Cliveden, Buckinghamshire
2nd Most Visited of the National Trust Properties
The Italianate mansion is dramatically set on banks 40 metres above the River Thames. The site has been home to an earl, three countesses, two dukes, a Prince of Wales, the Viscounts Astor and Stanford University. The house was also one of the key scenes of the Profumo scandal. Designed by Sir Charles Barry in 1851 to replace a house previously destroyed by fire, the present house is a blend of the English Palladian style and the Roman Cinquecento. Over the course of 300 years, each occupant has added their own distinctive touch. The many distinctive gardens include parterres, Rose Garden, Water Garden, yew maze and beech woodlands.
Visitors in the Parterre garden at Cliveden, Buckinghamshire © National Trust Images/Arnhel de Serra
