Sunninghill Park

Sunninghill Park is a country estate of about 269 hectares in the civil parishes of Sunninghill and Ascot and Winkfield, directly north of Cheapside. It adjoins Windsor Great Park in Berkshire. The estate was once part of Windsor Forest. A royal house stood there in 1511, built for Princess Mary. In 1630, King Charles I granted the estate to Thomas Carey. Around 1633, Sir Thomas Draper purchased it and his family owned it until 1769. The early 19th-century house was a stucco building of two storeys with later additions. It served as headquarters of the American Ninth Air Force from November 1943 to September 1944. The house burned down on 30 August 1947, just before it was to become the home of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip. In the late 1980s, a red-brick house was built for the Duke and Duchess of York. The architect was Sir James Dunbar-Nasmith. The 1980s house had six reception rooms, twelve bedrooms, and twelve bathrooms. It was often called ‘Southyork’ in the tabloid press. After the Duke moved to Royal Lodge in 2004, the house stood empty and fell into disrepair. Doors hung open, weeds grew through the terrace paving, and windows were broken. A larger house was built in its place but has never been occupied.