Cliveden owes its beautiful setting high above the River Thames to the foresight of its founder, George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, who built the first house on this site in 1666. Villiers’ appreciation of the location’s natural potential was ahead of its time and predates the landscaping ideas of Capability Brown by more than a century.
The Second Duke built Cliveden to be a hunting lodge and a place where he could entertain his friends, including favourite female company. This is when Cliveden had its earliest brush with notoriety, as – unfortunately for the Duchess of Buckingham – it was where the Duke brought his mistress, the Countess of Shrewsbury, to conduct their affair.
It was said of Buckingham that "a young lady could not resist his charms...all his trouble in wooing was, he came, saw and conquered". In light of his passionate nature, it is not a surprise to learn that the Duke ended up challenging his mistress’ husband to a duel for her honour, which was fought on 21st January 1668. Lady Shrewsbury is reputed to have shown no emotion as her husband received what proved to be a fatal wound. A cross-sword emblem set into Cliveden’s East Lawn commemorates this bloody encounter.
Buckingham’s relationship with the Countess continued, but he never fully recovered from the fall from social grace that it provoked. He eventually left Cliveden for a quieter life away from the royal court, following the death of King Charles II in 1685. He himself died aged 59 in 1687, allegedly having caught a cold while pursuing his second great love after women, fox-hunting. So ended the first famous (and infamous) chapter in Cliveden’s history.
Cliveden, 1666-1696 - The 2nd Duke of Buckingham
