MILLIONAIRE David Gold has told how he was treated with suspicion and scepticism when he first moved to Caterham because of his porn background.
He said it took three years to not only restore the 160-year-old dilapidated mansion he bought in Tupwood Lane – but also to win over the hearts and minds of neighbours.
Mr Gold, who at the time owned the Daily Sport newspaper and magazines such as Hustler Centrefolds, recalled: "Some of my new neighbours expected me to be a huge fatcat smoking a massive cigar.
"For a long time the neighbours were very suspicious of me.
"I think they half expected me to breeze in and build something outrageous here, like an oil refinery.
"Some of them would complain to Tandridge District Council that my one-metre-high post-and-rail boundary fence was up to three centimetres too high."
"And council officials must have made about 20 visits to my property to carry out checks on whether my fence breached the regulations.
"It was crazy.
"The whole thing ended up before the Secretary of State – who normally settles disputes on things like tunnels and bridges – before I eventually won.
"It was only when I started to hold charity functions here that the neighbours began to soften."
Nowadays he is a veritable pillar of the local community.
Among other roles he is patron of Caterham's Soper Hall Community Centre Ltd, Caterham Business Executives' Association and Whyteleafe Football Club.
Mr Gold is worth around £350m, according to the Sunday Times Rich List.
He is chairman of Gold Group International, which includes Gold Air, Ann Summers and Knickerbox.
Engaged for the past ten years to Lesley Manning, he is also chairman of West Ham United Football Club,
Mr Gold, 75, said: "When I bought the house back in 1992, it was in such a state that it was virtually ready to be pulled down.
"It was in barren scrubland with sheep and cows roaming the land.
"But I still loved it. I could not bring myself to pull it down and start again."
The £2m he spent painstakingly restoring the house – named The Chalet by a former Austrian owner – is a world away from his hand-to-mouth upbringing in West Ham with a tin bath and outside toilet.
It took years to restore the seven-bedroom property back to its Victorian grandeur.
The overgrown grounds were similarly transformed. The 55 acres now boast ponds, ancient woodland, a 19-hole golf course, and wildlife such as badgers and deer.
The public will be able to have a rare walk around at the next open garden days, on March 31 and April 7.
Mr Gold's vintage cars, his helicopter and the oldest-surviving FA Cup, which he owns, will be on show.
Proceeds from admission charges, the sale of refreshments, and signed copies of his autobiography, will go to St Catherine's Hospice.
Entrance is £4 for adults and free for children. For more details, call 01293 447376.
