Royal Lodge - History

History

The Lodge dates originally from the mid-seventeenth century, there being a house on the site by 1662. By 1750 the small Queen Anne style brick house was being used in conjunction with the adjacent dairy. By this time it was known variously as the Lower Lodge, to distinguish it from Cumberland Lodge, then known as the Great Lodge, or the Dairy Lodge.

From the mid-eighteenth century it was home to the military topographer and artist Thomas Sandby (brother of the better known Paul), as Deputy Ranger of the Great Park. The house was then known as the Deputy Ranger’s House.

It was enlarged by 1792, and was the home of Joseph Frost, the Park Bailiff, and then of the General Superintendent of Farms, after Sandby’s death.

George, Prince of Wales (later King George IV), planned to rebuild Cumberland Lodge, after he had become Prince Regent. He used the Lower Lodge as temporary accommodation in 1812. Alterations and additions were undertaken by John Nash for the Prince of Wales.

It was now a large and elaborate cottage in the contemporary style of the cottage orné, with thatched roofs, verandas, and a conservatory. It became known as the Prince Regent’s Cottage after the prince moved into it in 1815. The renovation of Cumberland Lodge was abandoned.

Additions were made after 1820. In 1823 Jeffry Wyatt (later Sir Jeffry Wyattville) succeeded Nash as architect, and the house (known now as the “King’s Cottage”) became known as the Royal Lodge in the late 1820s.

After 1830, King William IV ordered the demolition of all of the house, except the conservatory. It became a residence again in 1840, and was used as accommodation for various officers of the Royal Household to 1843, and 1873-1931.

The grounds extend to 90 acres (360,000 m2), partly under its own head gardener, but mostly the responsibility of the Crown Estates Commissioners. While the house has grown piecemeal since the 1840s, and remains relatively small and informal, the grounds have a unifying plan. This was the result of work undertaken by the Duke and Duchess of York in the 1930s, with the assistance of Sir Eric Savill, of the Windsor estate.

The grounds contain the miniature cottage Y Bwthyn Bach, a gift to Princess Elizabeth as a child from the people of Wales (1932).

The grounds also contain the Royal Chapel of All Saints, which is built on the site of a porter’s lodge, converted in the Gothic style in 1825 by Jeffry Wyatt for King George IV. One hundred yards from the Royal Lodge, it was regularly used by the King, and has since been regularly used by members of the Royal Family including Queen Elizabeth II. A chaplain was first appointed in 1852, and since 1981 the office has been held by one of the Canons of the College of St George (St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle). King William IV allowed the families of Great Park staff to use the then-tiny chapel, and this practice has continued to this day.

The chapel was substantially rebuilt in the 1860s by Samuel Sanders Teulon and Anthony Salvin, with a new chancel, and an east window in memory of Queen Victoria’s mother, Victoria, Duchess of Kent. The rebuilt chapel was consecrated in 1863, and a service of rededication was conducted by The Rt. Rev. Dr. Samuel Wilberforce, Lord Bishop of Oxford, in 1867. The chapel was altered after 1936 by Sir Edward Maufe, with a new ceiling in the chancel and royal pew, new choir stalls, and casing for a new organ.

In 1931, King George V granted Royal Lodge to the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth) as a country retreat. Wings were added on each flank in the 1930s. There are two lodges at the entrance, and groups of three cottages each side of the lodges. The main building has some 30 rooms, including 7 bedrooms, and a saloon (48' by 30' by 30'). The original conservatory survives.

After the death of George VI in 1952, The Queen Mother continued to use the house as one of her country retreats until her death there in 2002. Following extensive renovations, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, moved into the house in 2004, having vacated Sunninghill Park, and Royal Lodge remains his official residence.