, it was used as a country club and then sold to Edward Bullivant in 1930 as a private home.

It was used by the US Army in World War Two before being converted into a nursing home.

Furniture designer John Makepeace bought it in 1976 and he converted the stables and coach house into workshops before selling it to Michael Treichl in 2001. 

The 38,000 sq ft house has a tragic history after one of its former owners, financier Michael Treichl, committed suicide.

Mr Treichl and his Vogue model wife Emma, spent millions in restorations before it was largely destroyed by suspected arson in April 2017.

Most of its roof and internal structure was gutted and Austrian-born Mr Treichl was arrested on suspicion of starting the fire. He was found drowned in Lake Geneva in Switzerland a few weeks later.

The national treasure, one of Dorset’s oldest stately homes, was valued at £15 million just six years ago.   

But after the fire it then went on the market for £2.5million – a plunge in value of £12million.   

Mr Perkins said he aims to submit a full planning application to Dorset Council within the next few months.

He hopes to hold a ‘soft-opening’ launch party for Parnham House in the summer once lockdown eases.

‘We are still several months away from submitting a full application, however, smaller applications will be submitted in around two weeks,’ he said.

‘By next summer, 60 guests will be able to stay overnight and within two years we will have made huge progress.

‘We will create hundreds of jobs for local people from gardeners and scaffolders to chefs and actors.’

Historic England said: ‘We are working alongside the owner to identify a programme of works to secure the fire-damaged parts of Parnham House in the short term, while long-term plans for its restoration are discussed.

‘We will continue to provide this advice to the owner and his team, and will respond to any applications as and when they are submitted.

‘Given the importance of the house and its inclusion on our Heritage at Risk Register we are keen to help secure a future for this very special Grade I listed building.’

Mr Perkins made his fortune as a co-founder of Fantazia, a dance music powerhouse which put on a series of legal raves – most notably at Castle Donington in 1992, which attracted 30,000 people.

Since moving into property development, a number of his projects, which include Dowdeswell Park and the Round Tower, both in the Cotswolds, have won awards for their sensitivity and architectural ambition.

He bought Aynhoe, a grand 17th Century Palladian mansion, after flying over it in a helicopter. 

Described as ‘Downton-meets-Wonderland’, it boasts 250 acres landscaped by Capability Brown, a private nightclub in the cellar, and an eccentric art and taxidermy collection, including a polar bear in flying goggles.

Run by Mr Perkins and his creative director wife Sophie Taylor, it regularly hosted celebrity weddings and parties. Noel Gallagher celebrated his 50th birthday there.

Mr Perkins said he aims to submit a full planning application to Dorset Council within the next few months. He hopes to hold a ‘soft-opening’ launch party for Parnham House (pictured) in the summer once lockdown eases

In January a host of artefacts up for sale at Aynhoe drew worldwide publicity, including an art collection featuring a 65million-year-old dinosaur skull, a floating giraffe named Gerard, and an antler chair where Liam Gallagher sat.

The sale came ahead of the couple and their three children’s move to Parnham House. Ms Taylor said the artefacts ‘belong at Aynhoe’ and so should be sold ahead of their move.

Collected over 25 years, the catalogue of items included a £35,000 Kate Moss portrait with hand-applied Swarovski crystals, a huge plaster cast of a section from the Acropolis in Athens and a red chair bearing the Queen’s Royal Cypher, thought to have once been owned by a judge.

King’s Speech star Colin Firth said ‘what an amazing place’ after visiting the mansion, while British fashion designer, Matthew Williamson, added ‘Aynhoe Park is magical, unique and unforgettable’.

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