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Portal:Cliveden
{{about|the British mansion|Benjamin Chew's mansion in Germantown, Pennsylvania|Cliveden (Benjamin Chew House)}}
[[Image:Cliveden-2382.jpg|thumb|400px|View looking north from the Ring in the Parterre showing Terrace Pavilion and Clock Tower to the left with Lower Terrace and Borghese Balustrade below]]

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Westminster was one of the wealthiest Englishmen of the period<ref>N.T. Guide, 1994, p.36.</ref> so it is understandable that he would want to contribute to Cliveden's architecture. Among his additions to the house and gardens are the ''[[porte cochere]]'' on the north front of the mansion, a new stable block and the [[dovecote]], all designed by Henry Clutton.

==Astor era==
[[Image:Ladyastor.jpg|
thumb|200pxupright|thumb|left|[[Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor|Nancy, Lady Astor]] by [[John Singer Sargent]]. The painting hangs at Cliveden.]]
In 1893 the estate was purchased by the American billionaire [[William Waldorf Astor]] (later 1st Lord Astor) who made sweeping alterations to the gardens and the interior of the house, but lived at Cliveden as a recluse after the early death of his wife. He gave Cliveden to his son [[Waldorf Astor|Waldorf]] on the occasion of his marriage to [[Nancy Astor|Nancy Langhorne]] in 1906 and mo(contracted; show full)
Also at this time the entertainer [[Joyce Grenfell]], who was Nancy Astor's niece, lived in a cottage on the estate.<ref>N.T. Guide, 1994, p.26</ref> She also entertained injured troops in the hospital on the estate during World War II.


[[File:Cliveden War Cemetery, panorama.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Cliveden War Cemetery in the Cliveden grounds]]⏎
At the outbreak of [[World War I]], Waldorf Astor offered the use of some of the grounds to the [[Canadian Red Cross]] for the building of a hospital &ndash; the HRH Duchess of Connaught Hospital &ndash; which was dismantled at the end of the hostilities. In September 1939 with the outbreak of [[World War II]] Waldorf Astor again offered the use of the land at a rent of one [[shilling]] per year to the Canadian Red Cross and the [[Canadian Red Cross Memorial Hospital]] was built to the designs of [[(contracted; show full)ar wood, which the Astors used to call the "cigar box"<ref>Crathorne, 1995, p.181.</ref>, and, next door, Nancy Astor's  [[boudoir]] . Upstairs are five bedrooms and on the second floor another five. The East wing was and still is guest accommodation, whereas the West wing was domestic offices but in 1994 these were converted into more bedrooms.

The National Trust tour only includes the Great Hall and French Dining Room.

==Cliveden Hotel==
[[Image:Cliveden, June 2005.JPG|thumb|
200px|right|Cliveden Hotel from the Parterre.]]
In 1984 a hotel company &ndash; Blakeney Hotels (later Cliveden Hotel Ltd) &ndash; acquired the lease to the house. Led by chairman John Lewis and managing director John Tham (husband of ''[[Railway Children]]'' actress [[Jenny Agutter]]) they restored and refurbished the interior.<ref name='Crathorne202'>{{Harvnb|Crathorne|1995|p=202}}</ref> Rooms are furnished with Edwardian antiques and the house is run in a simil(contracted; show full)

The hotel's insignia is that of the Sutherland family and consists of a [[coronet]] with interlaced "S"s and [[acanthus]] leaves. It can be found on radiator grills in parts of the house.<ref name='NT85'>{{Harvnb|National Trust|1994|p=85}}</ref> The hotel's motto is "Nothing ordinary ever happened here, nor could it."<ref name=Cliveden/>

==Gardens and grounds==
[[Image:Cliveden Parterre.jpg|thumb|
250px|left|The Parterre from the terrace.]]
The estate extends to {{convert|375|acre|km2}} of which about {{convert|180|acre|km2}} 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 at {{convert|4|acre|m2}}.<ref name='Llewellyn123'>{{Harvnb|Llewellyn|1989|p=123}}</ref> It consists of clipped [[yew]] pyramids and wedge-shaped beds edged with box hedging and filled with [[catnip]] and seasonal planti(contracted; show full)[[Category:Historic house museums in Buckinghamshire]]

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