Cliveden UK
Rating: 8,2/10 (4609 votes)  Cliveden is a Neo-Renaissance palace located in Buckinghamshire. This country building stands on a hill overlooking the River Thames and is visible from afar.
In the place where the palace is located, a manor was built in 1666, which served as the residence of the 2nd Duke of Buckingham. However, that building twice suffered a sad fate - it burned down in fires to the very foundation. The time of the construction of the modern version of the palace is the 1850s, the architect was Charles Barry, the same one who designed and built the famous Westminster Palace in London.
The architecture of the palace is quite interesting. It is an example of eclectic Victorian style, the exterior of the building imitates the style of the Italian palazzo. Initially, Cliveden Palace was intended for the Duke of Sutherland, but the Duke of Westminster owned it until 1893, after which the building passed into the possession of the American billionaire Lord Astor.
He took up the restoration and decoration of his country estate, after which he presented it as a gift to his son at the wedding with Lady Nancy Astor. The latter, by the way, is widely known in England due to the fact that she became the first woman to be in parliament. Under the young owners, the palace lived a very rich and active life.
In the period between the First and Second World Wars, luxurious receptions and balls were incessantly held here, which were attended by very high-ranking guests, for example, the guests of the estate were at different times actor Charlie Chaplin, writers Bernard Shaw and Rudyard Kipling, as well as politicians Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt , even Mahatma Gandhi. It was believed that behind-the-scenes political life was in full swing here. In the 60s, the estate even became the place where the scandal unfolded associated with the name of the Minister of War John Profumo and finally ruined his reputation.
From the hands of the Astors, Cliveden Palace passed into the possession of the National Trust. At one time, even Stanford University used it as the premises of its branch in Britain. Today Cliveden has become a luxury luxury hotel with a five-star status. Tours are organized twice a week, but tourists cannot go beyond the first floor. But there is an opportunity to admire the view from the terrace of the palace, of the garden with hedges, forming strict geometric patterns, and the Thames sparkling in the distance.We also recommend reading Parish of Eisenstadt-Oberberg in Austria, Burgenland resort Topic: Cliveden UK. |
