Cliveden, Country house hotel in Taplow, England
Cliveden is a three-storey Italianate mansion of 1851 by Charles Barry, now a hotel, standing on a mid-17th-century brick terrace 40 metres above the Thames. Its Roman cement exterior has terracotta balusters, capitals and keystones, a balustraded parapet with stone urns, and a Latin inscription by Gladstone below the roofline.
A fire destroyed the original building in 1795, and another in 1849 prompted the reconstruction by Charles Barry, completed in 1851. The Astor family acquired the estate in 1893 and transformed it into a social hub for decades.
The name Cliveden means "valley among cliffs", from the dene cutting through the estate east of the house; spellings once included Clifden and Clyveden. The Great Hall's carved staircase newel posts show figures of former owners, including the Duke of Buckingham and the Earl of Orkney.
Access works best by car, as the location sits away from town centers in rural surroundings. Visitors should allow time to walk through the gardens and along the riverside paths, especially in dry weather.
The 1st Viscount Astor bought the terrace of the Villa Borghese in Rome and had it installed in the grounds below Cliveden's own terrace. The house roof was built to be walked on, giving a view over the treeline to Windsor Castle to the south.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,307 contributors worldwide.
