Cherkley Court
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The House
Cherkley Court (near Leatherhead, Surrey, United Kingdom) is a late-Victorian mansion, best known as the country estate of Lord Beaverbrook, businessman, politician and owner of the Express Newspapers group. It had been damaged by fire, prior to Beaverbrook purchasing it, and he went on to turn it into a comfortable country seat that he kept for the next 50 years. During Beaverbrook's time, the house attracted many famous weekend guests including Winston Churchill, Andrew Bonar Law, Rebecca West, H.G. Wells and Rudyard Kipling.Beaverbrook passed the house on to his son Max some years before his death, and the house later became property of the Beaverbrook Foundation (a charitable foundation set up by Lord Beaverbrook), an organisation that is today headed by Timothy Aitken, Beaverbrook's grandson.
Cherkley Court Today
By 2002 Cherkley Court had fallen into disrepair and in recent years the foundation has been restoring the property, to open it to the public in the style of great houses owned by the National Trust. A stream of planning applications to Mole Valley District Council demonstrates their commitment to the project, but they have run into opposition especially from local residents, who object to the estimated 50,000 visitors per year to the house and remodelled gardens. A new access road would be required to give access to the house, which is tucked in behind the well-heeled Givons' Grove etsate, and this road has been the focus of a lot of local opposition. Today it is still not really possible to visit Cherkley Court, although there are footpaths across the estate, including the nearby Stane Street, the Roman Road from London to Chichester.Location
Off the A24 (Leatherhead bypass) near the Beaverbrook roundabout. Ordnance Survey Grid Reference TQ178544. (Landranger Sheet 187, or Explorer 146).External Links
- [The Beaverbrook Foundation]
- [The Surrey Advertiser, local newspaper that has covered the rennovation story]
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