Gangsters’ paradise: Luxury country mansion that was owned by the Kray twins and had its garden dug up by the police hunting for bodies hits the market for £2.25M

• Ronnie and Reggie Kray bought the Suffolk mansion as a retreat to where they were evacuated during WWII
• They purchased the seven bed property for just £11,000 in 1967, a year before they were arrested by police
• Hadleigh residents recalled gardens being dug up after the arrest after Reggie killed Jack ‘the Hat’ McVitie
• They were popular with locals as wealthy businessmen who bought children ice cream and donkey rides

The country mansion formerly owned by notorious East End gangsters the Kray twins is on the market first time in more than 30 years at a price of £2.25 million.

The police dug up the garden to search for bodies after the London gangsters were arrested in May 1968 around half a year after Reggie Kray stabbed and killed gang member Jack ‘The Hat’ McVitie, so called because he wore a hat to cover his baldness.

Ronnie and Reggie Kray – both popularly portrayed by Tom Hardy in film Legend – bought the secluded seven bedroom property called The Brooks in rural Suffolk as a rural retreat for just £11,000 in 1967.

The brothers stayed regularly at the house set in 6.4 acres of grounds just off the High Street in Bildeston near Hadleigh.

At the same time they also bought a pink cottage near the post office in the village as a second home for their parents Charlie and Violet.

The former country mansion of the notorious gangster twins Ronnie and Reggie Kray which is on the market for £2.25 million

The murder of henchman Jack ‘the Hat’ McVitie (right) by Reggie Kray in October 1967 was a turning point that eventually led the arrest and conviction of Ronnie and Reggie Kray (left)

The Krays were at The Brooks on the weekend before they and 15 members of their gang were arrested in May 1968.

Villagers recall how police searched the property and even dug up part of the garden in a search for bodies in the following days.

They were in bed at their mother’s Finsbury council flat when police conducted a dawn raid on May 8.

Reggie was in bed with a blonde woman and Ronnie was in bed with a ‘youth’, according to archive reports.

They were the first among the gang to be arrested for police investigations relating to offences including conspiracy to murder, fraud, demanding money with menaces and assault. 

The twins bought the three storey house after falling in love with Suffolk when they were child evacuees during World War Two and sent to live in the market town of Hadleigh.

The property, described as an ‘exceptional unlisted period house of elegant proportions and versatile accommodation’ by estate agents Bedfords, dates back to the 16th century with 18th century gentrification extensions and Victorian alterations.

It includes a separate cottage and ‘an enormous range of high-quality outbuildings’ providing a studio, gym, office complex and an open plan games/party room.

The Krays from London’s East End were infamous for running a crime empire involved in murder, armed robberies, protection rackets and assaults.

They became celebrities as West End nightclub owners, mixing with politicians and entertainers such as Diana Dors, Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland, and were photographed by David Bailey and interviewed on TV.

The twins bought the three storey house after falling in love with Suffolk when they were child evacuees during World War Two and sent to live in the market town of Hadleigh

The landing on the first floor leads to a ‘triple-aspect principal bedroom’, a main guest bedroom with an en-suite bathroom, and three further bedrooms, served by a large traditional bathroom with ball-and-claw bath and a large walk-in shower

The country mansion bears little resemblance to its former past as a retreat for two of London’s most notorious gangsters

They were each jailed for life in 1969 with Ronnie convicted of the murder of fellow gangster George Cornell who was shot dead in the Blind Beggar pub in Whitechapel in 1966, and Reggie convicted of the murder of Jack ‘The Hat’ McVitie in 1967.

Paranoid schizophrenic Ronnie died aged 61 in 1995 two days after suffering a heart attack at Broadmoor Hospital while Reggie died from cancer at the age of 66 in 2000, just weeks after being released from Norwich prison on compassionate grounds.

Ronnie told in an interview with author Robin McGibbon in 1989 how he and Reggie enjoyed carefree childhood days as evacuees in Suffolk.

He revealed how they went tobogganing, scrumped for apples, and played cowboys and Indians while billeted at East House Lodge, Hadleigh, with a woman called Mrs Styles.

Ronnie (left) and Reggie (right) Kray at home after 36 hours of police questioning concerning the murder of George Cornell, UK, 1966. Cornell, a member of a rival gang, was shot by Ronnie Kray in Whitechapel on 9th March

Ronnie added in a taped interview: ‘It was the first time we ever went to the county and we got to like the country.’

He recalled ‘the quietness, the peacefulness of it, the fresh air, nice scenery, nice countryside – different from London.’

After two years, the twins’ mother Violet, took them back to the family home in Vallance Road, Bethnal Green to be nearer their grandmother, Aunt Rose, Aunt May and other relatives.

But the brothers pledged to return and buy a house in Suffolk when they had made enough money.

They were true to their word by splashing out on The Brooks when their crime empire was at its height.

Describing the purchase, Ronnie said: ‘Later on we was able to buy the mansion and the cottage for 11,000 grand.’

When asked for the date of the purchase, he replied. ‘Just before we was arrested… It would be worth a million pound today. We had to have it all decorated and redone up.’

The brothers are said to have furnished the house with antiques, sourced from local shops and auctions.

Ronnie insisted they got on ‘very well’ with locals, saying: ‘We used to go to the local inns there and have a drink; have a sandwich. I can’t remember any names. Quiet country inns, we used to go to.’

They are said to have made themselves popular with children, giving donkey rides to local youngsters on a field, and handing them money to buy ice-cream as well as providing money to fix the church roof.

Their father Charlie also forged a reputation among locals as a cheery ‘true Cockney diamond’.

Ronnie described Bildeston as ‘very peaceful’, and said his brother ‘also liked it a lot’. But he insisted they didn’t get involved in any crime while in East Anglia.

Describing local villagers, he said: ‘They was very nice; friendly, kind, nice people. Very genuine people.’

When asked if the locals knew about their background, he said: ‘Some of them did. People recognised us from photographs in the paper. Some of them; not all of them. It didn’t seem to make any difference to them, anyway. They still liked us. We got on well with them.’

Ronnie revealed that he had and his brother sold the house for £14,000 after they were jailed, saying it was ‘Cos we was inside and there was no point keeping it on.’

It was later reported that the twins wrote to their father from jail in 1970, asking him to donate a collection of gym equipment to Hadleigh’s youth club which was the being run from East House where they had been evacuees.

The agents details for The Brooks say: ‘The property is graced with considerable natural light and wonderful original features to include large sash windows, picture rails and attractive fireplaces in almost all rooms (including the cloakroom!).’

The 4,200 square feet main house includes a large reception hall with an ‘attractive staircase’ and ‘ornate stained-glass interior windows’.

Its drawing room has a double aspect, with doors to the south giving access to the gardens and a marble fireplace with wood-burning stove.

The dining room has a ‘fabulous bay window, with bespoke window seating’ with a fireplace flanked by handmade cupboards and shelving and a snug with an open fireplace.

The Aga kitchen has a range of handmade painted shaker-style units with matching display cabinets, solid wood worktops and twin Belfast sink.

There is also a study/hobbies room with a brick floor and an arched window overlooking a walled courtyard and a utility/laundry room with storage units and a door to the gardens.

The landing on the first floor leads to a ‘triple-aspect principal bedroom’, a main guest bedroom with an en-suite bathroom, and three further bedrooms, served by a large traditional bathroom with ball-and-claw bath and a large walk-in shower.

Two further double bedrooms, sharing a large bathroom, are on the second floor.

Bedfords describe the grounds of the house as ‘one of the most exceptional settings we have seen for some time’.

The agents say the house is ‘located centrally within this highly regarded and well-served village, yet somehow providing a mature, rural environment to enjoy the copious levels of wildlife and tranquility’.

The property details add: ‘There are a variety of stunning mature trees, to include field maple, oak, willow, walnut and ash, together with an outstanding redwood (believed to be planted by Rev Professor Henslow, mentor to Charles Darwin).

‘There are carefully mown pathways through the grounds flanked by areas of rewilding, large lawned areas perfect for family picnics and countless areas of interest for those that wish to disconnect from modern life.

‘Closer to the property there are more formal gardens, with orchard and active vegetable gardens, together with an enclosed walled courtyard by the house and further partially walled seating area.’

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