Cliveden

About the museum

The Cliveden estate was formed in the early 13th century, and its name means 'valley amongst cliffs'. In the 1660s George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, bought the land and had a mansion built on a great platform above the River Thames. The south terrace is the only part of that house that survives.

The estate passed through many hands. In the 1700s it belonged to the Earl of Orkney, who had the garden landscaped, and from 1737 it was leased to Frederick, Prince of Wales, whose court here saw the first performance of 'Rule Britannia'. Fires destroyed the main house in 1795 and again in 1849; the Duke of Sutherland then commissioned Charles Barry to rebuild it. In 1893 the American millionaire William Waldorf Astor bought Cliveden and filled it with fine interiors and a large collection of classical and Renaissance sculpture, adding the Long Garden and the East Asian-inspired Water Garden.

His son Waldorf and daughter-in-law Nancy Astor, the first woman to take her seat in the House of Commons, made Cliveden a centre of political life. During both world wars it housed a Canadian Red Cross hospital, and in 1942 the Astors decided to leave the estate to the National Trust. The Profumo affair began here in 1961. The house has been run as a luxury hotel since the late 1980s, while the National Trust cares for the gardens and woodland and offers guided visits of the ground floor.

Highlights

• Formal gardens, Water Garden and Long Garden overlooking the Thames
• One of the National Trust's most significant sculpture collections
• Guided 30-minute visits of the ground floor of the mansion (Monday, Tuesday and Thursday in season)
• Portrait of Nancy Astor by John Singer Sargent
• Storybook Play Den and maze
• Woodland and riverside walks and boating

Permanent exhibitions

• Guided house visits – Thirty-minute guided visits of the ground-floor rooms of the Astor mansion, including the Great Hall and the French Dining Room, held in season.
• Sculpture collections – Classical and Renaissance sculpture collected by William Waldorf Astor and placed across the gardens.

Operated by

National Trust

Admission & discounts

Admission from 1 March 2026, without Gift Aid. Tickets for the house visits are included in the admission price. National Trust members enter free. Parking on the estate is included in the admission price. Visits no longer need to be booked.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

A level route runs around the formal gardens, but the wider estate is large and has steps and steep slopes without handrails, especially down to the riverside, which is unfenced, and there are unfenced lakes and ponds. Paths around the formal gardens have a hard surface with loose gravel on top. Two manual wheelchairs and two all-terrain trikes can be borrowed from the Information Centre and should be booked in advance. An accessible shuttle bus is available on request. There are 22 disabled parking spaces in the main car park. Accessible toilets are at the Doll's House, next to the Storybook Play Den and in the Gas Yard. Hearing loops are at every till and assistive hearing devices are offered on house visits. The mansion is not accessible for wheelchairs or pushchairs. A sensory resource station at the Information Centre offers ear defenders and fidget toys. Assistance dogs are welcome in all areas.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Baby changing facilities
• Playground / play area

The Storybook Play Den and a maze are in the Water Garden area, and a woodland play trail and Clive's Den are on the estate. School-holiday programmes run, for example a games-based story adventure in the autumn half-term for ages 7–11 and crafting and storytelling sessions in the Doll's House. House visits are not suitable for children. A sensory resource station is at the Information Centre.

Getting there & parking

From the M4 take exit 7 onto the A4 towards Maidenhead and follow the brown signs; from the M40 take exit 4 to Marlow. The main entrance, opposite the Feathers Inn, is at Feathers Gate (postcode SL1 8NS). The entrance has width and height restrictions. The speed limit on the estate is 15 mph.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Restaurant: not available
• Museum shop
• Wi-Fi

The Conservatory Café serves hot and cold meals, drinks and snacks, with hot food from 11:30 to 14:30. A refreshment kiosk is in the Walled Garden car park, and there are further trailers in the woodland and by the river in season. The shop and plant centre are in the Walled Garden and the Weighbridge second-hand bookshop is in the Gas Yard. Free Wi-Fi is available on site, with the best signal at the Information Centre. Toilets with baby changing are at several points on the estate.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit