Hedsor House
Hedsor House is a Georgian style mansion in England in the southern most point of Buckinghamshire in the village of Hedsor, Taplow. Perched overlooking the River Thames, a Manor house at Hedsor can be dated back to 1166 when the estate was owned by the de Hedsor Family. In the 18th Century it was a royal residence of Princess Augusta, The Dowager Princess of Wales.[1]
Contents |
[edit] History
Hedsor, which dates back to 1166, was once the home of Princess Augusta, Dowager Princess of Wales, mother of George III and the founder of Kew Gardens. The house and its 85 acre park overlooking the Thames then regularly welcomed the Kings and Queens from Windsor Castle as the home of Lord Boston from 1764. The house was originally designed by Sir William Chambers, architect of Somerset House, with the aid of George III and Queen Charlotte, who picked the location specifically for its position high above the Thames. Badly damaged by fire in 1795, a new house was completed in 1868, unusually modeled on the Italian villa style but with a domed hall rather than an open courtyard.[2]
King George III and later, Queen Victoria were both frequent visitors, with Baron Boston building the Hedsor Folly to commemorate King George's victory at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.[3]
[edit] Current
The present house is a "Georgianised" version of the Victorian house. The house is at the end of a kilometre-long private drive in an 85-acre (340,000 m2) estate.[4] The surrounding park is Grade II listed on the English Heritage National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.[5]
In the 1960s the house became an international conference centre before being restored at the beginning of the 2000s[citation needed] and it is now used for corporate events.[4]
The house has been used as a film location for both television dramas and feature films including The Golden Compass and Spooks. It was used to represent The White House in The Special Relationship, and Downing Street in The Day of the Triffids. It was also the location of the whole of Quartet - Dustin Hoffman's directorial debut due for release in 2012.[6][7] It was also used for a MTV reality show The Girls of Hedsor Hall, based on the British reality series Ladette to Lady.[8] and Jay Sean's "Down" music video.
Hedsor House is registered as a wedding venue . [9]
In 2011, Hedsor House was voted Number 2 in the Top 10 Regal Wedding Venues in the UK by The Times. The Top 10 were -
1. One Marylebone 2. Hedsor House 3. Aynhoe Park 4. Cliveden House 5. Babington House 6. Eltham Palace 7. Stoke Place 8. Haymarket Hotel 9. Highclere Castle 10. Sezincote [10]
[edit] References
- ^ "About Hedsor House". Hedsor House. Archived from the original on 2008-03-22. http://web.archive.org/web/20080322091024/http://www.hedsor.com/about-hedsor. Retrieved 2008-04-10.
- ^ "About Hedsor House & Grounds". Hedsor House. 2011. http://www.hedsor.com/house-grounds. Retrieved 2011-04-14.
- ^ Brenchley Wheals, Brian (1984). Theirs Were But Human Hearts A Local History of Three Thameside Parishes: Wooburn, Little Marlow and Hedsor. Bourne End, Buckinghamshire: H.S. Publishing. pp. 85. ISBN 0950905305. http://books.google.com/?id=SVsn5Cf2d4YC&pg=PA85&lpg=PA85&dq=hedsor+house.
- ^ a b "Hedsor House is open for business" (PDF). Britain Calling (VisitBritain): 22. February, 2008. http://www.visitbritain.com/en/Images/BritainCallingFeb_tcm12-124565.pdf. Retrieved 2008-04-10.
- ^ "Hedsor House: Description". Parks & Gardens UK. Parks & Gardens Data Services. http://www.parksandgardens.ac.uk/component/option,com_parksandgardens/task,site/id,1680/tab,description/Itemid,292/. Retrieved 2010-03-22.
- ^ "IMDB - The Special Relationship Locations". http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1117646/locations. Retrieved 2010-01-19.
- ^ "Dark Materials: Design and Locations of The Golden Compass". Visual Hollywood. 2007. http://www.visualhollywood.com/movies/golden-compass/about5.php. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
- ^ Cristina Kinon. "Donald Trump's 'Hall' seeks Tara Conner-fic comeback tale". New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2009/01/30/2009-01-30_donald_trumps_hall_seeks_tara_connerfic_.html. Retrieved 2009-01-27.
- ^ "Hedsor House Wedding Venue". Hitched.com. 2010. http://www.hitched.co.uk/wedding-venues/hedsor-house_5019.htm. Retrieved 2010-01-27.
- ^ "Top 10 Regal Wedding Venues in the UK". The Times (UK). 2011. http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/royalwedding/article2917909.ece. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
