We could not have had a more beautiful autumn day on 1st October 2014 for this memorable visit. The sun shone as if it were mid summer!
About forty members and their guests arrived on time, and, on the suggestion of our guide, we divided into two groups so that viewing the interior of the house would be more personal and supported, while the second period would be free to explore the gardens and grounds at one’s own pace. A generous suggestion of great benefit to us all, but meaning that he had to do two tours, not one!
Taplow Court is a beautiful mid 19th century mansion set high above the Thames near Maidenhead. At the turn of the 19th/20th centuries, the great sportsman, William Henry Grenfell and his wife, Ettie, hosted gatherings of the elite, aristocratic social group, ‘the Souls’. It was a centre of Edwardian high society.
In fact, one of the reasons that Taplow Court was chosen as a visit was to follow up an earlier WW1 commemorative event by the Society in April 2014 called “Behind The Lines”, the programme for which was of WW1 poetry and prose and featured, amongst others, the soldier poet Julian Grenfell. Kari Dorme had researched the connection between the Grenfell family of Beaconsfield town and the Grenfell family of Taplow Court. Julian and his brother Billy (Gerald William Grenfell) of the Taplow family were cousins of Beaconsfield’s war heroes, the Grenfell twins. Capt Francis Grenfell was awarded the Victoria Cross in 1914. Tragically, both he and his twin brother, Riversdale, were killed in action in Flanders as were Julian and his brother, Billy.
Tranquil is the word that comes to mind when one recalls the gardens and grounds at Taplow Court. Everything was so beautifully cared for without being overpowering. Highlights have to include a magnificent wild flower meadow about the size of a football field – a giant Persian carpet effect of the most beautiful colours and textures. Then one recalls a water feature with a quietly flowing fall, elegantly moving exotic fish and lovely water lilies. On a different scale, but still with a tranquil aura, on the edge of the drop down to the Thames Valley is a row of vast cedars, depleted by the hurricane in 1987 but still sufficient to act as a sort of frame for the wooded slopes below whilst allowing glimpses of the valley floor and countryside beyond.
Amongst all this natural beauty it was interesting, too, to see the extent of restoration work being done to the stonework on the South West façade of the house, and, elsewhere on the site, to speak with the stone masons cutting complex forms from great blocks of Caen limestone imported from Normandy to match the original. A rare opportunity to see such great skill and commitment to excellence!
Inside the great house, we learned that a girls’ school was evacuated to it during WW2 and heard stories of some of the high jinks lively girls are capable of despite the presence of a pretty firm headmistress. After the war the property was used by the Plessey company who installed partitions in the beautiful large rooms in order to create office and other spaces.
Since the 1980’s the property has been owned by Soka Gakkai International(GKI) – a Buddhist society for the creation of value through peace, education and culture. GKI have wonderfully restored the interior to its original splendour. The large open space in the centre of the building, and reaching up to its full height, was created in the later years of the 1800’s to let in more daylight and is particularly impressive.
We were taken round other principal rooms including the Library which now has an impressive collection of Buddhist literature. Elsewhere there is a large scale installation to illustrate what was found in the Saxon burial mound in the grounds. One stands on a step and looks down as if into the burial chamber to see a model of the Saxon King in full regalia, surrounded by treasured possessions as recorded by the archeologists.
The huge sitting room overlooking the terrace had on display a most interesting exhibition entitled “A Family Goes to War”. One could have spent the whole visit studying this, especially the large number of artist preparatory sketch canvasses of young men of the family and friends facing the challenge of the Great War. It was never completed.
Colin Mitchell