Inside Benazir Bhutto's looted palace: The home of the late Pakistani leader is for sale at 7.5m
By SEBASTIAN O'KELLY
UPDATED: 15:42, 27 July 2010
For British visitors, Rockwood House seems a beautifully situated Arts and Crafts Home Counties house of the sort where television period dramas might unfold.But for half of Pakistan, this is the notorious 'Surrey Mansion', the luxurious former home of Benazir Bhutto, where she and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari - the current president of the country - salted away their ill-gotten gains.When Bhutto was twice prime minister in the late Eighties and mid-Nineties, Zardari was known as 'Mr Ten Per Cent', and whenever his wife was out of power he was jailed by his political opponents for corruption.
Stripped: Benazir Bhutto's former home Rockwood no longer contains the Bhuttos' gaudy ornaments
In the murky world of Pakistani politics, the Bhuttos were broadly the parliamentary opposition to the country's dour but arguably more stable military rulers. But for every voter who saw Benazir as a martyred democrat after her assassination in 2007, there was another who believed she and Zardari were corrupt to the core.
Rockwood House has been a footnote in Pakistan's turbulent political history ever since the Bhuttos bought it through a web of Isle of Man registered companies in 1995.
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Even today, Pakistani gawpers gather at the gates eager to catch a glimpse of the untold wealth that supposedly lies within this unlikely Surrey palace.They would be very disappointed if they ever saw inside.Up for sale for 7.5 million, Rockwood House near Guildford is a shadow of the gawdy monstrosity it was when the Bhuttos were in residence. For if the Bhuttos really are akin to the Borgias, they fell far short of that renaissance dynasty in terms of home decor.The 120,000 Lalique glass dining table has gone, as have the crystal chandeliers and gilded furnishings.
Power seat: The late Pakistani leader with Asif Ali Zardari
So too, in fact, have most of the original door knobs, bathroom fittings and even roof tiles on the coach house, as the house was squatted by the Bhuttos' unpaid builders.Giles and Vanessa Swarbreck bought the Rockwood House estate with 400 acres for 4.35million in July 2004 after the Pakistan government had pressurised the British authorities to appoint liquidators to sell the property.'It was still full of the Bhuttos' furniture and was like a Dubai vision of The Arabian Nights,' says Giles, 53, a former West End jeweller-turned-property developer. 'It is incredible what they spent their money on, with no coherent plan and having their whims interpreted by their builders. The result was a total eyesore.'
The most permanent Bhutto addition was what Giles describes as 'a cheap Karachi-style concrete veranda' stuck on the back of the house in order to enjoy the stunning views over the Downs.The domed master bedroom with inset lights that twinkle like stars may not suit all tastes, but it is supposedly bomb-proof with steel and reinforced concrete.In the basement, Zadari had his own snug bar, apparently copied from the nearby Dog and Pheasant pub, although sadly the jailbird politician's visits to Rockwood tended to be brief.When it came up for sale in 2004, the Swarbrecks, who are local landowners, scented a bargain and put in a sealed bid offer. As it happened, they were the underbidders.'We went away on holiday to South Africa and heaved a sigh of relief that we had not taken the place on,' recalls Giles.
Inside view: The hallway at Rockwood, which has 15 bedrooms
'Suddenly we were contacted by the estate agents and told to come back and complete the deal in ten days or lose our deposit.'
For the next two years the couple could do little more than watch the house disintegrate.Aggrieved unpaid builders had taken up residence, and unknown intruders plundered the fixtures and fittings.'It was actually quite intimidating even visiting the place,' says Vanessa. 'Down the passageways you would encounter these terrifying, lurking people, who were pretty angry not to have been paid.'
The couple had intended to make Rockwood their home, but the deaths of Vanessa's mother and brother meant they moved into her family's country house at nearby Hambledon.A range of farm buildings have been converted and sold off and now what remains of Rockwood is for sale, including 60 acres, a couple of gatehouses and a separate indoor swimming pool complex that has planning consent to be turned into a five-bedroom house.Rockwood, which has 15 bedrooms, has a total of 12,000 sq ft, but Giles has obtained permission to extend this to a truly palatial 22,000 sq ft.The value of some of the outbuildings depends on access issues being resolved.'Our hope is to sell the place as a whole, possibly to a developer, and I have done the hard graft of getting all the planning consents,' says Giles. 'But if necessary it will have to be lotted up.'
Edward de Mallet Morgan, of Knight Frank, who is selling the property, reckons that there is a very good chance of getting a buyer who wants to make it their home.'It has huge potential for anyone who is prepared to spend some money on it,' he says. 'The planning consents exist and the house is not listed.'For anyone wanting to live in some style 40 minutes from London, it will be very attractive. Already we are seeing Russian interest spread to this area, and there are Indian buyers interested as well.'There aren't a huge number of buyers about, but they are good quality. I would be surprised if the estate has to be lotted up.' Knight Frank 020 7861 1553.
UPDATED: 15:42, 27 July 2010
For British visitors, Rockwood House seems a beautifully situated Arts and Crafts Home Counties house of the sort where television period dramas might unfold.But for half of Pakistan, this is the notorious 'Surrey Mansion', the luxurious former home of Benazir Bhutto, where she and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari - the current president of the country - salted away their ill-gotten gains.When Bhutto was twice prime minister in the late Eighties and mid-Nineties, Zardari was known as 'Mr Ten Per Cent', and whenever his wife was out of power he was jailed by his political opponents for corruption.

In the murky world of Pakistani politics, the Bhuttos were broadly the parliamentary opposition to the country's dour but arguably more stable military rulers. But for every voter who saw Benazir as a martyred democrat after her assassination in 2007, there was another who believed she and Zardari were corrupt to the core.
Rockwood House has been a footnote in Pakistan's turbulent political history ever since the Bhuttos bought it through a web of Isle of Man registered companies in 1995.
More...
Even today, Pakistani gawpers gather at the gates eager to catch a glimpse of the untold wealth that supposedly lies within this unlikely Surrey palace.They would be very disappointed if they ever saw inside.Up for sale for 7.5 million, Rockwood House near Guildford is a shadow of the gawdy monstrosity it was when the Bhuttos were in residence. For if the Bhuttos really are akin to the Borgias, they fell far short of that renaissance dynasty in terms of home decor.The 120,000 Lalique glass dining table has gone, as have the crystal chandeliers and gilded furnishings.

So too, in fact, have most of the original door knobs, bathroom fittings and even roof tiles on the coach house, as the house was squatted by the Bhuttos' unpaid builders.Giles and Vanessa Swarbreck bought the Rockwood House estate with 400 acres for 4.35million in July 2004 after the Pakistan government had pressurised the British authorities to appoint liquidators to sell the property.'It was still full of the Bhuttos' furniture and was like a Dubai vision of The Arabian Nights,' says Giles, 53, a former West End jeweller-turned-property developer. 'It is incredible what they spent their money on, with no coherent plan and having their whims interpreted by their builders. The result was a total eyesore.'
The most permanent Bhutto addition was what Giles describes as 'a cheap Karachi-style concrete veranda' stuck on the back of the house in order to enjoy the stunning views over the Downs.The domed master bedroom with inset lights that twinkle like stars may not suit all tastes, but it is supposedly bomb-proof with steel and reinforced concrete.In the basement, Zadari had his own snug bar, apparently copied from the nearby Dog and Pheasant pub, although sadly the jailbird politician's visits to Rockwood tended to be brief.When it came up for sale in 2004, the Swarbrecks, who are local landowners, scented a bargain and put in a sealed bid offer. As it happened, they were the underbidders.'We went away on holiday to South Africa and heaved a sigh of relief that we had not taken the place on,' recalls Giles.

'Suddenly we were contacted by the estate agents and told to come back and complete the deal in ten days or lose our deposit.'
For the next two years the couple could do little more than watch the house disintegrate.Aggrieved unpaid builders had taken up residence, and unknown intruders plundered the fixtures and fittings.'It was actually quite intimidating even visiting the place,' says Vanessa. 'Down the passageways you would encounter these terrifying, lurking people, who were pretty angry not to have been paid.'
The couple had intended to make Rockwood their home, but the deaths of Vanessa's mother and brother meant they moved into her family's country house at nearby Hambledon.A range of farm buildings have been converted and sold off and now what remains of Rockwood is for sale, including 60 acres, a couple of gatehouses and a separate indoor swimming pool complex that has planning consent to be turned into a five-bedroom house.Rockwood, which has 15 bedrooms, has a total of 12,000 sq ft, but Giles has obtained permission to extend this to a truly palatial 22,000 sq ft.The value of some of the outbuildings depends on access issues being resolved.'Our hope is to sell the place as a whole, possibly to a developer, and I have done the hard graft of getting all the planning consents,' says Giles. 'But if necessary it will have to be lotted up.'
Edward de Mallet Morgan, of Knight Frank, who is selling the property, reckons that there is a very good chance of getting a buyer who wants to make it their home.'It has huge potential for anyone who is prepared to spend some money on it,' he says. 'The planning consents exist and the house is not listed.'For anyone wanting to live in some style 40 minutes from London, it will be very attractive. Already we are seeing Russian interest spread to this area, and there are Indian buyers interested as well.'There aren't a huge number of buyers about, but they are good quality. I would be surprised if the estate has to be lotted up.' Knight Frank 020 7861 1553.