Elveden Hall
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Elveden Hall is a large privately owned house overlooking the vast Elveden Estate in Elveden, Suffolk. It is located centrally to the village and is close to the A11 and the Parish Church.
The exact date of the hall's first construction is unknown but it is known to have been a Georgian country house belonging to Admiral Keppel.
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[edit] The Maharajah (1849-1894)
In 1849, the Maharajah Duleep Singh, ruler of the Punjab and owner of the famous Koh-i-noor diamond was exiled to England, having been removed from his kingdom by the British East India Company.
The Maharajah purchased the 17,000 acre Elveden Estate in 1863 and set about rebuilding the country house and dressing it in an Italian style. However, he redesigned the insides to resemble the fine Mughal palaces that he had been accustomed to back in his childhood. He also extended his building work to include an aviary where exotic birds such as Golden Pheasant, Icelandic Gerfalcons, Parrots, Peafowl and Buzzards were kept.
Elveden Hall played host to a wide range of sporting activities but none rivalled the Maharajah's passion for shooting. His shooting parties included well known figures including:
- Prince George, Duke of Cambridge
- Lord Frederick Fitzroy
- Duke of Athol and the Duchess of Athol
- Lord Colville
- Sir Hugh Cholmeley
- Right Hon. Lord Huntingfield
- Colonel Bateson
- Lord de Grey
- Lord Beaumont
- Lady Mildred Coke
- Lord Walsingham
- Lord Powercourt
- Lord Stradbroke
After seasons of poor farming in the 1870s, a downturn in the Maharajah's personal fortunes and political tensions in government, the Maharajah left Elveden and England in 1886. After his death in 1893, his executors sold Elveden Hall in 1894 to Edward Cecil Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh.
The contents of Elveden Hall were sold off by Christie's, the auctioneers, in the 1980s. The house stands empty.
[edit] The Earls of Iveagh (1894-present day)
The Guinness brewing family purchased Elveden Hall in 1894
- Edward Cecil Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh (1847-1927)
- Rupert Edward Cecil Lee Guinness, 2nd Earl of Iveagh (1874-1967)
- Arthur Francis Benjamin Guinness, 3rd Earl of Iveagh (1937-1992)
- Arthur Edward Rory Guinness, 4th Earl of Iveagh (b. 1969)
The Heir Apparent is the present holder's son Arthur Benjamin Geoffrey Guinness, Viscount Elveden (b. 2003)
[edit] Filming location
Elveden Hall's unique and impressive architecture and surrounding landscapes have been used for filming on a number of occasions. These films include;
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.
- Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page
- Edward Cecil Guinness
[edit] External links
- Elveden Estate and Farms
- A Year in the Life of a Country Estate - A series of 12 articles about Elveden from the BBC, dating from 2003.
