Chicheley Hall

Chicheley Hall stands in the rolling countryside of Buckinghamshire, a grand Baroque country house built in the early 1700s. Its red-brick façade rises three storeys above a raised basement, with a symmetrical front of nine bays. A central projection breaks the line, its taller windows curving at the top to match the roofline. Fluted Corinthian pilasters frame the centre and each wing, a rare British example of the style. Nikolaus Pevsner called the brickwork among the finest of its date. The house replaced an earlier Tudor manor, traces of which survive in a Jacobean over-mantel and panelling inside. The hall’s history includes colourful owners and dramatic events. Sir John Chester commissioned the house, but later owners included the 2nd Earl Beatty, who restored it in the 1950s with decorator Felix Harboard. During the Second World War it served as a Special Training School for SOE agents, including Czechoslovaks and Poles. The Royal Society bought the hall in 2007 and turned it into a science conference centre. The stable block now holds a 48-bedroom hotel with a conference wing. Inside, visitors enter a panelled Great Hall with a double-height ceiling painted with classical scenes. Oak staircases curve past marble columns to upper floors. The library hides its shelves behind panelling, disguising its purpose. Outside, 100 acres of parkland stretch around a lake and canal, laid out by George London and Henry Wise. An avenue of lime trees leads to the house, passing an octagonal dovecote beside the River Ouse. The gardens and outbuildings are Grade II and II* listed, adding to the estate’s architectural richness.