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Cliveden Review

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Cliveden

Address: Off A404, Taplow
Directions: near Maidenhead
Phone: 01628/605069; 01494/755562 recorded information
www.nationaltrust.org.uk

Category: Houses/Mansions
Location: Taplow

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Fodor's Review:

Described by Queen Victoria a "bijou of taste," this magnificent country mansion has for more than 300 years lived up to its Georgian heritage as a bastion of aesthetic delights. The house, set in 376 acres of gardens and parkland above the River Thames, was rebuilt for the Duke of Sutherland by Sir Charles Barry in 1861; the Astors, who purchased it in 1893, made it famous. In the 1920s and '30s the Cliveden Set met here at the strongly conservative (not to say fascist) salon presided over by Nancy Astor, who—though she was an American—was the first woman to sit in Parliament, in 1919. Cliveden now belongs to the National Trust, which leases it as a very exclusive hotel. The public can visit the spectacular grounds that run down to bluffs overlooking the Thames and, by timed ticket, three rooms in the house.

Cost: Grounds £7.50
Open: Grounds mid-Mar.-Oct., daily 11-6; Nov. and Dec., daily 11-4. House Apr.-Oct., Thurs. and Sun. 3-5:30. Restaurant in Orangery mid-Mar.-Oct., Wed.-Sun. 11-5; Nov.-mid-Dec., Fri.-Sun. 11-2:30

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