Introduction
Polesden Lacey, a 1400 acre estate, is situated on the North Downs and commands some of the finest views in Surrey. The Edwardian Garden extends to 30 acres with 10 acres of lawns and elegant grass terraces, including a walled rose garden, summer border and winter displays.

There has been a house on this site since at least 1336. The name 'Polesden' is Saxon and belonged to the earliest recorded owner Herbert de Polesden, who was selling land here in 1198. The 'Lacey' suffix probably derives from the family of John Lacy, who owned Polesden in 1387-93, but it is first described as 'Pollisdon Lacy' only in 1562. In 1630 Anthony Rous acquired the estate and shortly afterwards completely rebuilt the medieval house

Famous owners
Polesden has been owned by a number of people, who made many alterations and additions to the property. The most famous owner was the poet and playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan, who purchased the house in 1804. Sheridan adored Polesden, rejoicing in his role as a country squire, giving lavish entertainments to his friends and the local populace. He regarded Polesden as a haven from the hurly-burly of his life in London, where he shone in Parliament as an orator and at Drury Lane as a dramatist and theatre manager.

Royal connections
Polesden Lacey was then lived in by two further owners until purchased by Mrs Greville, a legendary Edwardian hostess, and her husband in 1906. The house was converted by Mewes and Davis, the architects of the newly built Ritz Hotel. Mrs Greville was most famous as a collector of royalties and her friendship with Edward VII (who thought her 'gift of hospitality' amounted to 'positive genius') inaugurated a lifelong devotion to the House of Windsor. She was especially fond of Queen Mary (consort of George V) and of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, part of whose honeymoon was spent at Polesden in 1923, and whom the childless Mrs Greville loved like a daughter. Mrs Greville was adored by her friends and feared by her rivals for her indiscreet and acerbic wit.

Ownership by the Trust
Mrs Greville bequeathed Polesden Lacey to the National Trust in 1942 in memory of her father, William McEwan, an Edinburgh brewing millionaire and philanthropist.

After Mrs Greville's death, Polesden was rearranged for public opening, but in the process many of the secondary and almost all of the bedroom furnishings were sold in 1943. There was a serious fire in 1960, and although nothing was lost, the original decoration of several rooms was damaged and had to be replaced. In 1995, after extensive research, the Trust embarked upon the restoration and rearrangements of the principal rooms, in order to make their original style and luxury more evident.

©NTPL / Rob Matheson