Polesden Lacey

Polesden Lacey
Great Bookham Surrey
National Trust
The East Front of Polesden Lacey
Grid reference:	TQ136522
Information
Website:	Polesden Lacey

Polesden Lacey is a grand house in the downlands of Surrey. It is in essence an Edwardian house, but expanded from an earlier building, all within a broader estate.

The house and estate are found on the North Downs at Great Bookham near Dorking. It is today owned and managed by the National Trust and is one of the Trust's most popular properties.

The Regency house was extensively remodelled in 1906 by Margaret Greville, a well-known Edwardian hostess. Her collection of fine paintings, furniture, porcelain and silver is displayed in the reception rooms and galleries, as it was at the time of her celebrated house parties.

There are extensive grounds, a walled rose garden, lawns and landscape walks through part of the estate of 1,400 acres.

The future King George VI and Queen Elizabeth spent part of their honeymoon here in 1923.

Previous houses

The first house was built here by 1336. Anthony Rous bought the estate in 1630 and rebuilt the mediæval house. Richard Brinsley Sheridan, the poet and playwright, bought the house in 1804.

The house at one time belonged to Sir Francis Geary but his Polesden Lacey was demolished when Joseph Bonsor bought the estate and commissioned Thomas Cubit to build an entirely new house in 1824, creating the core of the house seen today. Bonsor died in 1835, and the house passed to his son who, in 1853, sold the estate to Sir Walter Rockcliff Farquhar, who held it until his death in 1902. The estate was then purchased by Sir Clinton Edward Dawkins, a career civil servant, who commissioned Ambrose Poynter, architect son of Sir Edward Poynter P.R.A., in 1906 to extend Cubitt's work significantly to create the present house. Sir Clinton, however died shortly after its completion. The estate was then bought in 1906 by William McEwan for his daughter, the former Margaret Anderson, and her husband Captain the Honourable Ronald Greville.

Remodelling of the house

Ronald and Margaret Greville c 1900

Mrs Margaret Greville c 1920

Architects Charles Mewès and Arthur Davis, who were responsible for the Ritz Hotel in London, remodelled the house for Ronald and Margaret Greville. The couple filled the house with collections of fine furniture, porcelain, and silver, and art.

Unfortunately Ronald Greville died in 1908 only two years after they had moved to Polesden Lacey. He was aged 46. Margaret continued to entertain lavishly at the house. She also owned a home in London in which she held expensive parties. Over the next 30 years her reputation as an Edwardian society hostess became established.

In 1923 Margaret invited the Duke and Duchess of York to spend their honeymoon at Polesden Lacey and the royal couple subsequently spent two weeks there. Shortly before their arrival a London newspaper took photographs of the house and published a large feature article about the proposed honeymoon venue. These photographs are shown below in a gallery.

The South Front

Polesden Lacey today

Polesden Lacey was left to the National Trust by Mrs Greville in 1942 in memory of her father, William McEwan (she was his illegitimate daughter and sole heir). There was a serious fire in 1960, which caused damage but not serious loss. In 1995 the National Trust embarked on a programme of restoration and renovation. In 2008/9 the visitor facilities were fairly extensively re-furbished, with a new car park, cafe, shop and farm shop. It received 297,000 visitors in 2011–2012 and 256,000 in 2010–2011, placing it in the Trust's top ten most-visited properties.

Some areas of the house are not currently open to the public. This is because in 1942 it was thought that the bedrooms and servant's areas would not be of interest to visitors. The first floor of the mansion is used by the National Trust Regional Office for London and the South East. The old servants' areas (on the ground floor) are used by the Polesden Lacey staff as offices. In the future, it's hoped that more of the mansion will be open to the public. This began in March 2011 with the opening of Mrs Greville's private apartment which had been occupied by the House Manager. The house is open to the public seven days a week from March to October. On weekday mornings, admission is via a short themed tour.

There are a number of walks around the Polesden Lacey estate, especially in the valley that the main house overlooks. The estate includes a Youth Hostel, Tanners Hatch.

The re-modelling of the facilities in 2008/9 means that the cafe and shop (as well as the walks) can now be accessed without paying for admission.

Polesden Lacey also has open-air performing facilities, which are used during the summer to host various musical and theatrical events. In 2009 there was the Polesden Lacey Festival.

Royal honeymoon at Polesden Lacey in 1923

The Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth) spent their honeymoon at Polesden Lacey at the invitation of Margaret Greville. A series of photographs appeared in a London newspaper at about that time showing the appearance of Polesden Lacey as it was then.

Filming location

Polesden Lacey has frequently appeared in film and on television, and amongst these appearances are:

• Close My Eyes (1991) a film by Stephen Poliakoff used the gardens and the surrounding countryside
• Shooting Fish (1997) - the front of this house
• Miss Marple, At Bertram's Hotel (Polesden Lacey at the Internet Movie Database)
• Midsomer Murder; The Creeper (Series 12) (Polesden Lacey at the Internet Movie Database)
• Restless' (BBC drama, 2012)
• In May 2013, BBC Antiques Roadshow returned to Surrey for the first time since 2009 to film at Polesden Lacey.

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Polesden Lacey)

Polesden Lacey - information at the National Trust

• Tanners Hatch Youth Hostel
• Polesden Lacey garden design history