Harleyford Manor is a country house near Marlow in Buckinghamshire.
The house is listed Grade I on the National Heritage List for England, and its gardens are also listed Grade II on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. [1] [2]
The urn to the south west of the house, the ice house to the north east, and the dairy to the north, and the temple to the north east are all listed Grade II. [3] [4] [5] [6]
In addition to the buildings, two statues of Robert Clayton, to the west and to the east of the house, are also listed Grade II. [7] [8]
The house was designed by Sir Robert Taylor in the Georgian style and built for William Clayton, a Member of Parliament, in 1753. [9] The house remained in the Clayton family until 1950. [10] The present owners, who have owned the property since 1952, [11] converted the property to office use in 1988. [12] They operate a large marina and offer boat mooring services [9] but plan to convert the property into flats. [12]
The Clayton family who owned Harleyford Manor from the time it was built in 1753 until 1950 were notable wealthy landowners. William Clayton (1718-1783) who was the originator of the house was the second son of Sir William Clayton, 1st Baronet. He was a Member of Parliament for Bletchingley from 1745 to 1761, and for Great Marlow from 1761 to 1783. [13]
He frequently entertained at Harleyford Manor and there are several historical documents which record these occasions. In 1759 Elizabeth Montagu, the notable social reformer made the following comments:
"On Wednesday we dined at Mrs. Clayton's at Harleyford. I think it the most agreeable situation I have seen on the Thames, I mean as a place of residence, every object speaks peace and plenty, the silver Thames glides at the foot of their garden, lofty trees crown the summit, they have fine prospects, sweet lawns, fine cornfields and distant villages." [14]
The Royal family were also visitors to the house. In 1780 a letter records that the King, Queen, Princesses and Princes all visited Harleyford Manor. [15] The King and Queen at this time were George III and Queen Charlotte. Two years later Queen Charlotte records a recent visit that she made to Harleyford Manor. She said.
"I saw Lady Louise Clayton (William Clayton's wife) in perfect Health both at Harleyford and upon (Windsor) Terrace. Their place is now in the greatest beauty. We went all round it the other day and admired it very much" [16]
When William died in 1783 his son Sir William Clayton (1762-1834) 4th Baronet inherited the property. He was also a Member of Parliament and a wealthy landowner. In 1785 he married Lady Mary East, daughter of Sir William East, 1st Baronet of Hall Place, Berkshire. The couple had five sons and two daughters. [17]
In 1795 a book called "The New Print Magazine : Being a Collection of Picturesque Views and Beautiful Scenes in the Several Counties of England and Wales" was published. It contained an engraving of Harleyford Manor which is shown. [18]
William was in the 1st Regiment of Buckinghamshire Yeomanry Cavalry in about 1800 and he had several portraits of himself made in his uniform. Two of these are shown. One is a coloured portrait and the other is an engraving of him in front of Harleyford Manor. [19]
When William died in 1834 his eldest son General Sir William Robert Claytonin (1786-1866) inherited the house. He had a prominent career in the army and in 1815 was at the Battle of Waterloo. In 1817 he married Alicia Hugh Massy, daughter. and heir of Lt.-Col. Hugh O'Donel, MP of Tralee. The couple had two sons and two daughters. [20]
Sir William Robert Clayton (1842-1914) 6th Baronet married Aimee Gertrude Mackenzie who was the daughter of Edward Mackenzie of Fawley Court Court Henley. [21]
Sir Gilbert Augustus Clayton-East (1846-1925) passed the house to his son Sir George Frederick Lancelot Clayton East (1872-1926) when he died in 1925. His son was the owner for only one year as he died in 1926 and it was inherited by his son Sir Robert Alan Clayton-East-Clayton (1908-1932). He died young at the age of 24 leaving no children. The house was then inherited by his kinsman Sir Harold Dudley Philip Clayton (1877-1951). He sold the house in 1950. [22]
Wormleybury is an 18th-century house surrounded by a landscaped park of 57 ha near Wormley in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, England, a few miles north of Greater London. The house was rebuilt in the 1770s from an earlier house built in 1734. The house is a Grade I listed building. The garden is well known for its historic rare plant collection. There is a crescent shaped lake in the grounds, bordered by woods on three sides.
Clevedon Court is a manor house on Court Hill in Clevedon, North Somerset, England, dating from the early 14th century. It is owned by the National Trust and is designated as a Grade I listed building.
Elsham Hall is a 17th-century English country house situated in its own parkland in Elsham, North Lincolnshire. The park and gardens are open to the public.
Dinton is a village, civil parish and former manor in Wiltshire, England, in the Nadder valley on the B3089 road about 8 miles (13 km) west of Salisbury. The parish population was 696 at the 2011 census, estimated at 733 in 2019. The civil parish includes the village of Baverstock, about 1 mile (1.6 km) east of Dinton village.
Sutton Court is an English house remodelled by Thomas Henry Wyatt in the 1850s from a manor house built in the 15th and 16th centuries around a 14th-century fortified pele tower and surrounding buildings. The house has been designated as Grade II* listed building.
Halswell House is a Grade I listed country house in Goathurst, Somerset, England.
Orchardleigh is a country estate in Somerset, approximately two miles north of Frome, and on the southern edge of the village of Lullington. The privately-owned estate comprises a Victorian country house, Orchardleigh Lake with its island church, and an 18-hole golf course. It operates as a wedding and events venue.
Orchard Wyndham is a historic manor near Williton in Somerset, centred on the synonymous grade I listed manor house of Orchard Wyndham that was situated historically in the parish of Watchet and about two miles south of the parish church of St Decuman's, Watchet. Parts of the manor house are medieval. It has been owned for more than 700 years by the prominent Wyndham family, who continue there as of 2015.
Ripley Castle is a Grade I listed 14th-century country house in Ripley, North Yorkshire, England, 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Harrogate.
Wilton Castle is an early 19th-century mansion, built on the site of a medieval castle, now converted into residential apartments, situated at Wilton, in Redcar and Cleveland, North Yorkshire, England. It is a Grade II listed building.
The Thursby Baronetcy, of Ormerod House in the Parish of Burnley in the County Palatine of Lancaster and of Holmhurst in the Parish of Christchurch in the County of Southampton, was a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 26 July 1887 for John Hardy Thursby, then honorary colonel of the 5th Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment.
Boughton Monchelsea Place, previously Boughton Court, is a 16th-century country house in Boughton Monchelsea, Kent, England. The first part of the house was built by Robert Rudston circa 1567–75 on the site of an earlier manor house. It has been modified a number of times during its history achieving its present form in 1819. It has been a home to a number of members of parliament for Maidstone or for Kent, including Sir Francis Barnham, Sir Robert Barnham (1646–85) Sir Barnham Rider (1698–1728) and Thomas Rider (1805–47).
Newton Tony is a rural English village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, close to the border with Hampshire. Situated in the Bourne Valley, Newton Tony is about 9 miles (14 km) north-east of its post town, Salisbury. Wilbury House, a Grade I listed 17th-century mansion, stands in parkland in the north of the parish.
Ramsbury Manor is a Grade I listed country house at Ramsbury, Wiltshire, on the River Kennet between Hungerford and Marlborough, in the south of England.
Fowelscombe is a historic manor in the parish of Ugborough in Devon, England. The large ancient manor house known as Fowelscombe House survives only as an ivy-covered "romantic ruin" overgrown by trees and nettles, situated 1 mile south-east of the village of Ugborough. The ruins are a Grade II listed building.
Lupton is an historic manor in the parish of Brixham, Devon. The surviving manor house known as Lupton House, is a Palladian Country house built by Charles II Hayne (1747–1821), Sheriff of Devon in 1772 and Colonel of the North Devon Militia. It received a Grade II* listing in 1949. The park and gardens are Grade II* listed in the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.
Sir William Clayton, 4th Baronet of Harleyford Manor, near Great Marlow, Buckinghamshire was an English politician.
William Clayton of Harleyford Manor, near Great Marlow was an English politician.
Sir William Clayton, 1st Baronet of Marden Park, Surrey and later Harleyford, was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1715 to 1744.
Warleigh is a historic estate within the parish of Bickleigh in Devon, about 6 miles from Plymouth. Warleigh House, the manor house of the manor of Tamerton Foliot is situated one mile west of that village on the south-east bank of the River Tavy where it joins the River Tamar. It was remodelled in about 1830 in the Gothic style by John Foulston and has been listed Grade II* on the National Heritage List for England since 1960.