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Cliveden



 
 
Cliveden (pronounced CLIV-d'n) is a mansion
Mansion

A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives from the Latin word mansio In the Roman Empire, a mansio was an official stopping place on a Roman road, or via, where cities sprang up, and where the villas of provincial officials came to be placed....
 in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire

Buckinghamshire is a Ceremonial counties of England and Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England home counties Counties of England in South East England England....
, England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
 overlooking the River Thames
River Thames

The Thames is a major river flowing through southern England. While best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows through several other towns and cities, including Oxford, Reading, Berkshire and Windsor, Berkshire....
 owned by the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty

The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organization in England, Wales and Northern Ireland....
 and operated as a hotel
Hotel

----A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including Bathroom#Types of bathroomss and air conditioning or clima...
 by von Essen hotels. Cliveden means "valley among cliffs" and refers to the dean or valley which cuts through the estate to the East and South of the house.The gardens and woodlands are open to the public, together with parts of the house on certain days. The present house was built in 1851 by the architect Charles Barry
Charles Barry

Sir Charles Barry Fellow of the Royal Society was an England architect, best known for his role in the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster in his home city of London during the mid 19th century, but also responsible for numerous other buildings and gardens....
 for George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 3rd Duke of Sutherland
George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 3rd Duke of Sutherland

George Granville William Sutherland Leveson-Gower, 3rd Duke of Sutherland was the son of George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 2nd Duke of Sutherland....
.

The present house
The three-storey house, in the classic Italian
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
 style, was built in 1851 on the broad terraces of its predecessor, for the Duke of Sutherland
George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 3rd Duke of Sutherland

George Granville William Sutherland Leveson-Gower, 3rd Duke of Sutherland was the son of George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 2nd Duke of Sutherland....
, who required a country retreat near London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
.






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Encyclopedia


Cliveden (pronounced CLIV-d'n) is a mansion
Mansion

A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives from the Latin word mansio In the Roman Empire, a mansio was an official stopping place on a Roman road, or via, where cities sprang up, and where the villas of provincial officials came to be placed....
 in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire

Buckinghamshire is a Ceremonial counties of England and Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England home counties Counties of England in South East England England....
, England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
 overlooking the River Thames
River Thames

The Thames is a major river flowing through southern England. While best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows through several other towns and cities, including Oxford, Reading, Berkshire and Windsor, Berkshire....
 owned by the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty

The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organization in England, Wales and Northern Ireland....
 and operated as a hotel
Hotel

----A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including Bathroom#Types of bathroomss and air conditioning or clima...
 by von Essen hotels. Cliveden means "valley among cliffs" and refers to the dean or valley which cuts through the estate to the East and South of the house.The gardens and woodlands are open to the public, together with parts of the house on certain days. The present house was built in 1851 by the architect Charles Barry
Charles Barry

Sir Charles Barry Fellow of the Royal Society was an England architect, best known for his role in the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster in his home city of London during the mid 19th century, but also responsible for numerous other buildings and gardens....
 for George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 3rd Duke of Sutherland
George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 3rd Duke of Sutherland

George Granville William Sutherland Leveson-Gower, 3rd Duke of Sutherland was the son of George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 2nd Duke of Sutherland....
.

The present house


The three-storey house, in the classic Italian
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
 style, was built in 1851 on the broad terraces of its predecessor, for the Duke of Sutherland
George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 3rd Duke of Sutherland

George Granville William Sutherland Leveson-Gower, 3rd Duke of Sutherland was the son of George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 2nd Duke of Sutherland....
, who required a country retreat near London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
. This new mansion was considerably grander and more luxurious than the previous house. The exterior remains much as designed by Barry
Charles Barry

Sir Charles Barry Fellow of the Royal Society was an England architect, best known for his role in the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster in his home city of London during the mid 19th century, but also responsible for numerous other buildings and gardens....
, but the interiors were extensively altered in the 1870s, when the house was owned by the Hugh Lupus Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster, and again in the 1890s when the architect John Loughborough Pearson
John Loughborough Pearson

John Loughborough Pearson was a 19th-century architect renowned for his work on Church and cathedrals. Pearson revived and practised largely the art of vaulting, and acquired in it a proficiency unrivalled in his generation....
 remodelled the entrance hall and sweeping staircase. The clock tower next to the house is in fact a disguised water tower
Water tower

A water tower or elevated water tower is a large elevated water storage container constructed for the purpose of holding a water supply at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system....
.

In the formal gardens are temple
Temple

A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A ??templum?? constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur....
s and follies
Folly

In architecture, a folly is a building constructed strictly as a decoration, having none of the usual purposes of housing or sheltering associated with a conventional structure....
 built by various owners and tenants. The Octagon temple (now the chapel), designed by the architect Giacomo Leoni
Giacomo Leoni

Giacomo Leoni was an List of Italian architects, born in Venice. He was a devotee of the work of Florentine History of Florence architect Leon Battista Alberti, who had also been the chief inspiration of Andrea Palladio....
, was commissioned by George Douglas-Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney in 1735.

Early history


Cliveden stands on the site of a house built in 1666 designed by architect William Winde
William Winde

Captain William Winde was an England gentleman architect, whose Royalist military career, resulting in fortifications and topographical surveys, and his later career, as designer or simply "conductor" of the works of country houses, has been epitomised by Howard Colvin, who said that "Winde ranks with Robert Hooke, Hugh May, Roger Pratt and...
 as the home of George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham
George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham

George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, Knight of the Garter, Privy Council of England, Fellow of the Royal Society , was an England statesman and poet....
. The house was let to Frederick, Prince of Wales
Frederick, Prince of Wales

The Prince Frederick, Prince of Wales was a member of the Kingdom of Hanover and British Royal Family, the eldest son of George II of Great Britain and father of George III of Great Britain....
 from 1739 to 1751 during whose tenure, in 1740, the song "Rule, Britannia" was first performed, in the rustic theatre in the garden. In 1795 the house was seriously damaged by fire and for the next 30 years it remained a shell; following a second rebuilding it was again destroyed by fire in 1849.

The Astor era

The house became the home of the Astor family
Astor family

The Astor family is a significant United Kingdom-United States family of Germany descent notable for their prominence in business, socialite, and political family....
 in 1893 and from 1919 it was the home of Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor
Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor

Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor was a businessman and politician and a member of the prominent Astor family.Born William Waldorf Astor in New York City in the United States, he was the son of the wealthy William Waldorf Astor , and Mary Astor, Viscountess Astor ....
 and his wife, Nancy Astor, who was the first woman Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative of the voters to a parliament. In many countries the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a unique title, such as senate, and thus also have unique titles for its members, such as senators....
 to take her seat. At the outbreak of World War I
World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
, Astor offered the use of some of the grounds to the Canadian Red Cross
Canadian Red Cross

The Canadian Red Cross Society is a Canada humanitarian charitable organization and one of 186 national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies.It was established in the fall of 1896 as an affiliate of the British Red Cross ....
 for the building of a hospital - The HRH Duchess of Connaught Hospital - which was dismantled at the end of hostilities.

In the 1930s, while the home of the Astors, the house became a very fashionable place for prominent figures in both politics and the arts to meet, hunt, stroll in the gardens, and attend lavish parties. This prominent group of individuals became known as the 'Cliveden Set
Cliveden set

The Cliveden Set were allegedly a 1930s right-wing, upper class group of prominent individuals politically influential in pre-World War II United Kingdom, who were in the circle of Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor....
' and were very influential over the affairs of state. It was about this time that the Astors had the house extended in the form of a horseshoe-shaped wing, to provide extra bedrooms for the house-parties

In September 1939, with the outbreak of World War II, Astor again offered the land, for a rent of 1 shilling
Shilling

The shilling is a unit of currency used in current and former Commonwealth of Nations countries, and continued to be used in countries that left the commonwealth, such as Republic of Ireland and Tanzania....
 per year, to the Canadian Red Cross, and the Canadian Red Cross Memorial Hospital
Canadian Red Cross Memorial Hospital

The Canadian Red Cross Memorial Hospital in Taplow, Buckinghamshire, was a pre-war civilian hospital and a centre for research into rheumatism in children....
 was built to the designs of architect Robert Atkinson
Robert Atkinson (architect)

Robert Atkinson, Order of the British Empire was an England architect primarily working in the Art Deco style.Atkinson was born in Wigton, Cumberland and studied at University College, Nottingham before studying abroad in Paris, Italy and America....
. After the war the hospital's main focus was as a nursing school, a maternity unit and a rheumatology
Rheumatology

Rheumatology is a sub-specialty in internal medicine and pediatrics, devoted to the diagnosis and therapy of rheumatic diseases. Rheumatologists mainly deal with clinical problems involving joints, soft tissues and allied conditions of connective tissues....
 unit, which was headed by Dr Barbara Ansell
Barbara Ansell

Barbara Mary Ansell Order of the British Empire, Royal College of Physicians, Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons was the world-renowned UK founder of paediatric rheumatology....
.

In 1942 Astor gave the property to National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty

The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organization in England, Wales and Northern Ireland....
, with the proviso that the family continue to live there. Should this cease, he expressed the wish that the house be used:

....as my wife and I have tried to use it, to bring about a better understanding between the English-speaking world and between various groups or sections of people of this and other countries.


In 1961 the house became the centre of the Profumo Affair
Profumo Affair

The Profumo Affair was a British political scandals from 1963 in the United Kingdom that is named after the then Secretary of State for War, John Profumo....
, after a chance meeting at a party between cabinet minister John Profumo
John Profumo

Brigadier John Dennis Profumo, 5th Baron Profumo, Order of the British Empire , informally known as Jack Profumo, was a Politics of the United Kingdom....
 and showgirl Christine Keeler
Christine Keeler

Christine Keeler is an England former model and showgirl. Her involvement with a British government minister discredited the Conservative Party government of Harold Macmillan in 1963, in what is known as the Profumo Affair....
 led to a brief affair, which when made public a year later caused a national security scare as Keeler had also been having an affair with an attaché at the Soviet
Soviet Union

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a Constitution of the Soviet Union socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991.The name is a translation of the , romanization of Russian Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated ????, SSSR....
 embassy.

From 1969 to 1983 Stanford University
Stanford University

Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private university research university located in Stanford, California, California, United States....
 ran an overseas studies campus at Cliveden and a basement pub was opened to students and locals.

Cliveden today


Today the National Trust has leased the house as a five-star hotel
Star (classification)

Stars are often used as symbols for classification purposes. They are used by reviewers for ranking things such as movies, TV shows, restaurants, and hotels....
 operating in the style of an Edwardian
Edwardian period

The Edwardian period or Edwardian era in the United Kingdom is the period covering the reign of Edward VII of the United Kingdom, 1901 to 1910....
 country house. Part of the house, the gardens and woodlands are open to the public on a seasonal basis (April-October for the house, March-December for the gardens). The house has a Berkshire postal code, leading many (including the media and the hotel itself) to believe that it is in Berkshire
Berkshire

Berkshire is a Home Counties in the South East England of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1958, and Letters patent issued confirming...
. In fact, the Berkshire postal codes stretch into much of Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire

Buckinghamshire is a Ceremonial counties of England and Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England home counties Counties of England in South East England England....
, even through the county boundary is formed by the River Thames
River Thames

The Thames is a major river flowing through southern England. While best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows through several other towns and cities, including Oxford, Reading, Berkshire and Windsor, Berkshire....
.

Gardens and Grounds


The estate extends to 375 acres of which about 180 acres comprise the gardens, the rest being woodland and paddocks. The formal Parterre to the South of the house is one of the largest in Europe (four acres). It consists of wedge-shaped beds edged with box hedging and filled with catnip, santolina and senecio. The Long Garden consists of topiary and box hedges and was designed by Norah Lindsey in c.1900. The Water Garden was was laid out by the 1st Lord Astor in c.1900 and features a pagoda bought from the Bagatelle estate in Paris. The original Rose Garden, designed by Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe for the Astor family in the early 1960s has since suffered from rose disease and has been replanted as a "Secret" garden of herbaceous plants. The planting in the Herbaceous Borders in the forecourt was designed by Graham Stuart Thomas in the early 1970s. There is a lime tree avenue either side of the main drive to the house. In 1897 the 1st Lord Astor imported a section of a Californian redwood and had it installed in the woods. At 16ft 6in across it is the largest section of a Sequoia gigantea in Britain.

Temples, pavilions and follies

The earliest known garden buildings at Cliveden were both designed by Giacomo Leoni for Lord Orkney; the Blenheim Pavilion (c.1727) was built to commemorate Orkney's victory as a general at the Battle of Blenheim. The Octagon Temple, situated two-hundred feet above the Thames, was originally designed as a gazebo and grotto but was later converted by the 1st Lord Astor to become the family chapel. Its interior and dome are decorated with colourful mosaics by Clayton and Bell representing religious scenes. The pagoda in the Water Garden was made for the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1867 and was purchased by the 1st Lord Astor from the Bagatelle estate in Paris in 1900. In the woods there is a small flint folly thought to date from the mid-nineteenth century.

Sculpture Collection

One of the features of the gardens is the large collection of sculpture, most of it acquired by the 1st Lord Astor from 1893 to 1906. The shell fountain, known as the "Fountain of Love", greets visitors at the end of the lime tree avenue up to the house. It was sculpted by Thomas Waldo Story, (American, 1855-1915) in Rome in 1897 and was commissioned by Lord Astor for this site. It features a large Carrara marble shell supporting three female figures attended by cupid. The "Tortoise" fountain near the Parterre was also made by T.W. Story at around the same time.

In the forecourt there is a collection of eight marble Roman sarcophagi, some of which date from c.AD 100 and were bought by Lord Astor from Rome.

The "Queen Anne Vase" at the end of the Long Walk is said to have been given to Lord Orkney by Queen Anne in the eighteenth century and consists of a tall urn on a plinth decorated with the Greek key pattern.

The largest sculpture in the grounds, technically in two parts, is the 17th century Borghese Balustrade on the Parterre. Purchased by Lord Astor in the late 19th century from the Villa Borghese in Rome, it is crafted from Travertine stone and brick tiles by Giuseppe Di Giacomo and Paolo Massini in c.1618-19. It features seats and balustrading with fountain basins and carved eagles.

The well-heads and oil-jars found throughout the gardens came from Venice and Rome respectively.

The "Cliveden snail"

In 2004, a colony of small Mediterranean land snails of the species Papillifera bidens
Papillifera bidens

Papillifera bidens, previously known as Papillifera papillaris, is a species of small, air-breathing land snail with a clausilium, a terrestrial animal pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Clausiliidae, the door snails....
 was discovered living on the Borghese Balustrade. Presumably this species, new to the English fauna, was accidentally imported along with the balustrade in the late 19th century, and managed to survive through all the intervening winters to the present day.

Cliveden on film and television

  • The 2001 Bollywood
    Bollywood

    Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Mumbai-based Hindi film industry in India. The term is often used to refer to the whole of Cinema of India....
     film Yaadein
    Yaadein

    Yaadein is a 2001 Bollywood film directed by Subhash Ghai. It was filmed throughout India, Malaysia and the United Kingdom.Synopsis...
     was partly filmed at Cliveden.
  • In the 2004 film Thunderbirds
    Thunderbirds (film)

    Thunderbirds is a 2004 in film science fiction-adventure film based upon the Thunderbirds of the 1960s, directed by Jonathan Frakes. The movie, written by William Osborne and Michael McCullers, was released on July 24, 2004 in the UK, with later dates for others....
    , Cliveden is used as the location for Lady Penelope
    Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward

    Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward is the London Agent for the secret organization International Rescue in the hit television series Thunderbirds....
    's house, 'Creighton-Ward Mansion'.
  • The house is featured in the 2005 film Mrs. Henderson Presents
    Mrs. Henderson Presents

    Mrs Henderson Presents is a 2005 in film Academy Award nominated comedy film directed by Stephen Frears. It stars Dame Judi Dench, Bob Hoskins, Kelly Reilly, and Will Young in his acting debut....
    .
  • In the second Beatles film, "Help!"(1965), the scenes that were supposed to be in Buckingham Palace were filmed at Cliveden.
  • The house appears in the film, Don't Lose Your Head
    Don't Lose Your Head

    Don't Lose Your Head is the thirteenth Carry On films film . It was released in 1966 in film. Set in France and England in 1789 during the French revolution, it is a parody of Baroness Orczy The Scarlet Pimpernel....
  • Horse and carriage sequences in The Card
    The Card

    The Card is a short comedic novel written by Arnold Bennett in 1911. It was later made into a 1952 in film movie starring Alec Guinness and Petula Clark....
     (aka The Promoter) (1952) starring Alec Guinness were filmed on the drive.
  • The Thames at Cliveden appears in both Chaplin
    Chaplin

    Chaplin is a surname of England origin & may refer to:...
     (1992) and Carrington
    Carrington

    Carrington and Carington are surnames shared by several notable people, including those listed below. The use of the one-r 'Carington' surname appears to be restricted to the British peerage #Peerages of England and Ireland created for Robert Smith, 1st Baron Carrington in 1796....
     (1995).
  • Cliveden's panelled library stands in for a priest's New York study in Maid of Honour (2008) starring Patrick Dempsey.
  • A UK lotto
    Lotto

    Lotto can refer to the following:*Lottery, a form of gambling; lottery refers to a game, or collection of games, while certain specific games have lotto as the name...
     advertisement portrays a man running around on the grounds at Cliveden.
  • Cliveden was featured as part of a reward on the UK television show, The Apprentice
    The Apprentice

    The Apprentice is a television Media franchise that originated in 2004 in the United States. As originally conceived, the show depicted 16 contestants from around the country with various backgrounds competing in an elimination-style competition to become an apprentice to Donald Trump....
     with Sir Alan Sugar
    Alan Sugar

    Sir Alan Michael Sugar is an England entrepreneur, businessman, and television personality.From origins in the East End of London, Sugar now has an estimated fortune of ?830m , and was ranked 92nd in the Sunday Times Rich List 2008....
    .
  • In 2000 the Antiques Roadshow
    Antiques Roadshow

    Antiques Roadshow is a United Kingdom human interest television show in which antiques appraisals travel to various regions of the United Kingdom and appraise antiques brought in by local residents....
     used the grounds as a venue for a valuation day.


Cliveden in Literature

In Chapter 12 of Three Men in a Boat (1889), Jerome K. Jerome describes the Cliveden stretch of the Thames as "unbroken loveliness this is, perhaps, the sweetest stretch of all the river..."

In Boogie Up the River (1989) Mark Wallington retraces Jerome's journey to mark its centenary, with the Thames at Cliveden described in Capter 5.

The poet Alexander Pope wrote (c.1730) of the Duke of Buckingham's affair with Anna, Countess of Shrewsbury: "Gallant and gay in Cliveden's proud alcove/The bower of wanton Shrewsbury and love."

Cliveden: In the know

"Cliveden" has been spelt differently over the centuries. Here are some of the variations: Cliffden, Clifden, Cliefden, Clyveden and Cleveden.

Cliveden holds the National Plant Collection of Catalpa (aka Bean Tree).

When the restoration of the old maze between the Water garden and walled car park is completed in 2011-12 its size is expected to rival the world-famous maze at Hampton Court Palace.

The Earl of Orkney, Cliveden's second owner, was Governor of Virginia, USA (1710-37) without ever setting foot on American soil.

In 1994 while laying cables under the forecourt, a building contractor uncovered a brick-lined tunnel and two rooms. They are believed to date from the early 17th century and have since been covered up again.

The entertainer Joyce Grenfell was Nancy Astor's niece and once lived in a cottage on the estate. She also entertained injured troops at the hospital on the estate during WWII.

Cliveden Hotel claims to offer the "world's most expensive sandwich" at £100GBP. The von Essen Platinum club sandwich was confirmed by Guinness World Records in 2007 to be the most expensive sandwich available commercially.

External links

  • Cliveden information at the National Trust
  • by Carroll Quigley
    Carroll Quigley

    Carroll Quigley was a noted historian, polymath, and theorist of the evolution of civilizations....


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