History of the house According to local records, the site on which the property is built was originally the location of Phoenician baths which, in the 18th century, was converted into a soap factory. In the existing Escritura there is a reference to there having been a drying room for teasels: vats used in the process of soap making occupied the whole of the north boundary. The older portions of the existing house date from the 12th century. However, recent building work revealed traces of Phoenician brickwork. The land to the west, now laid out to gardens and the swimming pool, is believed at one time to have been terraced vineyards for the production of the local terreno wine, which is still widely produced and enjoyed. At the beginning of the 17th century legend has it that this house was at one time occupied by the local priest (circa 1615), as it adjoined the temporary chapel immediately to the east of the house, which was in use whilst the church in the main square was being built. It is said that at that time the passage behind the house, known as Callejon de Inquisidor, was used by penitents to visit the priest for secret confession. It should be noted here that the Spanish Inquisition continued until well into the 18th century. The house then became the residence of a local merchant, who abandoned it at the start of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). In the square immediately outside the front door, it is rumoured that a lieutenant of Franco’s army handed his revolver to his girlfriend so that she could shoot her unfaithful lover (a Republican) in one of the village massacres. The property then remained abandoned till 1969 when it was purchased by author, playwright and broadcaster Drew Launay. His BBC Radio 4 series Siesta Days Fiesta Nights was centred on this house and village. During his five years of residence the house was used as a location for several films - Figures in a Landscape directed by Joseph Losey, starring Malcolm McDowell and Robert Shaw and The Last Run directed by John Houston and Richard Fleischer, starring George C. Scott and Trish Van Der Vere. Amongst other well-known visitors and guests during that time were the author Alan Sillitoe and the actor Victor Spinetti. Extending this artistic tradition Nick Launay, Drew’s son, record producer of, amongst others - Midnight Oil, Silver Chair, Semi Sonic, Kate Bush, INXS, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - made his first amateur recordings as a teenager in the house, using the then only bathroom as a studio! In 1975 the house was purchased by artist Robert Pendered, who landscaped the garden and planted most of the exotic trees and flora that exist here today. His wife Maureen, an avid reader, has written a book about travelling in Spain. In 1994 Robert and Maureen Pendered relinquished their much loved second home in Andalucía to the present owner, London-based ex-opera singer and musician Angela Leaf Štrbac. Angela, having carried out sensitive and extensive renovations to the property, left her life and work in England to live permanently in Frigiliana in 1999. A year or so later she was joined by John Harwood, born in South Africa, an astronomer with degrees from Oxford and Cape Town Universities. John moved from the Royal Observatory (then at Herstmonceux Castle) to the City of London to become an analyst, a trader, then a fund manager and administrator, successfully managing his own companies for 15 years. In Frigiliana he has reinvented himself as a successful and very knowledgeable wine merchant, at Vinos Don Juan, with a keen interest in the burgeoning and innovative Spanish wine industry.