Enjoy our luxurious spa facilities and award-winning restaurants. This chance meeting between Keeler and Profumo and the three-month affair that followed was to end Profumo’s career and bring down the Macmillan Conservative government. Tel: +44 (0)1628 668 561 However, more than careers were lost as a result of the affair; Stephen Ward was put on trial and took his own life and Bill Astor’s health declined from stress and he died in 1966. Cliveden had been given to the National Trust 25 years earlier and following Bill Astor’s death the family decided they no longer wished to live here. That same weekend, Cliveden's resident osteopath, Stephen Ward was also hosting house party at his home, Spring Cottage down on the river banks within the estate. Spring Cottage. The main house is an Italianate mansion and with an estate of 375 acres of gardens and woodland in Buckinghamshire, on the border with Berkshire. From a house shrouded in mystery, intrigue and scandal to one of the world's finest luxury country house hotels; take a peek inside on a National Trust guided tour. Ward’s guests included society showgirl Christine Keeler and Yevgeny Ivanov, a Soviet naval attaché. History of the House Cliveden House is an Italianate mansion overlooking the mighty River Thames in Buckinghamshire in the South of England. A stately home, sex, class & power: the Profumo Affair The Cliveden House land in the Chiltern Hills Bucks was owned by Geoffrey de Clyveden in 1237. His guests included the Secretary of State for War, John Profumo and his wife. 50 years has passed since that fateful meeting which was to alter Britain's political landscape. Email: reservations@clivedenhouse.co.uk, Copyright © Copyright © Cliveden 2019 2021. It began by the swimming pool at Cliveden in July 1961. Over the weekend of the 8 and 9 July 1961 he and his wife Bronwen hosted a small house party. Carry on browsing if you're happy with this, or find out how to manage cookies. It has almost 500 metres of paths and 1,100 two … Rebuilt in 1824, the second building saw the same fate as the first, being destroyed in 1849. Profumo, who was married to the actress Valerie Hobson, embarked on a brief affair with Keeler. Cliveden’s story started with a scandal when in 1666 the Duke of Buckingham built the first great house here for his mistress and then fatally wounded her husband in a duel. The gardens and the drive leading up to the house are spectacular enough anyway without the backdrop of history to set them off, but there is a thrill which sparkles through the very air at Cliveden which makes a visit there seem far more than just a night away in a stately home. Explore Cliveden > National Trust. It was by the swimming pool at Cliveden in 1961 that the two main protagonists of the story, Profumo and Christine Keeler, first met and the rest, as they say, is history. In 1666, the first house was built on this site by architect William Wilde to specifications set by the 2 nd Duke of Buckingham, the main instruction being to capture the spectacular riverside view. This incarnation survived for over a hundred years before fire destroyed the site in 1795. He denied there was any impropriety in his relationship with Keeler and when his lie was exposed he was forced to resign. Discover the scurrilous secrets of the time with our Profumo Affair Break and find out all about how the political establishment finally thawed out. Also in attendance was John Profumo, an up-and-coming Conservative Secretary of State for War and husband of well-known actress, Valerie Hobson.Profumo and Keeler embarked on an illicit affair following their chance meeting at Cliveden House; an affair which was to force his resignation, irrevocably damage the Prime Minister's reputation, and impact on the course of British politics forever. However, Cliveden House is at the centre of many more scandals and controversies besides the Profumo Affair. Individually named celebrations of history. Book now. Cliveden has its own three-bedroom riverside guesthouse, Spring Cottage, where you can request a butler to see to your whims for an extra charge. Cliveden House is over 350 years old and was home to royalty as well as political scandal. John Profumo, minister of war in Harold Macmillan’s Conservative government, was staying in the main house … The first glimpse of Cliveden House will take your breath away. The 'Profumo Affair' as it became known ended John Profumo's … While the Cold War was slowly chilling British politics, Cliveden House was engulfed in a sultry summer of sweltering heat. As it was a warm evening, Ward decided to take his friends up to the house for dip in the swimming pool where they were discovered by Bill Astor and his guests. , Discover the rich History of this stunning country house hotel. Cliveden traces its history to the mid-17th century. When it comes to colourful history, I’ve yet to uncover an … Things to Do. Cliveden may bill itself as an Italianate mansion, but it has the giddy self-consciousness of a big house in America’s Deep South. William Astor: My father, his swimming pool and the Profumo scandal I was a boy of ten when the Profumo affair began at Cliveden, my family’s … Cliveden’s story started with a scandal when in 1666 the Duke of Buckingham built the first great house here for his mistress and then fatally wounded her husband in a duel. The Profumo affair was a major political scandal in twentieth-century British politics. Suzy Ann has the capacity of about 10 people (so not too small) and is sturdy AF. The house where Christine Keeler and John Profumo met has a long history of scandal and intrigue. This holiday house also has history: Profumo and friends frolicked here in the run-up to the huge political scandal in the Sixties. 8.) National Trust. 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