The house was built in 1913 for Captain George Vereker, a younger son of the 5th Viscount Gort. After Captain Vereker’s death, his widow sold the house to Otto Overbeck, a research chemist and avid collector who lived here until his death in 1937. It is a comfortable villa, with 2 projecting wings containing wide bay windows and linked by a conservatory. Inside there is a fine mahogany staircase and oak panelling. The 6-acre garden overlooks the sea and contains palms, olives, mimosa, pines, cypresses and a splendid Magnolia campbellii, planted when the gardens were laid out around an earlier house at the turn of the century.
The collection on display largely consists of memorabilia relating to Otto Overbeck and his family; several examples of a 'rejuvenator' – an electric shock treatment device invented by Overbeck; a natural history collection relating to Overbeck's scientific interest in carp; and material related to his championship fishing activity.
