129-494: Sandringham House is a country house in the parish of Sandringham , Norfolk , England. It is one of the royal residences of Charles III , whose grandfather, George VI , and great-grandfather, George V , both died there. The house stands in a 20,000-acre (8,100 ha) estate in the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty . The house is listed as Grade II* and the landscaped gardens, park and woodlands are on
258-450: A château or a Schloss can be a fortified or unfortified building, a country house, similar to an Ansitz , is usually unfortified. If fortified, it is called a castle, but not all buildings with the name "castle" are fortified (for example Highclere Castle in Hampshire ). The term stately home is subject to debate, and avoided by historians and other academics. As a description of
387-471: A "glum little villa (with) rooms indistinguishable from those of any Surbiton or Upper Norwood home". He was particularly dismissive of the royal bathing arrangements: "Oh my God! what a place. The King's and Queen's baths had lids that shut down so that when not in use they could be used as tables". "It is almost incredible that the heir to so vast a heritage lived in this horrible little house." Nicolson's strictures did not appear in his official biography of
516-426: A "tour de force of fashionable late-Victorian decoration". The ballroom was added by Edis in 1884, to overcome the inconvenience of having only the saloon as the major room for entertaining. As this was also the main family living room, it had previously been necessary to remove the furniture when the saloon was required for dances and large entertainments. Alexandra recorded her delight at the result, "Our new ballroom
645-468: A 1900 Daimler owned by Edward VII and a 1939 Merryweather & Sons fire engine, made for the Sandringham fire brigade which was founded in 1865 and operated independently on the estate until 1968. The coach house stables and garaging were designed by A. J. Humbert at the same time as his construction of the main house. The estate contains several houses with close links to the royal family. Anmer Hall
774-471: A country home for him and his future wife, Princess Alexandra of Denmark . Between 1870 and 1900, the house was almost completely rebuilt in a style described by Pevsner as "frenetic Jacobean ". Albert Edward also developed the estate, creating one of the finest shoots in England. Following his death in 1910, the estate passed to Edward's son and heir, George V, who described the house as "dear old Sandringham,
903-688: A country house, the term was first used in a poem by Felicia Hemans , "The Homes of England", originally published in Blackwood's Magazine in 1827. In the 20th century, the term was later popularised in a song by Noël Coward , and in modern usage it often implies a country house that is open to visitors at least some of the time. In England, the terms "country house" and "stately home" are sometimes used vaguely and interchangeably; however, many country houses such as Ascott in Buckinghamshire were deliberately designed not to be stately, and to harmonise with
1032-428: A fortunate few; it was the centre of its own world, providing employment to hundreds of people in the vicinity of its estate . In previous eras, when state benefits were unheard of, those working on an estate were among the most fortunate, receiving secured employment and rent-free accommodation. At the summit of this category of people was the indoor staff of the country house. Unlike many of their contemporaries prior to
1161-476: A gift from Alfonso XII of Spain . The walls are panelled in oak, painted light green for Queen Mary who had been inspired by a visit to a Scottish castle. Jill Franklin's study of the planning of Victorian country houses includes a photograph of the dining room at Sandringham with the table laid for dinner for twenty-four, a "very usual" number to seat for dinner in a major country house of the time. Sandringham House has not been admired by critics. Its chief fault
1290-495: A great tournament champion, and once fought a two-day "duel" with Antoine, bastard of Burgundy . The supporters of Edward IV were defeated at the Battle of Edgcote , near Banbury , on 24 July 1469, and Richard Woodville and his second son John Woodville were taken prisoners at Chepstow . After a hasty and controversial trial, they were both beheaded at Gosford Green, Coventry on 12 August 1469 and Anthony succeeded his father in
1419-784: A major loss when all but two members of the King's Own Sandringham Company, a territorial unit of the Fifth Battalion of the Royal Norfolk Regiment , were killed at Suvla Bay during the Gallipoli Campaign . The story of the battalion was the subject of a BBC drama, All the King's Men . A memorial to the dead was raised on the estate; the names of those killed in the Second World War were added subsequently. Following Queen Alexandra's death at Sandringham on 20 November 1925,
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#17330862414781548-524: A mixture of high architecture , often as interpreted by a local architect or surveyor, and determined by practicality as much as by the whims of architectural taste. An example of this is Brympton d'Evercy in Somerset, a house of many periods that is unified architecturally by the continuing use of the same mellow, local Ham Hill stone . The fashionable William Kent redesigned Rousham House only to have it quickly and drastically altered to provide space for
1677-586: A modern residence by David Roberts , an architect who worked mainly at the University of Cambridge . The plans were not taken forward, but modernisation of the interior of the house and the removal of a range of ancillary buildings were carried out by Hugh Casson , who also decorated the Royal Yacht, Britannia . In 1977, for her silver jubilee, the Queen opened the house to the public. Sandringham continued to operate as
1806-466: A sale was agreed for the house and just under 8,000 acres (3,200 ha) of land, which was finalised that October. Queen Victoria only twice visited the house she had paid for. Over the course of the next forty years, and with considerable expenditure, Edward was to create a house and country estate that his friend Charles Carington called "the most comfortable in England". The price paid for Sandringham, £220,000, has been described as "exorbitant". This
1935-602: A scandal was deeply concerning to his parents. Sandringham Hall was on the list of the estates considered, and a personal recommendation to the Prince Consort from the prime minister Lord Palmerston, stepfather to the owner, swayed Prince Albert. Negotiations were only slightly delayed by Albert's death in December 1861—his widow declared, "His wishes – his plans – about everything are to be my law". Edward visited in February 1862, and
2064-472: A school, a rectory and a staff clubhouse, the Babingley. Edward also made Sandringham one of the best sporting estates in England to provide a setting for the elaborate weekend shooting parties that became Sandringham's defining rationale. To increase the amount of daylight available during the shooting season, which ran from October to February, the prince introduced the tradition of Sandringham Time , whereby all
2193-458: A serious fire broke out when maids lit all the fires in the second-floor bedrooms to warm them in advance of the prince's arrival. Edis was recalled to undertake rebuilding and further construction. As he had with the Bachelors' Wing, Edis tried to harmonise these additions with Humbert's house by following the original Jacobethan style, and by using matching brickwork and Ketton stone . The house
2322-512: A sporting estate. Pheasants and partridge are no longer reared for this purpose, and Sandringham is now one of the few wild shoots in England. Along with her equestrian interest in the Sandringham Stud, where she bred several winning horses, the Queen developed a successful gun dog breeding programme at Sandringham. Following the tradition of a kennels at Sandringham established by her great grandfather, when Queen Alexandra kept over 100 dogs on
2451-486: A tradition followed by Elizabeth II until 2020. The house is mainly constructed of red brick with limestone dressings ; Norfolk Carrstone is also prevalent, particularly in Edis's additions. The tiled roof contains nine separate clusters of chimneystacks. The style is Jacobethan , with inspiration drawn principally from nearby Blickling Hall . Construction was undertaken by Goggs Brothers of Swaffham . The principal rooms of
2580-428: A typical dinner at the house in a letter to his then mistress Freda Dudley Ward , dated 26 December 1919; "it's too dull and boring for words. Christ how any human beings can ever have got themselves into this pompous secluded and monotonous groove I just can't imagine". In another letter, evenings at the "big house"—Edward stayed at York Cottage with his father—were recorded as "sordidly dull and boring". His antipathy to
2709-531: A view of Sandringham. John Piper's sombre palette did not always find favour with Queen Elizabeth or her husband, George VI remarking, "You seem to have very bad luck with your weather, Mr Piper". The house also has an extensive holding of works by Fabergé , the world's largest, assembled by Queen Alexandra and later members of the family, which includes representations of farm animals from the Sandringham estate commissioned by Edward VII as presents for his wife. Although not highly regarded as architecture, Sandringham
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#17330862414782838-492: A £2.3m refurbishment programme, which were deferred because of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. The charity has since decided to discontinue the redevelopment and work with the Sandringham Estate to exit the lease. Wood Farm has been part of the Sandringham Estate since the time of Edward VII. In the early 20th century, it was home to Prince John , the youngest of the six children of King George V and Queen Mary. Born in 1905,
2967-593: Is a Georgian house on the grounds, purchased by the Prince of Wales in 1896. Formerly occupied by the Duke of Kent , it was the main country home of the Prince and Princess of Wales , until their move to Adelaide Cottage at Windsor . When Prince Carl of Denmark (later King Haakon VII of Norway ) and Princess Maud were married in July 1896, Appleton House was a wedding gift to them from
3096-591: Is a rare extant example of a full-scale Victorian country house, described in the magazine Country Life as "lived in and beautifully maintained, complete with its original contents, gardens and dependent estate buildings". The house, the landscaped gardens, park and woodlands are listed Grade II* on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens , Grade II* being the second-highest listing, reserved for "particularly important buildings of more than special interest". The gardens and country park comprise 600 acres (240 ha) of
3225-437: Is beautiful I think & a great success & avoids pulling the hall to pieces each time there is a ball or anything". At the time of Queen Victoria's visit in 1889, the room was used for a theatrical performance given by Sir Henry Irving and Ellen Terry . Queen Elizabeth II used the room for entertainments and as a cinema. The walls of the dining room are decorated with Spanish tapestries including some by Goya which were
3354-477: Is described by Jenkins as "the nearest Sandringham gets to pomp". On one of her two visits to the house, Victoria recorded in her journal that, after dinner, the party adjourned to "the very long and handsome drawing room with painted ceiling and two fireplaces". The room contains portraits of Queen Alexandra and her daughters, Princess Louise , Princess Victoria , and Princess Maud of Wales , by Edward Hughes . White marble statues complete what has been described as
3483-473: Is politics; they talk politics; and they make politics, quite spontaneously. There are no written terms for distinguishing between vast country palaces and comparatively small country houses; the descriptive terms, which can include castle , manor and court , provide no firm clue and are often only used because of a historical connection with the site of such a building. Therefore, for ease or explanation, Britain's country houses can be categorised according to
3612-460: Is questioned by Helen Walch, author of the estate's recent (2012) history, who shows the detailed analysis undertaken by the Prince Consort's advisers and suggests that the cost was reasonable. However, the house was soon found to be too small to accommodate the Prince of Wales's establishment following his marriage in March 1863 and the many guests he wished to entertain. In 1865, two years after moving in,
3741-500: Is the ITV series Downton Abbey . Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers KG (c. 1440 – 25 June 1483), was an English nobleman, courtier, bibliophile and writer. He was the brother of Queen Elizabeth Woodville who married King Edward IV . He was one of the leading members of the Woodville family, which came to prominence during
3870-539: Is the lack of harmony between Humbert's original building and Edis's extensions, "a contrast between the northern and southern halves of the house (that) has been much criticised ever since". The architectural historian John Martin Robinson wrote in 1982, "Sandringham, the latest in date of the houses of the British monarchy, is the least distinguished architecturally". In his biography of Queen Mary, James Pope-Hennessy compared
3999-595: The National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens . The site has been occupied since Elizabethan times , when a large manor house was constructed. This was replaced in 1771 by a Georgian mansion for the owners, the Hoste Henleys. In 1836 Sandringham was bought by John Motteux, a London merchant, who already owned property in Norfolk and Surrey . Motteux had no direct heir, and on his death in 1843, his entire estate
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4128-635: The Poyntz Chapel within the Gaunt's Chapel in Bristol . The stone ceiling boss of the Poyntz Chapel displays in relief sculpture the arms of Poyntz (of 4 quarters) impaling the arms of Woodville (of 6 quarters, 3rd quarter Woodville), and the two wooden end-panels of his monumental coffin, decorated with the heraldry of Poyntz and Woodville, survive in the Gaunt's Chapel in which he was buried. The Heraldic Visitation of Gloucestershire records that: Rivers had met
4257-633: The Queen's death , Sandringham passed to her son and heir Charles III. Sandringham is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "sant-Dersingham" (the sandy part of Dersingham) and the land was awarded to a Norman knight, Robert Fitz-Corbun after the Norman Conquest . The local antiquarian Claude Messent, in his study The Architecture on the Royal Estate of Sandringham , records the discovery of evidence of
4386-399: The agricultural depressions of the 1870s , the estates, of which country houses were the hub, provided their owners with incomes. However, the late 19th and early 20th centuries were the swansong of the traditional English country house lifestyle. Increased taxation and the effects of World War I led to the demolition of hundreds of houses ; those that remained had to adapt to survive. While
4515-595: The earldom . He joined the king in his temporary exile in 1470, and returned with him the next year, where he was wounded at the Battle of Barnet . As a result of this battle, Edward IV regained the throne. Whilst in charge of the garrison at the Tower of London , Rivers defeated an attempt by a Lancastrian army (led by Thomas Neville ) to capture the city during the Siege of London (1471) . In 1472, Edward IV sent Rivers and his younger brother Edward Woodville to Brittany at
4644-491: The impending crisis arising from his attachment to Simpson, within two months of his only visit to the house as king, he had abdicated. On his abdication, as Sandringham and Balmoral Castle were the private property of the monarch, it was necessary for King George VI to purchase both properties. The price paid, £300,000, was a cause of friction between the new King and his brother. George VI had been born at Sandringham on 14 December 1895. A keen follower of country pursuits, he
4773-425: The "big house" compelled George V, his wife, Queen Mary, and their expanding family to remain at York Cottage in the grounds, in rather "cramped" conditions. Suggestions from courtiers that Queen Alexandra might move out were firmly rebuffed by the King; "It is my mother's house, my father built it for her". The King also lacked the sociability of his father, and the shortage of space at York Cottage enabled him to limit
4902-552: The 1850s, with the English economy booming, new mansions were built in one of the many revivalist architectural styles popular throughout the 19th century. The builders of these new houses were able to take advantage of the political unrest in Europe that gave rise to a large trade in architectural salvage. This new wave of country house building is exemplified by the Rothschild properties in
5031-419: The 18th century with houses such as Castle Howard , Kedleston Hall and Holkham Hall . Such building reached its zenith from the late 17th century until the mid-18th century; these houses were often completely built or rebuilt in their entirety by one eminent architect in the most fashionable architectural style of the day and often have a suite of Baroque state apartments, typically in enfilade , reserved for
5160-474: The 20th century, they slept in proper beds, wore well-made adequate clothes and received three proper meals a day, plus a small wage. In an era when many still died from malnutrition or lack of medicine, the long working hours were a small price to pay. As a result of the aristocratic habit of only marrying within the aristocracy, and whenever possible to a sole heiress, many owners of country houses owned several country mansions, and would visit each according to
5289-494: The Bachelors' Wing, was constructed to the designs of a Norfolk architect, Colonel R. W. Edis . Edis also built a new billiard room and converted the old conservatory into a bowling alley. The Prince of Wales had been impressed by one he had seen at Trentham Hall in Staffordshire , and the alley at Sandringham was modelled on an example from Rumpenheim Castle , Germany. In 1891, during preparations for Edward's fiftieth birthday,
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5418-682: The Earl, along with his nephew Sir Richard Grey , the young king's half-brother. Rivers was imprisoned and then beheaded at Pontefract Castle in West Yorkshire on 25 June 1483 as part of the duke's path towards kingship (as Richard III). Anthony was succeeded by his brother Richard Woodville, 3rd Earl Rivers . The Scales lands inherited from his wife were bequeathed to his younger brother Edward Woodville , but King Richard III ignored Anthony's wishes as Edward had joined Henry Tudor . He married twice, without legitimate progeny, as follows: Edward IV
5547-412: The King and his family moved to the main house. In 1932, George V gave the first of the royal Christmas messages from a studio erected at Sandringham. The speech, written by Rudyard Kipling , began, "I speak now from my home and from my heart to you all". George V died in his bedroom at Sandringham at 11:55 p.m. on 20 January 1936, his death hastened by injections of morphine and cocaine, to maintain
5676-695: The King and his wife after the Second World War. A statue of Father Time , dating from the 18th century, was purchased by the Queen Mother and installed in 1951. Further areas of the gardens were remodelled by Sir Eric Savill in the 1960s for Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. The extensive kitchen gardens, which in Edward VII's time included carriage drives to allow guests to view the "highly ornamental" arrangements, were also laid to lawn during Queen Elizabeth II's reign, having proved uneconomic to maintain. The 20,000-acre (8,100 ha) Sandringham estate has some of
5805-443: The King's dignity and to enable the announcement of his death to be made in the following day's Times . The King's body was moved to St Mary Magdalene's Church , a scene described by the late King's assistant private secretary, "Tommy" Lascelles . "Next evening we took him over to the little church at the end of the garden. We saw the lych-gate brilliantly lit [and] the guardsmen slung the coffin on their shoulders and laid it before
5934-429: The King. York Cottage as of 2000 is the estate office for the Sandringham Estate. The country park and the visitors' centre are normally open throughout the year. The house, gardens and museum were usually opened annually from the end of March until the end of October, but COVID-19 led to the closure of much of the estate. Staged re-opening took place from February 2022. Following the death of Elizabeth II , Sandringham
6063-459: The Prince was epileptic, and spent much of his short life in relative seclusion at Sandringham. He died at Wood Farm, his home for the last two years of his life, on 18 January 1919. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, lived at Wood Farm after retiring from royal duties. York Cottage , originally known as Bachelors' Cottage, was built by Edward, Prince of Wales, soon after he acquired Sandringham, in order to provide further accommodation for guests. It
6192-455: The Queen and others staying at the house have generally travelled by car from King's Lynn. Edward VII established the Sandringham stud in 1897, achieving considerable success with the racehorses Persimmon and Diamond Jubilee . Neither his son nor his grandsons evinced as much interest in horses, although the stud was maintained; but his great-granddaughter, Elizabeth II, tried to match Edward's equestrian achievements and bred several winners at
6321-497: The Queen asked her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh , to take on the responsibility for the management of the estate. The Duke worked to move towards self-sufficiency, generating additional income streams, taking more of the land in hand, and amalgamating many of the smaller tenant farms. In January 1957 the Queen received the resignation of the Prime Minister Anthony Eden at the house. Eden's wife, Clarissa , recorded
6450-406: The Queen followed the tradition of her last three predecessors, whereas her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, held her celebrations at Windsor Castle . The taxation arrangements of the monarch meant that no inheritance tax was paid on the Sandringham or Balmoral estates when they passed to the Queen, at a time when it was having a deleterious effect on other country estates. On her accession,
6579-498: The Sandringham Stud. On 14 January 1892, Edward's eldest son and heir, Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale , died of pneumonia at the house. He is commemorated in the clock tower, which bears an inscription in Latin that translates as "the hours perish and will be charged to our account". In his will Edward VII left his widow £200,000 and a lifetime interest in the Sandringham estate. Queen Alexandra's continued occupancy of
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#17330862414786708-472: The Sovereign in her private capacity, rather than as head of state , the other being Balmoral Castle . Following King George VI's death, Queen Elizabeth II 's custom was to spend the anniversary of that and of her own accession privately with her family at Sandringham House, and, toward the end of her reign, to use it as her official base from Christmas until February. In celebrating Christmas at Sandringham,
6837-581: The altar. After a brief service, we left it, to be watched over by the men of the Sandringham Estate." Two days later, George's body was transported by train from Wolferton to London, and to its lying in state at Westminster Hall. On the night of his father's death, Edward VIII summarily ordered that the clocks at Sandringham be returned to Greenwich Mean Time , ending the tradition of Sandringham time begun by his grandfather over 50 years earlier. Edward had rarely enjoyed his visits to Sandringham, either in his father's time or that of his grandfather. He described
6966-467: The best-known examples of the showy prodigy house , often built with the intention of attracting the monarch to visit. By the reign of Charles I , Inigo Jones and his form of Palladianism had changed the face of English domestic architecture completely, with the use of turrets and towers as an architectural reference to the earlier castles and fortified houses completely disappearing. The Palladian style, in various forms, interrupted briefly by baroque ,
7095-552: The biographer of George V, Kenneth Rose , wrote that, "except for some tapestries given by Alfonso XII, Sandringham had not a single good picture, piece of furniture or other work of art". Neither Edward VII nor his heir were noted for their artistic appreciation; writing of the redevelopments at Buckingham Palace undertaken by George V, and previously by Edward VII, John Martin Robinson wrote that, "the King had no more aesthetic sensibility than his father and expressed impatience with his wife's keen interest in furniture and decoration". In
7224-443: The bride's parents, the Prince and Princess of Wales. Queen Maud became fond of Appleton, "our little house is a perfect paradise", and their son, Prince Alexander (the future King Olav V of Norway ), was born at the house in 1903. After Queen Maud died in 1938, King Haakon returned the property. The last inhabitants were King George VI and Queen Elizabeth who stayed there during a visit to Norfolk during World War II, when Sandringham
7353-520: The cash". Edward's concerns regarding his income led him immediately to focus on the expense associated with running his late father's private homes. Sandringham he described as a "voracious white elephant ", and he asked his brother, the Duke of York to undertake a review of the management of the estate, which had been costing his father £50,000 annually in subsidies at the time of his death. The review recommended significant retrenchments, and its partial implementation caused considerable resentment among
7482-520: The circumstances of their creation. The great houses are the largest of the country houses; in truth palaces, built by the country's most powerful – these were designed to display their owners' power or ambitions to power. Really large unfortified or barely fortified houses began to take over from the traditional castles of the crown and magnates during the Tudor period, with vast houses such as Hampton Court Palace and Burghley House , and continued until
7611-600: The city—hence, for these people, the term distinguished between town and country. However, the term also encompasses houses that were, and often still are, the full-time residence for the landed gentry who dominated rural Britain until the Reform Act 1832 . Frequently, the formal business of the counties was transacted in these country houses, having functional antecedents in manor houses . With large numbers of indoor and outdoor staff, country houses were important as places of employment for many rural communities. In turn, until
7740-429: The clocks on the estate were set half an hour ahead of GMT . This tradition was maintained until 1936. Edward's entertaining was legendary, and the scale of the slaughter of game birds , predominantly pheasants and partridges, was colossal. The meticulously maintained game books recorded annual bags of between 6,000 and 8,000 birds in the 1870s, rising to bags of over 20,000 a year by 1900. The game larder, constructed for
7869-466: The country saw the building of the first of the unfortified great houses. Henry VIII 's Dissolution of the Monasteries saw many former ecclesiastical properties granted to the King's favourites, who then converted them into private country houses. Woburn Abbey , Forde Abbey and many other mansions with abbey or priory in their name became private houses during this period. Other terms used in
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#17330862414787998-467: The couple to spend even more time abroad – mainly in Paris – and by the early 1860s Cowper was keen to sell the estate. In 1861 Queen Victoria's eldest son and heir, Albert Edward , was approaching his twentieth birthday. Edward's dissipated lifestyle had been disappointing to his parents, and his father, Prince Albert , thought that marriage and the purchase of a suitable establishment were necessary to ground
8127-540: The day; a contemporary newspaper expressed a wish to " Sandringhamize Marlborough House – as a landlord, agriculturist and country gentleman, the Prince sets an example which might be followed with advantage". The royal couple's developments at Sandringham were not confined to the house; over the course of their occupation, the wider estate was also transformed. Ornamental and kitchen gardens were established, employing over 100 gardeners at their peak. Many estate buildings were constructed, including cottages for staff, kennels,
8256-428: The design of the wing around the next corner. These varying "improvements", often criticised at the time, today are the qualities that make English country houses unique. Wealthy and influential people, often bored with their formal duties, go to the country in order to get out of London, the ugliest and most uncomfortable city in the world; they invented the long week-end to stay away as long as possible. Their métier
8385-486: The dismissed staff. After the night of his father's death at Sandringham, Edward spent only one further night of his reign at the house, bringing Wallis Simpson for a shooting party in October 1936. The party was interrupted by a request to meet with prime minister Stanley Baldwin , and having arrived on a Sunday, the King returned to Fort Belvedere the next day. He never returned to Sandringham; and, his attention diverted by
8514-557: The earliest English printer William Caxton when in exile in Bruges , and there in 1475–76 Caxton published Cordyale, or Four last thinges , Rivers' English translation from the French of Jean Miélot of Les quattres choses derrenieres , itself a translation of the Cordiale quattuor novissimorum . After both of them had returned to England, one of the first, if not the first, books printed in England
8643-427: The early 1970s, hundreds of country houses were demolished . Houses that survived destruction are now mostly Grade I or II listed as buildings of historic interest with restrictions on restoration and re-creation work. However such work is usually very expensive. Several houses have been restored, some over many years. For example at Copped Hall where the restoration started in 1995 continues to this day. Although
8772-417: The entertaining he undertook, with the small rooms reportedly reminding him of the onboard cabins of his naval career. The new King's primary interests, aside from his constitutional duties, were shooting and stamp collecting. He was considered one of the best shots in England, and his collections of shotguns and stamps were among the finest in the world. Deeply conservative by nature, George sought to maintain
8901-473: The estate was bought at auction by John Motteux, a London merchant. Motteux was also without heirs and bequeathed Sandringham, together with another Norfolk estate and a property in Surrey, to the third son of his close friend, Emily Lamb , the wife of Lord Palmerston . At the time of his inheritance in 1843, Charles Spencer Cowper was a bachelor diplomat, resident in Paris. On succeeding to Motteux's estates, he sold
9030-461: The estate with the gardens extending to 49 acres (20 ha). They were predominantly laid out from the 1860s, with later alterations and simplifications. Edward VII sought advice from William Broderick Thomas and Ferdinand de Rothschild , a friend and adviser to the King throughout his life. The original lake was filled and replaced with the elaborate parterres fashionable at the time. These have since been removed. Two new lakes were dug further from
9159-552: The estate, the Queen preferred black labrador retrievers , over the yellow type favoured by her father, and the terriers bred by her earlier predecessors. From his retirement from official duties in August 2017 until his death in April 2021, the Duke of Edinburgh spent much of his time at Wood Farm , a large farmhouse on the Sandringham Estate used by the Duke and the Queen when not hosting guests at
9288-419: The event in her diary, "8 January – Anthony has to go through a Cabinet and listening to Harold prosing for half an hour. Then by train to Sandringham. Many photographers. We arrive into the hall where everyone is looking at the television." At the end of that year, the Queen made her first televised Christmas broadcast from Sandringham. In the 1960s, plans were initiated to demolish the house and replace it with
9417-523: The finest shoots in England, and is used for royal shooting parties. Covering seven villages, the estate's other main activities, aside from tourism, are arable crops and forestry. The grounds provided room for Queen Alexandra's menagerie of horses, dogs, cats, and other animals. In 1886 a racing pigeon loft was constructed for birds given to the Duke of York by King Leopold II of Belgium and one or more lofts for pigeons have been maintained ever since. The Norwich Gates, designed by Thomas Jeckyll and made by
9546-475: The head of 1,000 archers to help the Bretons fend off a threatened French invasion of the duchy. The French withdrew when faced with determined resistance. In 1473, King Edward IV appointed Rivers Governor of the Prince of Wales ' household and Rivers went with the prince to Ludlow Castle . He was also appointed High Sheriff of Caernarvonshire for life. His duties included the administration of justice throughout
9675-473: The home counties and Bletchley Park (rebuilt in several styles, and famous for its code-breaking role in World War II). The slow decline of the English country house coincided with the rise not just of taxation, but also of modern industry, along with the agricultural depression of the 1870s. By 1880, this had led some owners into financial shortfalls as they tried to balance maintenance of their estates with
9804-517: The house and replace it with a modern building, but these were not carried out. In 1977, to mark her Silver Jubilee , the Queen opened the house and grounds to the public for the first time. Unlike the royal palaces owned by the Crown , such as Buckingham Palace , Holyrood Palace and Windsor Castle , Sandringham (along with Balmoral Castle in Scotland) is owned personally by the monarch. In 2022, following
9933-419: The house and the provision of furniture and fittings was undertaken by Holland and Sons in the 1870 rebuilding. The largest room in the house, the saloon is used as the main reception room. The arrangement of entry under the porte-cochère direct into the saloon proved problematic, with no ante-room in which guests could remove their hats and coats. Jenkins describes the decorative style, here and elsewhere in
10062-458: The house are the saloon, the drawing room, the dining room and the ballroom, together with rooms devoted to sports, such as the gun room, or leisure, such as the bowling alley, now a library, and the billiard room. The walls of the corridors connecting the principal rooms display a collection of Oriental and Indian arms and armour, gathered by Edward VII on his tour of the East in 1875–1876. Decoration of
10191-457: The house in the June 1902 edition of Country Life opined, "of mere splendour there is not much, but of substantial comfort a good deal". The writer Clive Aslet suggests that the sporting opportunities offered by the estate were the main attraction for its royal owners, rather than "the house itself, which even after rebuilding was never beguiling". The fittings and furnishings were also criticised;
10320-568: The house unfavourably to "a golf-hotel at St Andrews or a station-hotel at Strathpeffer ". Simon Jenkins considered Sandringham "unattractive", with a "grim, institutional appearance". Nikolaus Pevsner described the architectural style as "frenetic"; Girouard expressed himself perplexed as to the preference shown by the royal family for A. J. Humbert, a patronage the writer Adrian Tinniswood described as "the Victorian Royal Family's knack for choosing second-rate architects". An article on
10449-501: The house was unlikely to have been lessened by his late father's will, which was read to the family in the saloon at the house. His brothers were each left £750,000 while Edward was bequeathed no monetary assets beyond the revenues from the Duchy of Cornwall . A codicil also prevented him from selling the late King's personal possessions; Lascelles described the inheritance as "the Kingship without
10578-452: The house, and bordered by rockeries constructed of Pulhamite stone. A summerhouse, called The Nest , stands above the Upper Lake, a gift in 1913 to Queen Alexandra from the comptroller of her household, General Sir Dighton Probyn . The gardens to the north of the house, which are overlooked by the suite of rooms used by George VI, were remodelled and simplified by Geoffrey Jellicoe for
10707-583: The house, as " Osbert Lancaster 's Curzon Street Baroque ". The room contains portraits of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert by their favourite artist Franz Xaver Winterhalter . The saloon functioned as a venue for dances, until the construction of the new ballroom by Edis, and has a minstrels' gallery to accommodate musicians. The room contains a weighing machine; Edward VII was in the habit of requiring his guests to be weighed on their arrival, and again on their departure, to establish that his lavish hospitality had caused them to put on weight. The drawing room
10836-435: The household. These houses were always an alternative residence to a London house. During the 18th and 19th centuries, for the highest echelons of English society, the country house served as a place for relaxing, hunting and running the country with one's equals at the end of the week, with some houses having their own theatre where performances were staged. The country house, however, was not just an oasis of pleasure for
10965-551: The immediately preceding war then in World War I, were now paying far higher rates of tax, and agricultural incomes had dropped. Thus, the solution for many was to hold contents auctions and then demolish the house and sell its stone, fireplaces , and panelling . This is what happened to many of Britain's finest houses. Despite this slow decline, so necessary was the country house for entertaining and prestige that in 1917 Viscount Lee of Fareham donated his country house Chequers to
11094-438: The income they provided. Some relied on funds from secondary sources such as banking and trade while others, like the severely impoverished Duke of Marlborough , sought to marry American heiresses to save their country houses and lifestyles. The ultimate demise began immediately following World War I . The members of the huge staff required to maintain large houses had either left to fight and never returned, departed to work in
11223-484: The landscape, while some of the great houses such as Kedleston Hall and Holkham Hall were built as "power houses" to dominate the landscape, and were most certainly intended to be "stately" and impressive. In his book Historic Houses: Conversations in Stately Homes , the author and journalist Robert Harling documents nineteen "stately homes"; these range in size from the vast Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard to
11352-540: The latter two are ducal palaces, Montacute, although built by a Master of the Rolls to Queen Elizabeth I, was occupied for the next 400 years by his descendants, who were gentry without a London townhouse , rather than aristocracy. They finally ran out of funds in the early 20th century. However, the vast majority of English country houses, often owned at different times by gentlemen and peers , are an evolution of one or more styles with facades and wings in different styles in
11481-605: The local firm of Barnard, Bishop and Barnard, were a wedding present for Edward and Alexandra from "the gentry of Norfolk". In 2007 Sandringham House and its grounds were designated a protected site under Section 128 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 . This makes it a criminal offence to trespass in the house or its grounds. The Sandringham estate has a museum in the former coach house with displays of royal life and estate history. The museum also houses an extensive collection of royal motor vehicles including
11610-462: The main house. In February 2022 the Queen celebrated the 70th anniversary of her accession at Sandringham. The Queen made her last visit to Sandringham in early July 2022, for five days after completing her Platinum Jubilee celebrations. On the death of his mother in September 2022, the Sandringham estate passed to King Charles . He has spent the subsequent two Christmases at Sandringham, continuing
11739-400: The main living room (the saloon), an arrangement that was subsequently found to be inconvenient. The house provided living and sleeping accommodation over three storeys, with attics and a basement. The Norfolk countryside surrounding the house appealed to Alexandra, as it reminded her of her native Denmark. Within a decade, the house was again found to be too small, and in 1883 a new extension,
11868-639: The minuscule Ebberston Hall , and in architecture from the Jacobean Renaissance of Hatfield House to the eccentricities of Sezincote . The book's collection of stately homes also includes George IV's Brighton town palace, the Royal Pavilion . The country houses of England have evolved over the last five hundred years. Before this time, larger houses were usually fortified, reflecting the position of their owners as feudal lords , de facto overlords of their manors . The Tudor period of stability in
11997-416: The most eminent guests, the entertainment of whom was of paramount importance in establishing and maintaining the power of the owner. The common denominator of this category of English country houses is that they were designed to be lived in with a certain degree of ceremony and pomp. It was not unusual for the family to have a small suite of rooms for withdrawing in privacy away from the multitude that lived in
12126-399: The munitions factories, or filled the void left by the fighting men in other workplaces. Of those who returned after the war, many left the countryside for better-paid jobs in towns. The final blow for many country houses came following World War II ; having been requisitioned during the war, they were returned to the owners in poor repair. Many estate owners, having lost their heirs, if not in
12255-468: The names of houses to describe their origin or importance include palace , castle , court , hall , mansion , park , house , manor , and place . It was during the second half of the reign of Elizabeth I , and under her successor, James I , that the first architect-designed mansions, thought of today as epitomising the English country house, began to make their appearance. Burghley House , Longleat House , and Hatfield House are among
12384-402: The nation for the use of a prime minister who might not possess one of his or her own. Chequers still fulfills that need today as do both Chevening House and Dorneywood , donated for sole use of high-ranking ministers of the Crown. Today, many country houses have become hotels, schools, hospitals and museums, while others have survived as conserved ruins, but from the early 20th century until
12513-462: The next day's shoot before retiring at 10.30 p.m. He was discovered at 7.30 a.m. in his bedroom by his valet, having died of a coronary thrombosis at the age of 56. His body was placed in the Church of St Mary Magdalene, before being taken to Wolferton Station and transported by train to London, to lie in state at Westminster Hall. As with her predecessors, the house remained one of the two homes owned by
12642-521: The original house of the Henley Hostes and the Cowpers that was retained was the elaborate conservatory designed by Teulon in the 1830s. Edward had this room converted into a billiard room. A plaque in the entrance hall records that "This house was built by Albert Edward Prince of Wales and Alexandra his wife in the year of our Lord 1870". The building was entered through a large porte-cochère straight into
12771-455: The other properties and based himself at Sandringham. He undertook extensions to the hall, employing Samuel Sanders Teulon to add an elaborate porch and conservatory. Cowper's style of living was extravagant – he and his wife spent much of their time on the Continent – and within 10 years the estate was mortgaged for £89,000. The death in 1854, from cholera, of their only child Mary Harriette, led
12900-468: The owner of a "power house" or a small manor, the inhabitants of the English country house have become collectively referred to as the ruling class, because this is exactly what they did in varying degrees, whether by having high political influence and power in national government, or in the day-to-day running of their own localities or "county" in such offices as lord/deputy lieutenant , magistrates , or occasionally even clergy. The Country house mystery
13029-521: The owner's twelve children. Canons Ashby , home to poet John Dryden 's family, is another example of architectural evolution: a medieval farmhouse enlarged in the Tudor era around a courtyard, given grandiose plaster ceilings in the Stuart period , and then having Georgian façades added in the 18th century. The whole is a glorious mismatch of styles and fashions that seamlessly blend together. These could be called
13158-502: The ownership or management of some houses has been transferred to a private trust , most notably at Chatsworth , other houses have transferred art works and furnishings under the Acceptance in Lieu scheme to ownership by various national or local museums, but retained for display in the building. This enables the former owners to offset tax, the payment of which would otherwise have necessitated
13287-588: The pavements of a Roman villa near Appleton farm. In the 15th century it was held by Anthony Woodville, Lord Scales , brother-in-law to Edward IV . In the Elizabethan era a manor was built on the site of the present house, which, by the 18th century, came into the possession of the Hoste Henley family, descendants of Dutch refugees. In 1771 Cornish Henley cleared the site to build a Georgian mansion, Sandringham Hall. In 1834, Henry Hoste Henley died without issue, and
13416-461: The place I love better than anywhere else in the world". It was the setting for the first royal Christmas broadcast in 1932. George died at the house on 20 January 1936. The estate passed to his son Edward VIII and, at his abdication , as the private property of the monarch, it was purchased by Edward's brother, George VI. George was as devoted to the house as his father, writing to his mother Queen Mary , "I have always been so happy here and I love
13545-417: The place". He died at Sandringham on 6 February 1952. On the King's death, Sandringham passed to his daughter Elizabeth II . The Queen spent about two months each winter on the Sandringham Estate, including the anniversary of her father's death and of her own accession in early February. In 1957, she broadcast her first televised Christmas message from Sandringham. In the 1960s, plans were drawn up to demolish
13674-402: The prince commissioned A. J. Humbert to raze the original hall and create a much larger building. Humbert was an architect favoured by the royal family—"for no good reason", according to the architectural historian Mark Girouard —and had previously undertaken work for Queen Victoria at Osborne House and at Frogmore House . The new red-brick house was complete by late 1870; the only element of
13803-562: The prince in country life and pursuits and lessen the influence of the "Marlborough House set" with which he was involved. Albert had his staff investigate 18 possible country estates that might be suitable, including Newstead Abbey in Nottinghamshire and Houghton Hall in Norfolk. The need to act quickly was reinforced by the Nellie Clifden affair, when Edward's fellow officers smuggled the actress into his quarters. The possibility of
13932-518: The principality . In 1476, the Republic of Venice declared Anthony heir to the Kingdoms of Jerusalem and Cyprus , but his death ended all plans. When the king died suddenly in 1483, Rivers was ordered by his sister to bring the Prince of Wales, now King Edward V , straight back to London under an armed guard. They were intercepted by Richard, Duke of Gloucester (later King Richard III ), who arrested
14061-457: The private sale of the art works. For example, tapestries and furniture at Houghton Hall are now owned by the Victoria and Albert Museum . In addition, increasing numbers of country houses hold licences for weddings and civil ceremonies . Another source of income is to use the house as a venue for parties, a film location or a corporate entertainment venue. While many country houses are open to
14190-467: The public and derive income through that means, they remain homes, in some cases inhabited by the descendants of their original owners. The lifestyles of those living and working in a country house in the early 20th century were recreated in a BBC television programme, The Edwardian Country House , filmed at Manderston House in Scotland. Another television programme which features life in country houses
14319-571: The reign of King Edward IV. After Edward's death, he was arrested and then executed by the Duke of Gloucester (the future King Richard III ) as part of a power struggle between Richard and the Woodvilles. His English translation of The Dictes and Sayings of the Philosophers is one of the first books printed in England. He was the eldest son to survive childhood of Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers , by his wife Jacquetta of Luxembourg . His sister
14448-459: The season: Grouse shooting in Scotland , pheasant shooting and fox hunting in England. The Earl of Rosebery , for instance, had Dalmeny House in Scotland, Mentmore Towers in Buckinghamshire, and another house near Epsom just for the racing season. For many, this way of life, which began a steady decline in 1914, continued well into the 20th century, and for a few continues to this day. In
14577-444: The second category of Britain's country houses are those that belonged to the squirearchy or landed gentry . These tend either to have evolved from medieval hall houses, with rooms added as required, or were purpose-built by relatively unknown local architects. Smaller, and far greater in number than the "power houses", these were still the epicentre of their own estate, but were often the only residence of their owner. However, whether
14706-450: The series of articles on the house and estate published in 1902 by Country Life to celebrate Edward VII's accession, the author noted the royal family's "set policy of preferring those pictures that have associations to those which have merely artistic merit". Exceptions came to include works from the collection of mainly 20th-century English art assembled by the Queen Mother, including pieces by Edward Seago and John Piper , who produced
14835-399: The storage of the carcasses, was inspired by that at Holkham Hall and was the largest in Europe. Guests for Sandringham house parties generally arrived at Wolferton railway station , 2.5 miles from the house, travelling in royal trains that ran from St Pancras Station to King's Lynn and then on to Wolferton. The station served the house from 1862 until its closure in 1969. Thereafter,
14964-676: The traditions of Sandringham estate life established by his father, and life at York Cottage provided respite from the constitutional and political struggles that overshadowed the early years of George's reign. Even greater upheaval was occasioned by the outbreak of the First World War , a dynastic struggle that involved many of his relatives, including the German Kaiser and the Russian Emperor , both of whom had previously been guests at Sandringham. The estate and village of Sandringham suffered
15093-488: The true English country house. Wilton House , one of England's grandest houses, is in a remarkably similar vein; although, while the Drydens, mere squires, at Canons Ashby employed a local architect, at Wilton the mighty Earls of Pembroke employed the finest architects of the day: first Holbein , 150 years later Inigo Jones, and then Wyatt followed by Chambers. Each employed a different style of architecture, seemingly unaware of
15222-406: The war, but occasional visits were made to the estate, with the family staying at outlying cottages. After the war the King made improvements to the gardens surrounding the house but, as traditionalist as his father, he made few other changes. December 1945 saw the first celebration of Christmas at the house since 1938. Lady Airlie recorded her impressions at dinner: "I sat next to the King. His face
15351-458: Was Elizabeth Woodville , who married King Edward IV and became queen. Like his father, he was originally a Lancastrian , fighting on that side at the Battle of Towton , but later became a Yorkist . The Woodvilles became very influential at the royal court after his sister Elizabeth Woodville married Edward IV and became queen. Anthony was made a Knight of the Garter . He is known to have been
15480-511: Was a popular genre of English detective fiction in the 1920s and 1930s; set in the residence of the gentry and often involving a murder in a country house temporarily isolated by a snowstorm or similar with the suspects all at a weekend house party. Following the Industrial Revolution of the 18th century, a third category of country houses was built as newly rich industrialists and bankers were eager to display their wealth and taste. By
15609-467: Was as devoted to the estate as his father, writing to his mother, Queen Mary, "I have always been so happy here". The deep retrenchment he had proposed when commissioned by his brother to review the estate was not enacted, but economies were still made. His mother was at church at Sandringham on Sunday 3 September 1939, when the outbreak of the Second World War was declared. The house was shut up during
15738-406: Was closed for a period of official mourning. The country park subsequently reopened, but the house and garden remained closed to the public until April 2023. English country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house . This allowed them to spend time in the country and in
15867-463: Was closed. Lascelles considered it "an ugly villa, but not uncomfortable". The house was demolished in 1984. Constructed by Edward VII, Park House has been owned by the royal family for many years. The birthplace of Diana, Princess of Wales , when the house was let to her father , it was subsequently run as a hotel managed by the Leonard Cheshire charity . In 2019, the charity developed plans for
15996-505: Was home to George V from 1893 until his mother's death enabled him to move into the main house in 1925. Edward VIII, by then Duke of Windsor, told his father's biographer Harold Nicolson , "Until you have seen York Cottage you will never understand my father". The cottage was no more highly regarded architecturally than the main house; James Pope-Hennessy , the official biographer of Queen Mary, called it, "tremendously vulgar and emphatically, almost defiantly hideous". Nicolson described it as
16125-500: Was left to Charles Spencer Cowper, the son of Motteux's close friend Emily Temple, Viscountess Palmerston . Cowper sold the Norfolk and the Surrey estates and embarked on rebuilding at Sandringham. He led an extravagant life, and by the early 1860s, the estate was mortgaged and he and his wife spent most of their time on the Continent. In 1862, Sandringham and just under 8,000 acres (3,200 ha) of land were purchased for £220,000 for Albert Edward, Prince of Wales , later Edward VII, as
16254-525: Was secretly negotiating for the marriage of Anthony to Margaret of Scotland , but the deaths of Edward and Anthony in 1483 ended all plans. By his mistress Gwenlina Stradling, a daughter of William Stradling of St Donat's Castle in Glamorgan , Wales, he had one illegitimate daughter named Margaret, who married Sir Robert Poyntz (d. 1520) lord of the manor of Iron Acton in Gloucestershire , who built
16383-438: Was tired and strained and he ate practically nothing. Looking at him I felt the cold fear of the probability of another short reign". George was a heavy smoker throughout his life and had an operation to remove part of his lung in September 1951. He was never fully well again and died at Sandringham during the early morning of 6 February 1952. He had gone out after hares on 5 February, "shooting conspicuously well", and had planned
16512-422: Was to predominate until the second half of the 18th century when, influenced by ancient Greek styles, it gradually evolved into the neoclassicism championed by such architects as Robert Adam . Some of the best known of England's country houses were the work of only one architect/designer, built in a relatively short, particular time: Montacute House , Chatsworth House , and Blenheim Palace are examples. While
16641-471: Was up to date in its facilities, the modern kitchens and lighting running on gas from the estate's own plant and water being supplied from the Appleton Water Tower , constructed at the highest point on the estate. The tower was designed in an Italianate style by Robert Rawlinson, and Alexandra laid the foundation stone in 1877. The Prince's efforts as a country gentleman were approved by the press of
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