Former home of Cambridge spy Donald Maclean that he left when he defected to the Soviet Union goes on the market
The British diplomat-turned-traitor fled 2 Beacon Shaw in the Surrey village of Tatsfield on May 25, 1951 after he had been tipped off that MI5 knew he was a Russian spy
THE former home that Cambridge spy Donald Maclean abandoned when he defected to the Soviet Union has gone on the market for £895,000.
The British diplomat-turned-traitor fled 2 Beacon Shaw in the Surrey village of Tatsfield on May 25, 1951 after he had been tipped off that MI5 knew he was a Russian spy.
It was here, in the dining room, that Maclean ate a supper to celebrate his 38th birthday, kissed his heavily pregnant wife Melinda and their two children goodbye on the doorstep, then fled Britain, never to be seen again.
Maclean caught a ferry to the continent with fellow spy Guy Burgess - their disappearance sparking a massive manhunt and furore.
Their deception wasn't confirmed until five years later when the former senior Foreign Office diplomat and Burgess surfaced in Moscow at a press conference.
Back in England, Maclean's wife kept up the pretence of her husband's sudden disappearance for a year before she and their children too fled for Russia.
Maclean and Burgess along with Kim Philby, Anthony Blunt and John Cairncross were later revealed to be the members of the Cambridge spy ring, so-called as they were recruited by the Russians when they were at Cambridge University.
The Macleans' large detached Surrey house was later bought by a family who turned it into a pair of semi-detached properties to live in.
The sprawling pile has four bedrooms, four bathrooms, three reception rooms and a one acre garden with outbuildings.
Unsurprisingly given its former owner, the house is in a secluded location at the end of a long driveway.
The Cambridge Spy Ring
Maclean, Burgess, Philby and Blunt were British members of a KGB spy ring that penetrated the intelligence system of the UK.
The gang passed vital information to the Soviets during World War Two and the early stages of the Cold War.
The members of the ring were Donald Maclean (1913 - 1983), Guy Burgess (1911 - 1963), Harold "Kim" Philby (1912 - 1988) and Anthony Blunt (1907 - 1983).
Several other people have been suggested as belonging to the ring, including John Cairncross.
Blunt became a communist in the early 1930s and was recruited by the NKVD (later KGB), the Soviet security agency.
While teaching at Cambridge University, Blunt was influential in recruiting the other three, who were all students there.
The 1918 property is on the market with estate agents Humberts for £895,000.
Jennie Cole, of Humberts, said: "The property is actually one half of a former manor house which has a fascinating history.
"The Canadian Air Force were stationed there during World War Two before it was owned by Donald Maclean.
"He defected to Russia a year before the house was divided into two properties which are back-to-back rather than side by side.
"Many original features remain including high ceilings.
"One of the main features is the one acre garden which backs on to a golf course.
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"The house is tucked away down a long drive so there is a lot of seclusion.
"On the ground floor there is a living room overlooking the garden, a big reception hall, dining room and kitchen breakfast room.
Maclean, Burgess and Philby defected to the Soviet Untion while Blunt was granted immunity on condition he confessed all.
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