Built in 1666 by the 2nd Duke of Buckingham as a gift to his mistress, Cliveden house has remained a place of intrigue and glamour for the elite. Enriched with antique furniture and period features, it has stayed true to its roots whilst also providing a luxurious setting to rest, meet and play.
Guided house visits
Cliveden house is currently leased as a luxury country house hotel and, to protect the privacy of its guests, the house is not open to the public. However, for limited times of the year the doors of the glamorous ground floor open to visitors on a 30 minute guided visit, run by our volunteers.
You'll also have a chance to see some of the most intriguing rooms, some of which were enjoyed by the likes of Winston Churchill, Charlie Chaplin and the Queen Mother.
House tours dates and times
The 2022 house visit season will run from 14 March to 8 December, operating on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. House visits will break for the summer from w/c 25 July until w/c 5 September (last visit session 21 July, restarting on 5 September). Please note that we are unable to operate house visits on Bank Holidays or during any school holidays.
Visits run every 10 minutes from 11am to 12.30 pm, dependent upon guide availability. Visit sessions last 30 minutes each and the final session of the day finishes at 1pm.
We recommend you collect your tickets as soon as possible to ensure your place on the guided house visit.
Tickets
Each house visit has a capacity of 10 visitor slots. Please note that there is no pre-booking for house visits, and tickets are available from the Info Centre in the Main Visitor Car Park.
Tickets are free for NT members and cost £2 per person for non-members.
Due to the nature of the house visits, we advise that they are more suited to an adult audience.
We recommend you collect your tickets as soon as possible to ensure your place on the guided house visit.
Accessibility and visit
Please note, the visit starts outside the West Wing entrance of the Hotel, not the main entrance.
Unfortunately, Cliveden House is not wheelchair accessible. Visitors with walking frames/sticks/cane seats can access the house at their own discretion.
Guides and visitors are encouraged to make their own choice about whether they will wear masks in the house.
Unofrtunately we are unable to accomodate dogs on house visits.
Soak up the atmosphere of this former celebrity hangout
Our guides bring to life the indulgent history of the estate from 1666, when the first property was built by the Duke of Buckingham, through to the Astor dynasty of the 1900s.
You'll explore rooms where Winston Churchill, George Bernard Shaw, Amy Johnson and a host of other celebrities enjoyed Nancy Astor's hospitality during the 1920s, 30s and 40s.
Cliveden is, of course, where John Profumo and Christine Keeler first met. This chance encounter ignited a controversy that challenged the 1960s establishment and had major ramifications for British political history.
Please note no internal photography of the House or Chapel is permitted at any time.
