Cliveden stands on a chalk cliff above the River Thames, in Buckinghamshire, surrounded by formal gardens and woodland. The present house was designed by Charles Barry, the architect of the Houses of Parliament, and completed in 1851. The house is now a luxury hotel near London, within an estate owned by the National Trust.
History
The estate has had a long line of aristocratic owners since the 17th century. In 1893 it was bought by William Waldorf Astor, and it became the home of Waldorf and Nancy Astor, the first woman to take her seat in the House of Commons. Their political gatherings were famous in the interwar years. In the 1960s, Cliveden was the setting of the meeting central to the Profumo affair. The house opened as a hotel in the 1980s.
Architecture and design
Barry designed the house in the Italianate Renaissance Revival style, with a long terrace overlooking the parterre. The interiors keep their panelled great hall, tapestries and portraits. The house is Grade I listed and its gardens are open to National Trust visitors.
Location
Taplow and Maidenhead are the nearest towns; central London is about 40 minutes away, and Windsor and Heathrow are close.
Weddings and events
The house, its terrace and its gardens host weddings, private dinners and corporate retreats.
At a glance
What sets it apart
- 01Country house by Charles Barry, completed in 1851
- 02Home of Waldorf and Nancy Astor
- 03Grade I listed, within a National Trust estate
- 04Terrace and parterre above the River Thames
Chronology
Dates that matter
1666
The first house at Cliveden is built for George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham.
1849
A second house, built after a fire of 1795, is itself destroyed by fire.
1851
Charles Barry completes the present house for the Duke of Sutherland.
1893
William Waldorf Astor buys the estate.
1906
Astor gives Cliveden to his son Waldorf and Nancy Langhorne as a wedding present.
1942
The Astors give Cliveden to the National Trust.
1961
John Profumo meets Christine Keeler at the swimming pool, the start of the Profumo affair.
1985
Cliveden opens as a hotel.
2018
Meghan Markle spends the night before her wedding at Cliveden.
