The season was perfect to visit The Cliveden House.
The typical English landscape opened its arms to welcome us to this Hunting Lodge built in 1666 by the 2nd Duke of Buckingham to entertain his mistresses and friends
Cliveden has been the home to a Prince of Wales, two Dukes, an Earl, and finally the Viscounts Astor. As the home of Nancy Astor, wife of the 2nd Viscount Astor, Cliveden was the meeting place of the Cliveden Set of the 1920s and 30s—a group of political intellectuals. – http://www.wikipedia.org
A large fountain is a visual treat at the end of a lime tree avenue that leads upto the Main House. The Shell Fountain called the “Fountain of Love” was an acquisition commissioned in 1897 by Lord Astor for this site. Sculpted by Thomas Waldo Story, (American, 1855–1915) in Rome.
It features a large Carrara marble shell supporting three life-size female figures attended by cupids.
The fountains has cupids on both sides
As we walk away from this mesmerising fountain we begin to enter the realm of Royalty and the Indulgence of Kings and queens of the past.
The water Tower / The clock Tower.
As a functioning water tower it still provides water for the house today. It is made in Roman cement like the rest of the house, and features four clock faces. In 1861, Henry Clutton added this 330 metre, or 100 foot clock tower. A 19th-century winged male figure Le Génie de la Liberté (the Spirit of Liberty) is seen atop. it is gilded with 2 layers of 23,5 carat Gold. It which holds the torch of civilisation in its right hand and the broken chain of slavery in its left. once you enter he House, it reminds one of the flamboyance and extravagance of royalty.
A walk through the interior reveals silent rooms, panelled halls and winding stairways.
Long corridors lined with gilded chest and lamps.
Terraces to have your morning tea and entertain.
Lawned upper levels to host private parties.
Strange niches in the house with multiple water outlets.
Fine tapestry on all the chairs, with arm rests carved beautifully.
Parterre. ( a level space in a garden occupied by an ornamental arrangement of flower beds)
The Duke commissioned both Charles Barry (who had rebuilt the mansion after the second fire) and John Fleming (the head gardener) to produce designs for a complex parterre of flower beds. Fleming’s design, which featured two sets of eight interlocking wedge-shaped beds, was chosen and is the template for what can be seen today. The beds were planted with a seasonal mix of bulbs, annuals and shrubs such as gladioli, hollyhocks, tulips, pansies and azaleas. Fleming pioneered this style of planting at Cliveden, which was later to be named “carpet-bedding.” – http://www.wikipedia.org.
The estate extends to 376 acres (1.52 km2) of which about 180 acres (0.73 km2) comprise the gardens, the rest being wood lands and paddocks. The gardens are listed Grade I on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.
The parterre endured in this form until the mid 19th-century when the estate was owned by the Duke of Sutherland and by which time the garden had been neglected. It was described by the Duke’s son Lord Ronald Gower as “a prairie…a huge field of grass and wild flowers”
The House has priceless trapestry.
All photographs taken by Jyotika Karve
Information from http://www.wikipedia.org
Go with Jo 