Поледен Лейси: Эдвардианская усадьба и история поместья

Polesden Lacey is an Edwardian house and estate, located on the North Downs at Great Bookham, near Dorking, Surrey, England. It is owned and run by the National Trust and is one of the Trust's most popular properties. This Regency house was expanded from an earlier building, and extensively remodelled in 1906 by Margaret Greville, a well known Edwardian hostess. Her collection of fine paintings, furniture, porcelain and silver is displayed in the reception rooms and galleries, as it was at the time of her celebrated house parties. The future George VI and Queen Elizabeth spent part of their honeymoon there in 1923. The estate includes a walled rose garden, lawns, ancient woodland and landscape walks.

The name 'Polesden' is thought to be Old English. The first house was built here by 1336. Anthony Rous bought the estate in 1630 and rebuilt the medieval house. The house was owned by the Rous family until 1723, when the estate was purchased by the economist and politician Arthur Moore. An octagonal pavilion was added to the south front at this time. In 1747 Sir Francis Geary purchased the estate, and subsequently spent his retirement there. Richard Brinsley Sheridan, the poet and playwright, came to live there in 1797 and began work to improve the building. However this effort was counter productive and in 1818 Joseph Bonsor, a stationer and bookseller, bought the estate. He commissioned Thomas Cubitt to build an entirely new house in 1821 23, creating the core of the house seen today.

The Polesden Lacey estate was purchased in 1902 by Sir Clinton Edward Dawkins, a civil servant who worked in the Colonial Office. The estate was then bought in 1906 by William McEwan, for his daughter, Margaret Greville. Margaret continued to entertain lavishly at the house. She also owned a home in London in which she held expensive parties. Over the next 30 years her reputation as an Edwardian society hostess became established.

Polesden Lacey was left to the National Trust by Mrs Greville in 1942 in memory of her father, the brewer William McEwan. (She was his illegitimate daughter and sole heir.) The bequest included approximately of land along with paintings and items of furniture, which she hoped would form the basis of a future art gallery. The house was first opened to the public by the Trust in 1948. In August 1960, a fire destroyed around half of the roof of the property. Several ground floor ceilings were damaged by water during attempts to extinguish the blaze, however the collection of art and furniture was rescued by estate workers. The cost of repairs, some £65,000, was covered by insurance and the house reopened to the public on 9 June 1962. In 1995 the National Trust embarked on a programme of restoration and renovation. From the 1970s to 2015, some of these closed off spaces are used as offices; there is hope that more will be restored and opened for visitors in the future. This process began in March 2011, with the opening of Mrs Greville's private apartment. Polesden Lacey received over 287,000 visitors in 2020/21, placing it in the Trust's top ten most visited properties.

There are a number of walks around the Polesden Lacey estate, especially in the valley that the main house overlooks. The estate includes a Youth Hostel, called Tanners Hatch. Polesden Lacey also has open air performing facilities, which are used during the summer to host various musical and theatrical events. In 2009 there was the Polesden Lacey Festival. In 2016 a campsite was opened on the estate.

Polesden Lacey has been used as a filming location including; Close My Eyes, Shooting Fish, and Antiques Roadshow.