A country retreat on a grand scale, Cliveden's magnificent gardens and
breathtaking views have been admired for centuries. Since it was built
high above the Thames in the second half of the 17th century, Cliveden
has been a powerhouse--a place visited by royalty and the politically
influential. Its first owner, the Duke of Buckingham, was brought up
with the children of Charles I, and was instrumental in the restoration
of Charles II. Lord Orkney, the next owner, and his wife, Elizabeth
Villiers, a one-time mistress of William III, hosted both George I and
George II at Cliveden, while their successors, the Sutherland family,
among the wealthiest in the land, were often at home to Queen Victoria.
However, it was during the tenure of Nancy and Waldorf Astor that
Cliveden became the glamorous center of political, literary, and
artistic society. Guest from David Lloyd George, Herbert Asquith,
Anthony Eden, Winston Churchill, and Neville Chamberlain to Sylvia
Pankhurst, George Bernard Shaw, Henry Ford, Mahatma Gandhi, Amy Johnson,
and Charlie Chaplin were invited to enjoy the lavish hospitality of
Charles Barry's architecture and the beauty of the gardens. A wider
public became aware of Cliveden in 1963 when John Profumo, Secretary of
State for War in the Macmillan government, met call-girl Christine
Keeler by the swimming pool here, when he was a guest of the 3rd Lord
Astor in 1961. Profumo's brief affair with Keeler, who was also involved
with Soviet naval attache Evegeny Ivanov, raised fears about national
security, and he was forced to resign. The National Trust took over in
1966, and it is currently run as a hotel with a garden open to visitors.
This guide contains details of the development of the garden and house,
the history of the people who owned, visited, and lived there, a
fold-out bird's-eye map and timeline, walks, and highlights of the
gardens and magnificent classical sculpture collection.
