Difference between revisions 112909374 and 112909376 on dewiki

{{about|the British mansion|Benjamin Chew's mansion in Germantown, Pennsylvania|Cliveden (Benjamin Chew House)}}
[[Image:Cliveden-2382.jpg|thumb|35400px|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]]

'''Cliveden''' is an Italianate [[mansion]] and estate at [[Taplow]], [[Buckinghamshire]], [[England]]. Set on banks {{convert|200|ft|m}} above the [[River Thames]], its grounds slope down to the river. The site has been home to an Earl, two Dukes, a Prince of Wales and the Viscounts Astor. 

Today owned by the [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]], the house is leased as a [[Star (classification)|five-star hotel]] run by [[von Essen hHotels]]. During the 1970s, it was occupied by [[Stanford University]] of California who used it as an overseas campus. Previously, as home of [[Nancy Astor]], it was the meeting place of the [[Cliveden set]] of the 1920s and 1930s - a group of political intellectuals. Later, during the 1960s, it became the setting for key events of the notorious [[Profumo Affair]].

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===George, 2nd Duke of Sutherland===
Warrender died in 1849 and the house was sold to the Sutherland family, headed by the second Duke. Sutherland had only been in possession of the estate for a few months when, in the same year as his acquisition the house burned down for the second time in its history. The cause this time appears to have been negligence on the part of the decorators.<ref>N.T. Guide, 1994, p.28.</ref>

[[Image:Clivedenmorris edited.jpg|thumb|
lefright|A nineteenth-century engraving of the 1851 house from the parterre]]
The Duke was prompt in commissioning the architect [[Charles Barry]] to rebuild Cliveden in the style of an Italianate villa. Barry, whose most famous project is arguably the Houses of Parliament, [[Westminster]], was inspired by the outline of the two earlier houses for his design. The third (and present) house on the site was completed in 1851-2 and its exterior appearance has little changed to this day. The {{convert|100|ft|m|adj=on}}(contracted; show full)tors one of their largest endowments<ref name='NT10'>{{Harvnb|National Trust|1971|p=10}}</ref> (£250,000 in 1942 which is equivalent to £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|250000|1942}}}}<ref>UK CPI inflation numbers based on data available from [http://www.measureworth.org/ukearncpi/  Measure Worth: UK CPI]</ref> today). The Astors ceased to live at Cliveden in 1968, shortly after the [[Profumo Affair]] and Bill Astor's death.

==Interior==
[[Image:Cliveden Hall 1.jpg|thumb|
righleft|The Hall looking towards the staircase]]
[[Image:Cliveden Hall 2.jpg|thumb|righleft|The Hall showing the fireplace]]
The interior of the house today is very different from its original appearance in 1851–52. This is mainly due to the 1st Lord Astor who radically altered the interior layout and decoration c. 1894–95. Whereas Barry's original interior for the Sutherlands had included a square entrance-hall, a morning room and a separate stair-well, Lord Astor wanted a more impressive entrance to Cliveden so he had all three rooms knocked into one large one (the '''Great(contracted; show full)

Also on the ground floor is the library, panelled in cedar 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|right|Cliveden Hotel from the Parterre]]
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