The ups and downs of Updown took a dramatic downturn in the hurricane of 1987. The Queen Anne-style house, built in the 1930s, was owned at the time by an elderly Arab sheik.
He decided to sell, and the Mayfair agents Knight Frank were on their way to value it the morning after the storm struck. The winds, however, had brought down a power cable, the house had ignited and by the time the valuer got there it was a smouldering ruin.
It remained a wreck for ten years until it was bought by Heatherside Property Holdings, an offshore Caribbean-based consortium, which employed Arizona based architect John B. Scholz, who specialises in the opulence favoured by Eastern potentates.
Windlesham is one of Britain's richest enclaves. It is near Ascot racecourse. The Queen's cousin, Princess Maud, lived next door. Genteel discretion is the architectural rule of thumb. Scholz's design caused outrage.
'It's an absolute monstrosity,' Major General Sir Philip Ward, former Lord-Lieutenant of West Sussex and Commanding Officer of the Household Division, who lived there between 1962 and 1976.
In those days Updown Court had a mere eight bedrooms and a single swimming pool. 'It was a lovely family house,' the Major General declared.
Scholz's version is the size of an hotel. As well as 30 bedrooms, it will have a garage large enough to accommodate eight Rolls-Royces, a helicopter pad, an all-weather sports pitch, stables, squash court, cinema and a marble walled bowling alley.
The front door is three-storeys high. The roof in the main hall is supported by 14 marble pillars. The property includes two guest houses each large enough to accommodate a family of six.
The decor was supposed to be equally extravagant. The bathrooms have his-and-her whirlpools with a seating area large enough for 12 people. The dining room can seat 30.
The developers had talked grandly of selling it on to Dubai's Sheik Mohammed al Maktoum or the Crown Prince of Malaysia. Actor Bruce Willis was mentioned. Instead, it has turned into a financial disaster.
Work ground to a halt last summer when Customs officers backed by an officer from the National Crime Squad raided the house.
A spokesman for Customs and Excise confirmed: 'This is in conjunction with arrests made in relation to money laundering.' The consultant engineer in charge of the development is now on bail.
In the effort to cover the debts to builders and banks, the receiver decided to offer Updown at the knockdown price of £15 million.
'It is in a league of its own,' insists Ian Stewart, director of FPD Savills, who are co-handling the sale. 'At £275 per square foot, which by local standards is about half price, you really could say this is a bargain.'
But is it really the deal the agents say it is? The Maktoums have already announced they are not interested. So has the Crown Prince of Malaysia. Even the oilrich Arab sheiks are no longer the easy touch they once were.
One top estate agent explains: 'The political climate has changed. The business of spending for spending's sake is over.'
Then there are hidden 'extras' - and they will run into millions. The original building costs were estimated at £30 million, and there are at least several million more pounds to be spent before the house can be made habitable.
But doubtless someone, somewhere will be interested. And if that person is you, remember that bids close on July 10.
