Difference between revisions 112909384 and 112909385 on dewiki

{{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]]

'''Cliveden''' is an Italianate [[mansion]] and estate at [[Taplow]], [[Buckinghamshire]], [[England]]. Set on banks {{convert|20040|m|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 Hotels]]. 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]].

"Cliveden" (pronounced CLIV-d'n) means "valley among cliffs"<ref name='Brewer'>{{cite book | last = Room | first = Adrian | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Brewer's Dictionary of Names: People Places and Things | publisher = Brewer | year = 1992 | location = | page = 118 | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 978-1-85986-232-2 }}</ref> and refers to the dean or valley which cuts through the estate to  the west of the house. The {{convert|375|acre|ha}} gardens and woodlands (375&nbsp;acres) are open to the public, together with parts of the house on certain days. There have been three houses on this site: the first, built in 1666, burned down in 1795 and the second house (1824) was also destroyed by fire, in 1849. The present Grade 1 listed house was built in 1851 by the architect [[Charles Barry]] for [[George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 2nd Duke of Sutherland]].

==Present house==
[[Image:Cliveden 02.jpg|thumb|left|The north front]]
[[Image:Cliveden 03.jpg|thumb|right|The east side]]
Designed by Sir Charles Barry in 1851 to replace a house previously destroyed by fire, the present house is a blend of the English [[Palladian architecture|Palladian]] style and the Roman Cinquecento.<ref>Crathorne, 1995, p.29.</ref> The Victorian three-storey mansion sits on a {{convert|400|ft|m|adj=on}}-  long, {{convert|20|ft|m|adj=on}}-  high brick terrace or viewing platform (only visible from the South side) which dates from the mid-seventeenth century. The exterior of the house is rendered in Roman cement, with [[terracotta]] additions such as [[baluster]]s, capitals, [[Keystone (architecture)|keystone]]s and [[finial]]s. The roof of the mansion is meant for walking on and there is a circular view, above the tree-line, of parts of Buckinghamshire and Berkshire including Windsor Castle to the South.<ref name='Crathorne206'>(contracted; show full)

The document also shows that in 1569 a lodge existed on the site along with {{convert|50|acre|m2}} of land and was owned by Sir Henry Manfield and later his son, Sir Edward. In 1573 there were two lodges on {{convert|160|acre|
km2}} of treeless [[chalk]] escarpement above the Thames. It was on this impressively high but exposed site that Buckingham chose to build the first Cliveden house. 

[[Image:2ndDukeOfBuckingham.jpg|upright|thumb|right|George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham]]
===George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham===
(contracted; show full)[[Category:Historic house museums in Buckinghamshire]]

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