RESURRECTION OF SPRING COTTAGE
I remember staying at Spring Cottage a few years ago. I was drawn to the romance of this storybook house peeking out of a tree-lined pocket, at the edge of the rushing River Thames. Part of the historic Cliveden Estate near Windsor Castle, it twinkled with charm, perhaps sprinkled with fairy dust. But once inside, it felt like the worst part of a fairytale. It was deeply grimy, dirty, and tattered, so much so that I was creeped out just sitting on a chair or getting a cup of tea from the kitchen. It was odd because, despite its condition, it came with a uniformed, white-gloved butler and a heavy silver tea service at the ready. Preferring solitude, we gave him the week off so he and we could chill.
Built in 1813, with loads of style, I imagined the magnificent potential of the house cleaned up and loved a bit. Fortunately, albeit years later, someone else finally did something about it. Spring Cottage is reborn, having risen again after a major renovation, along with the massive main Cliveden manor house.
The entire 376 acre property is the epitome of blueblood grandeur. The Italianate estate originated in 1605, and has housed an Earl, three Countesses, two Dukes, a Prince of Wales and the Viscounts Astor. It belies a much wilder past than it’s formality lets on.
Cliveden sits on National Trust lands. Sweeping formal gardens are meticulously manicured. Comte Alfred d’Orsay was commissioned to build the grand Parterre, lined with boxwood labyrinths and endless stretches of yellow tulips on either side of the long path leading up to the manor. Bluebells carpet the carefully thinned woods.
Photo: Courtesy of Cliveden Estate
The Duke of Buckingham acquired Cliveden in 1666 so he could have a lovely place to entertain his mistresses and hunting buddies. A love triangle, two years later, led to a duel-to-the-death between the Duke and one mistress’s husband, the Earl of Shrewsbury. The Earl lost.
Since then, Cliveden has survived two catastrophic fires. It was offered and used as a hospital during WW1. It has hosted the famous and infamous, including Churchill, Roosevelt, Charlie Chaplin, kings, queens, and rock stars.
The Astors installed a swimming pool in 1961. It was a big deal, not only because swimming pools were not so commonplace at heritage estates, but also because that pool gave birth to a scandal that rocked Great Britain and brought a bit of anxiety to the rest of the free world.
Photo: Courtesy of Cliveden Estate
One of the sexiest fountains ever created flows at Cliveden. Voluptuous nymphs and cherubs swirl around baroque scallop shells, big enough for people to sit in, much of the sculpted marble wet, of course, and glistening in the sun and moonlight. It’s perfect for a carefree frolic.
Famous fountain and pool frolickers included Christine Keeler, a beautiful young woman, with an early career as a topless dancer, and her famous playmate, John Profumo, the British Secretary of State for War, in 1961. While Keeler was quite out there as a party girl, Keeler and Profumo had carried on their affair, mostly in secret, quietly hidden away in Spring Cottage. But it didn’t stay quiet for long.
Keeler was also found to be frolicking regularly with heavyweight drug dealer, Johnny Edgecomb and, even worse, with Yeygeni Ivanov, a Russian spy. Fears that pillow talk would bring about the fall of the British Empire, along with its allies, began grip the western world. By 1963, what became known as the Profumo Affair brought down the incumbent Conservative Party government, decimating the political careers of Profumo and his boss, the British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan.
Photo: Courtesy of Cliveden Estate
Moving on from its tawdry past and ensuing decay, the entire property has recently undergone a major facelift, and restored to its original glory. Spring Cottage is clean again (a major feat in and of itself!). It is now a 5-star accommodation. With period furnishings, a quaint Aga-endowed country kitchen, a private garden by the spring-fed lake, an unparalleled River Thames view and vintage boat launch. And the butler is still at your beckon call, if you want him. It is now springtime again for Spring Cottage. And as this video proves, it is truly beautiful now.
