Cherkley Court

Restoration of Cherkley Court, home of Beaverbrook between 1910 and 1964, has been the major project of the Beaverbrook Foundation in the last decade.

The house is set in 400 acres of park and woodlands, with sixteen acres of landscaped gardens that are open to the public from April to September. The house itself is only available for private events.

Cherkley Court was acquired by Beaverbrook in 1911, the year after he entered Parliament. Following a fire in 1893, the house had been substantially rebuilt and restored in the French chateau style as a last-gasp monument to the richness of late Victorian architecture. Beaverbrook was much influenced in his purchase by his friend Rudyard Kipling, as well as by the proximity of the house to London, making it within easy reach of Westminster and the City.

The house was used by Beaverbrook principally to entertain. Among others, Bonar Law, Asquith, Kipling, Duff Cooper, Harold Macmillan and Winston Churchill were regular guests. During World War II the house was an important centre for Lord Beaverbrook's activities as Minister for Aircraft Production and a key member of Churchill's War Cabinet.

 

Following the death of the Dowager Lady Beaverbrook in 1994, the Beaverbrook Foundation has undertaken an extensive renovation programme of the house and estate.

Visit the Cherkley Court Site