<b><b>Retirement home developer Beechcroft is taking something of a gamble with the purchase of the magnificent Cobham Park, a 19th century mansion in Surrey. But, as Steve Menary discovers, md Chris Thomson is confident of success</b></b><br><b>Not many people have either the inclination or the opportunity to buy back a house that their family lived in for decades - but then Cobham Park is not your run-of-the-mill townhouse.</b><br><b>A grade II listed mansion set in 12 acres at Cobham in Surrey, the house was designed by 19th century architect Edward Middleton Barry and completed in 1873 for the Coombe family.</b><br><b><b>death duties</b></b><br> The Coombes lived there until the 1930s but were forced to sell up due to death taxes and in 1939 insurer Eagle Star moved in, staying for 18 years before the site was eventually taken over by IT giant Logica in 1979.<p></p><p>At the time, the building must have seemed ideal for Logica, which does a lot of work for the Ministry of Defence, as the building is isolated and even has its own bomb shelter - a World War Two relic that still sits in the grounds.</p><p>Developer Frogmore then bought the site from Logica in 2000, secured planning permission to return …