Cliveden

Winston, if you were my husband, I'd poison your tea.
Nancy, if I were your husband, I'd drink it

“Let’s take a vote: all those in favor of returning the Stanford Program to Cliveden, raise your hands!”

Our weekend adventure took us to the Astor estate (yes- that Astor, Lady Nancy Astor of the Churchill/Tea/poison fame!)

As we drove through the massive gates towards the equally spectacular gardens, our jaws dropped, and we didn’t recover until our departure two hours later.

The façade of Cliveden was something definitively more than a house and minutely less than a castle- surrounded by splendor, magnificence, and incredible opulence. The gardens were filled with statuary, shaped trees, and specifically grown black/deep purple tulips, interspersed with white tulips, creating a shadowed wave effect throughout the grounds.

We wandered through the grounds and heard personal stories and histories from Stanford staffers who were employed during the Stanford at Cliveden years, during which time (the late 60s to the early 80s) Stanford students were the great home’s only occupants, thanks to an Astor intention that their address should be inhabited for the greater good of American education. During those decades, the program promoted art and art history, political science, and travel, as students enjoyed living in the main house and the servant’s quarters… and were able to view such pieces as the John Singer Sargent portrait of Lady A that still hangs in the sitting room today, where modern guests take their 5 star restaurant tea. Today, the national trust has turned the estate into a 5star hotel. The collection of cars (which would have paid for several Stanford educations) outside the main doors was proof to the illustrious guests within- as were the not-so-subtle secret service-esque earpieces worn by a few men loitering conspicuously outside their black cars, waiting for someone within.

In awe, we were hushed, just whispering our excitement and joy at being in such magnificence… oh and for the democratic proceedings- every hand was raised when asked about returning to Cliveden- after all, Nancy Astor was the first elected female MP, so democracy is simply a matter of respect for the estate. 

what ho! 

ej