History of Cliveden

Lord George Hamilton, the Earl of Orkney

In 1706, Lord George Hamilton, Earl of Orkney (1666–1737) purchased Cliveden, creating an association with the Orkney family which lasted over a century. Hamilton was a prominent military figure who served as second in command to the Duke of Marlborough at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704. He was also, despite never visiting, issued a patent as Governor of Virginia in America from 1710 until 1737.

The ‘Quaker Parterre’

Hamilton undertook extensive landscaping work including the creation of his ‘Quaker Parterre’, so described because of its simple yet noble appearance. He enlisted architect Giacomo Leoni to design the Blenheim Pavilion and Octagon Temple Garden buildings with other notable commissions including the building of two flanking wings to the mansion designed by Thomas Archer and the involvement of pioneering garden designer Charles Bridgeman in the garden layout.

Cliveden and the cricketing prince

In 1737, Anne, Countess of Orkney (1696–1756) inherited the Cliveden and Taplow estates. Between 1737–51 she leased Cliveden to Frederick, Prince of Wales (1707–51), son of King George II and Caroline of Ansbach.

Frederick used Cliveden as an informal royal court to rival that of his parents. He fostered a circle of artistic, scientific and musical expression which reached its height in 1740 with the first public performance of the song ‘Rule Britannia’ written by James Thomson and David Mallet. It has often been claimed that Frederick, who was a great fan and patron of cricket, died after being struck by a cricket ball at Cliveden. Although unlikely, this suggestion has long linked the prince with the sport.    

Cliveden in flames

On the night of 20 May 1795, a fire ravaged Cliveden’s main building, leaving only the wings standing. It was nearly three decades later, when Sir George Warrender (1782–1849), MP and heir to a sizeable Edinburgh trading fortune, purchased the estate. In 1827 Warrender commissioned architect William Burn to design a new mansion on the existing foundations of Winde’s original building. The house remained until November 1849 when a second and even more devastating fire overwhelmed the mansion.

The Sutherlands and Westminsters

George, the 2nd Duke of Sutherland (1786–1861) and his wife Lady Harriet (1806–68) had purchased the estate just nine months before the fire. Faced with having to entirely rebuild the mansion, they commissioned Charles Barry who had worked for them at their estates in Staffordshire and Scotland. The Sutherlands also employed architect George Devey to design several estate cottages in his distinctive vernacular style and horticulturalist John Fleming to create the innovative planting beds on the parterre.

The Sutherlands’ vast wealth came from significant land holdings in Scotland. As a family, they are remembered for their controversial role in the Highland Clearances of the 18th nd 19th centuries which saw tenants moved from Highland settlements to the coast.

Harriet, Duchess of Sutherland was an enthusiastic proponent of the anti-slavery movement and provided patronage to Harriet Beecher Stowe, the American author of ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’. The Duchess also hosted a meeting at Stafford House, her London mansion, where she petitioned her ‘sisters’ in the United States against slavery.

Following the Duchess of Sutherland’s death in 1869, Cliveden was sold to her son-in-law, Hugh Lupus Grosvenor, Duke of Westminster (1825–99). Westminster was a landowner, politician and founding Chairman of the National Trust. He made few changes to the grounds but continued to employ Devey and Henry Clutton to improve the estate buildings and properties.

‘The greensward of Cliefden’

In 1893, the American millionaire, William Waldorf Astor (1848–1919) purchased Cliveden for $1.3 million. William was born into the incredibly wealthy Astor family who had made their money in fur trading and real estate. He set about significant internal alterations in the house, working with father and son architects, John and Frank Loughbrough Pearson. With his vast wealth William created the Long Garden and the East Asian-inspired Water Garden. He populated Cliveden’s grounds with a remarkable collection of classical and Renaissance sculpture. His collecting reached its zenith when he installed at Cliveden an entire 18th century interior from the Chateau d’Asnieres in France. 

The estate and its history fascinated William to such an extent that he wrote a series of short stories set amongst what he called the ‘greensward’ of 17th^-century Cliefden’. 

Waldorf, Nancy and the Cliveden set

William gave the estate to his eldest son Waldorf (1879–1952) as a wedding gift following his marriage to Nancy Witcher Langhorne (1879–1964) in 1906. American-born Nancy Astor became a major figure in British politics and the first woman to take her seat in the Houses of Parliament in 1919. She made Cliveden a centre for political and literary gatherings. Guests included playwrights and actors as well as figures from across the political spectrum. These gatherings were not without controversy, as Cliveden became synonymous with its ‘set’ and its attempts, suggested by some, to appease Germany in the run up to the Second World War.

Cliveden during wartime

During the First and Second World Wars Cliveden was home to a Canadian Red Cross Hospital which looked after tens of thousands of troops. The small number of soldiers and nursing staff who died at Cliveden are buried in the memorial garden which became an official Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery.

Following the lead of their friend, Philip Kerr, 11th Marquis of Lothian of Blickling, the Astors decided to leave Cliveden to the National Trust in 1942, although they continued to live in the house until the 1960s.

Profumo, Stanford and a luxury hotel

In 1961, Secretary of State for War, John Profumo, met model and dancer, Christine Keeler, at Cliveden. The ensuing scandal, known as the Profumo affair, had a devastating effect on the Astor family. They eventually left Cliveden in 1966, with the National Trust leasing the estate to Stanford University as an oversees campus from 1969 until 1983. From the late 1980s until today, the house has been operated as a luxury hotel. 

Today the estate welcomes over half a million visitors a year to the Grade I listed mansion, gardens and parkland. In recent years significant conservation projects have included the restoration or the South Terrace and Long Garden, as well as John Singer Sargent’s portrait of Nancy Astor. In 2025, a project to restore and conserve one of Cliveden’s most iconic collection items, the Borghese Balustrade, has begun.

Additional links / onward journey 

Astor [née Langhorne], Nancy Witcher, Viscountess Astor (1879–1964), society hostess and politician | Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

Astor, Waldorf, second Viscount Astor (1879–1952), politician and newspaper proprietor | Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

Astor, William Waldorf, first Viscount Astor (1848–1919), property owner and newspaper proprietor | Oxford Dictionary of National Biography