Everyone from Harold Wilson to Sting, the Archbishop of Canterbury to Steven Redgrave, and Colin Cowdrey to John Cleese visited Edward Heath's former house in Salisbury for one of his famous Sunday lunches.

The lunches would often stretch for hours with fine wines, roast meals (lamb was a favourite), puddings and cheese boards - with guests invited to take a look at the former Prime Minister's fine collection of political cartoons and sailing memorabilia.

From next Saturday, the scene of so many lunchtime encounters in the house where Heath lived from 1985 until his death in 2005 will be open to the public.

Guided 45-minute tours of Arundells will run throughout the summer, with explanations of the Conservative leader's career as Prime Minister from 1970 to 1974, his prowess as a yachtsman, his love of playing the piano and his “enjoyment of the good life”.

The tours, which cost £5, are co-ordinated by Stuart Craven, who was Heath's personal assisant. He said: “Heath wanted the public to appreciate the house. He had no immediate family to leave the house to, so he left it to the trustees.” The former Prime Minister bequeathed £5 million to a charitable trust to go towards the upkeep of the property.

Arundells was originally a medieval canonry dating from the 1300s. Several areas are to be opened to the public, including the drawing room with a piano and a bust of Heath; a hallway filled with sailing mementos (Heath was captain of Britain's 1971 Admiral's cup team); a room with paintings by Lowry, Singer Sargent and Winston Churchill; the political cartoon collection; and a library of art and music books.

The dining room contains a collection of European ceramics, Heath's piano, and a Tang dynasty figurine of a horse. Craven said: “Sunday lunches were very convivial. There would be up to ten people, from all walks of life: locals from Salisbury as well as pop stars, politicians, journalists, artists, conductors, and sportsmen and women.”

Details: 01722 326546, www.arundells.org

PM in residence

Duke of Wellington (Prime Minister 1828-30, 1834) - Apsley House was where the first Duke of Wellington, best known for defeating Napoleon but who was later Prime Minister, lived. The 18th-century building on Hyde Park Corner is run by English Heritage and open to visitors. There are collections of china, family paintings and a “colossal nude statue of Napoleon by Canova”.

Details: 020-7499 5676, www.english-heritage.org.uk

Benjamin Disraeli (1868, and 1874-80) - Hughenden Manor in Buckinghamshire was acquired by Disraeli in 1847. The Georgian building, which is surrounded by woods and parkland, has a Victorian interior, with a library containing Disraeli's novels. Tours run by the National Trust.

Details: 01494 755565, www.nationaltrust.org.uk

Winston Churchill (1940-45, 1951-55) - Chartwell House in Westerham, Kent, was Churchill's family home and contains a vast collection of the former Prime Minister's paintings, photographs and memorabilia. Also run by the National Trust.

Details: 01732 866368, www.nationaltrust.org.uk

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