Polesden Lacey House

Gt. Bookham, nr. Dorking, Surrey

Situated on the North Downs near Dorking, the 1,400-acre estate and house of Polesden Lacey was the residence of the Edwardian society lady Margaret Greville, the illegitimate daughter of brewery magnate William McEwan, until her death in 1942. After her death, the house was made open to the public in accordance with her wishes, and is now administered by the National Trust, which has restored it in the style of an opulent Edwardian mansion.

The house was designed in the neo-classical style by Thomas Cubitt and completed in 1824, but was rather staid. Ambrose Poynter was therefore commissioned to augment the house in 1903. It was bought by the Mrs. Greville and her husband Capt. Ronald Greville in 1906, who commissioned the architects of the Ritz hotel, Mewes and Davis, to turn it in to a house fit for royalty, to wit, King Edward VII, a friend of Capt. Greville.

After her husband's death in 1908, Mrs. Greville continued to entertain politicans, royalty and nobility and foreign dignitaries. King George VI and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother honeymooned at Polesden Lacey.

A walled rose garden and the grave of Mrs. Greville are situated at the rear of the house.