Private.
Heritage Open Day visit.
Taplow Court is a large Victorian house in the village of Taplow in south Bucks. The present house was originally Jacobean, but arrived at its present appearance by stages of modification and extension, by the Earls of Orkney in the 18th century, then after it was sold in 1852, by the Grenfells. William Grenfell, Lord Desborough, was the organizer of the first Olympic Games in Britain, in 1908.
The focus of the interior is the three-storey Norman Hall, inserted by the Orkney heir, Thomas Hamilton in the 1830’s. The hall doors are beautifully decorated with carved wood panels.
The house is now owned by SGI (Soka Gakkai International Buddhists), who seem to have spent a great deal of money restoring the house and grounds.
The attractive grounds include gardens, and there is an important Saxon burial mound just behind the house.
The house and grounds are worth a visit. They are open free of charge on several Open Days each year.
