Buckland House is a large Georgian stately home

Stately home

A stately home is a "great country house". It is thus a palatial great house or in some cases an updated castle, located in the British Isles, mostly built between the mid-16th century and the early part of the 20th century, as well as converted abbeys and other church property...

 and the manor house

Manor house

A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...

 of Buckland

Buckland, Oxfordshire

Buckland is a village and civil parish about northeast of Faringdon in the Vale of White Horse District. Buckland was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire.-Character and geography:...

 in the Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 (formerly in Berkshire

Berkshire

Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...

). It is a masterpiece of Palladian architecture

Palladian architecture

Palladian architecture is a European style of architecture derived from the designs of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio . The term "Palladian" normally refers to buildings in a style inspired by Palladio's own work; that which is recognised as Palladian architecture today is an evolution of...

 erected by John Wood, the Younger

John Wood, the Younger

John Wood, the Younger was an English architect, working principally in the city of Bath, Somerset. He began his work as an assistant for his father, the architect John Wood, the Elder...

 for Sir Robert Throckmorton

Robert Throckmorton

Sir Robert Throckmorton of Coughton Court, MP, KG was a distinguished English Tudor courtier.-Overview:...

 in 1757.

Buckland House stands with extensive grounds known as Buckland Park, which includes gardens, a cricket ground and a 150 acres (60.7 ha) deer park. The previous manor house, Buckland Manor House, also stands in the park. Buckland House is a Grade II* listed building in the Palladian style. Nikolaus Pevsner

Nikolaus Pevsner

Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...

 described it as "the most splendid Georgian

Georgian architecture

Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...

 house in the Country", It is rumoured that a ghost of a white lady

White Lady (ghost)

A White Lady is a type of female ghost reportedly seen in rural areas and associated with some local legend of tragedy. White Lady legends are found around the world. Common to many of them is the theme of losing or being betrayed by a husband or fiancé...

 haunts the house.

Owners

In the mid 1750s Sir Robert Throckmorton had Buckland House build to replace his previous manor house. Following his death in 1791, Sir John Courtenay Throckmorton inherited the estate. Between 1870-1872, it was said the house had relics of Mary, Queen of Scots and Charles I

Charles I of England

Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...

, some other curiosities and some fine pictures. Sir Maurice and Lady Fitzgerald took over the property from the Throckmortons and lived there until 1947. Visitors to the house during the Fitzgeralds' tenure included Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...

 and Queen Mary

Mary of Teck

Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....

, who had objets d'art stored in the basement during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. Buckland House then passed to Major Richard Wellesley, grandson of Lady Fitzgerald In 1962 Major Richard Wellesley advertised Buckland House in The Times

The Times

The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...

for "£8 a week". In 1963, it became an independent university college (University Hall, Buckland) offering London External degrees.

In 2004 Patrick McNally, known from F1, bought Buckland House and began a major restoration to its former glory. This project is due to finish early 2009.

Original House

The Throckmortons owned the Buckland estate since 1690, living in the manor house but it was Sir Robert Throckmorton

Throckmorton Baronets

There have been two Baronetcies created for different branches of the Throckmorton family, 6th. cousins, both descended from Sir John Throckmorton, Under-Treasurer of England temp. King Henry VI. Both titles, which were in the Baronetage of England, are now extinct...

, the fourth baronet of Coughton, who commissioned John Wood (the Elder)

John Wood, the Elder

John Wood, the Elder, , was an English architect. Born in Twerton England, a village near Bath, now a suburb, he went to school in Bath. He came back to Bath after working in Yorkshire, and it is believed, in London, in his early 20s...

 of Bath to design the new Buckland House as a shooting lodge and weekend retreat. John Wood, the Younger

John Wood, the Younger

John Wood, the Younger was an English architect, working principally in the city of Bath, Somerset. He began his work as an assistant for his father, the architect John Wood, the Elder...

 substantially revised the plan and added the distinctive octagonal pavilions to the sides of the house. The final house is illustrated in the 1767 volume of Vitruvius Britannicus.

The house includes features such as marble fireplaces, exquisite mouldings

Molding (decorative)

Molding or moulding is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...

, cornicing and painted ceilings. It is symmetrical and long passages lead to the two octagonal pavilions, used today as a library and dining room. 15 bedrooms were built into the house in total to hold both family and staff. It is rumoured that one of the bedrooms was designed as a copy of Marie Antionette's bedroom from Versaille

Palace of Versailles

The Palace of Versailles , or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. In French it is the Château de Versailles....

. The saloon has Corinthian

Corinthian order

The Corinthian order is one of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric and Ionic. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order...

 pilasters, bold cornices and well carved festoon

Festoon

Festoon , a wreath or garland, and so in architecture a conventional arrangement of flowers, foliage or fruit bound together and suspended by ribbons, either from a decorated knot, or held in the mouths of lions, or suspended across the back of bulls heads as...

s

1908 Additions

The new owner engaged the architect W. H. Romaine-Walker

W. H. Romaine-Walker

William Henry Romaine-Walker was an English architect and interior decorator. From 1881 to 1896 he worked in partnership with Augustus William Tanner.-Works:These include:*Canford School, Canford Magna, Dorset, extended ....

 to enlarge the property, addings wings on the north front to house a Billiard Room and a Royal Suite, rumoured to have been built to make the property large enough for King Edward VII to visit. Additional rooms were added upstairs in the property too, taking the total number of bedrooms to 19. Finally, a rear terrace

Terrace (building)

A terrace is an outdoor, occupiable extension of a building above ground level. Although its physical characteristics may vary to a great degree, a terrace will generally be larger than a balcony and will have an "open-top" facing the sky...

 was also added.

Recent alterations

With the last planning permission on the property approved in 1993, the owners of Buckland House started applying for planning permission to improve the property:

• August 2002 for restoration of parterres, formal pools, a long pool, a ha-ha wall, replacement planting, reinstatement of a drive
  Driveway
  A driveway is a type of private road for local access to one or a small group of structures, and is owned and maintained by an individual or group....
  
   and widening the existing drive. Also extensions to the lower ground to create additional garage facilities, a swimming pool and a squash court.: (Approved)
• September 2002 for a helicopter landing pad
  Helipad
  Helipad is a common abbreviation for helicopter landing pad, a landing area for helicopters. While helicopters are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fabricated helipad provides a clearly marked hard surface away from obstacles where a helicopter can safely...
  
   with an underground bunker and tunnel link to the house. (Approved)
• March 2003 to make alterations. (Withdrawn)
• March 2003 to change the use of the property from residential to a hotel along with alterations and extensions. (Refused)
• April 2003 to change the use of the property from residential to a corporate headquarters. (Refused)
• April 2003 to change the use of the property from residential to a nursing/mental home. (Refused)
• June 2003 to make alterations, extensions and convert the property to be a nursing home
  Nursing home
  A nursing home, convalescent home, skilled nursing unit , care home, rest home, or old people's home provides a type of care of residents: it is a place of residence for people who require constant nursing care and have significant deficiencies with activities of daily living...
  
  . (Approved)
• June 2003 to make alterations, extensions and convert the property to be a corporate headquarters. (Withdrawn)
• January 2004 to change the use of the property from a residential property to an hotel. and make alterations and extensions. (Approved)
• February 2005 to remove existing CCTV cameras and replace with smaller ones.: (Approved)
• March 2005 to make alterations, extensions and refurbishment. (Approved)
• April 2006 for alterations and refurbishment and an extension to underground parking.: (Approved)
• December 2006 for retrospective permission for the erection of railings and gates. (Approved)
• April 2007 for removal of existing railings and the erection of new railings and a timber fence. (Approved)
• April 2008 for a new stone wall, car park provisions, demolition of entrance gates, new main and secondary gates, hard landscaping plus new security and livestock. (Pending consideration)
• 2004-2009 Complete internal restoration from complete full central heating to all rooms, complete rewire with state-of-the-art security and full restoration or replacement of all finer details, cornices, silk walls, gold leafed staircases, fireplaces etc.

Gardens

The entire landscape garden was designed by Richard Woods, a contemporary of Capability Brown

Capability Brown

Lancelot Brown , more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English landscape architect. He is remembered as "the last of the great English eighteenth-century artists to be accorded his due", and "England's greatest gardener". He designed over 170 parks, many of which still endure...

. The lakes were designed to look like a part of the River Thames

River Thames

The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...

 and were joined with a small waterfall.

During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century there was further landscaping and planting, supervised by Sir John Courtenay Throckmorton.

In 1908 Romaine-Walker created the formal terrace on the north front as part of the broad redevelopment commissioned at that time. Lady Fitzgerald supervised the construction of a water garden with rock paths on the north side of the lake.

The garden is occasionally open to the public under the NGS Gardens Open For Charity scheme with the entrance fee donated to the Richard Wellesley Memorial Transport fund.

Icehouse

An icehouse

Icehouse (building)

Ice houses were buildings used to store ice throughout the year, prior to the invention of the refrigerator. Some were underground chambers, usually man-made, close to natural sources of winter ice such as freshwater lakes, but many were buildings with various types of insulation.During the...

, also designed by Richard Woods, was sited half way between the two lakes on a north facing slope behind the house. The portico

Portico

A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...

 matches that of Buckland House. The icehouse is a cup and dome design, built partially underground and with a thatched roof, all to increase insulation. It was the subject of a local history article published on the BBC website. Estate workers would break ice from the pond with picks and saws, relay it to the shore and then quickly take it to the icehouse. Once there, it was packed hard to make maximum use of the interior. Throughout the year, manageable lumps of ice would be taken to the house, placed in ice-drawers in the kitchen larder

Larder

A larder is a cool area for storing food prior to use.Larders were commonplace in houses before the widespread use of the refrigerator.Essential qualities of a larder are that it should be:*as cool as possible*close to food preparation areas...

and then used for food preservation and making iced confections. This method enabled ice to be available through the summer months.