Taplow Court is a Victorian house in the village of Taplow in

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Its origins are an

Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...

manor house, remodelled in the early 17th century. In the 18th century the court was owned by the Earls of Orkney. In the 1850s, the court was sold to Charles Pascoe Grenfell, whose descendants retained ownership until after the Second World War. The court then served as a corporate headquarters for British Telecommunications Research (BTR) an independent research company set up in 1946. BTR was subsequently acquired by Plessey Electronics. In 1988 it was bought by the

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

foundation, Soka Gakkai International and serves as their UK headquarters. The court is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

, and its present appearance is due to a major rebuilding undertaken by

William Burn William Burn (20 December 1789 – 15 February 1870) was a Scottish architect. He received major commissions from the age of 20 until his death at 81. He built in many styles and was a pioneer of the Scottish Baronial Revival, often referred ...

for Charles Grenfell in 1855–1860. In the early 20th century, the court was home to William Grenfell and his wife Ettie. She was a noted Edwardian hostess, and Taplow Court became a gathering place for The Souls, a group of aristocratic intellectuals.

History

Pevsner and Williamson record the court's "complicated" history. Its origins are an Elizabethan manor, which was reconstructed after a fire in 1616 by Sir Henry Guildford. In the 18th and early 19th centuries the court was owned by the Earls of Orkney, who has also owned the adjacent Cliveden. From 1852, Taplow Court became the home of the Grenfell family, purchased by Charles Pascoe Grenfell in August of that year. It was inherited in 1867 by his grandson William Grenfell, 1st Baron Desborough where a prominent social role was also played by his wife Ettie. Ettie was described by her nephew David Cecil as "the most brilliant hostess in an age of brilliant hostesses", and hosted an aristocratic group known as " the Souls" at the house. Visitors included

Henry Irving Sir Henry Irving (6 February 1838 – 13 October 1905), christened John Henry Brodribb, sometimes known as J. H. Irving, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility ( ...

, Vita Sackville-West,

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

then

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...

, Patrick Shaw Stewart, Edith Wharton and

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

. During the Great War, the Grenfells lost two of their three sons. Julian was killed by a shell splinter in May 1915, and his brother Billy was killed in July the same year. A letter of condolence from

Arthur Balfour Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour (; 25 July 184819 March 1930) was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905. As Foreign Secretary ...

, printed in the Grenfell's ''Family Journal'', begins: "I do not pretend to offer consolation; in one very real sense there is no consolation to be offered. The blow, the double blow, has fallen and the shock which threatens the very citadel of life can be softend by nothing that I or perhaps any other can do or utter". A

stické Stické, also called stické tennis, is an indoor racquet sport invented in the late 19th century merging aspects of real tennis, racquets and lawn tennis. It derives from (Ancient Greek meaning "the art of playing ball"), the term originally gi ...

court was built by William Grenfell at Taplow Court in 1892 and the dimension of this court subsequently became the standard size of the court. In 1913 Taplow Court was rented by Rodman Wanamaker, the U.S. Department Store magnate. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Taplow Court was owned by British Telecommunications Research, a subsidiary of Plessey Electronics until 1988 when it became a Soka Gakkai International(SGI) Buddhist centre.

Description

The present building dates mainly from William Burn's rebuilding in 1855–1860.

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...

describes Burn's chosen style for the exterior of the court as "early Tudor", and its interior as "Romanesque". Constructed of red brick, with four storeys and slate roofs, it is a Grade II listed building. The interior contains a double-height hall, enclosing the Elizabethan inner courtyard, which was undertaken for Lord Orkney and has been attributed to Thomas Hopper, the architect of Penrhyn Castle. Pevsner notes the "beautiful" restoration of the house, undertaken by SGI. The grounds have their own Grade II listing on HE's Parks and Gardens Register.

Notes

References

Sources

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External links

Taplow Court information

Taplow Court Open Days

{{authority control Country houses in Buckinghamshire Engineering research institutes Grenfell family History of telecommunications in the United Kingdom Plessey Research institutes in Buckinghamshire Soka Gakkai Tourist attractions in Buckinghamshire