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Great Westwood Manor House...
In 1776 the estate was purchased by the influential and dashing Earl of Clarendon, an envoy to George III, and has wife Jane the Countess of Essex and niece to King James II. Their dazzling dinner parties in the glorious surrounds of Great Westwood were legendary throughout aristocratic society!! The house remained in the Clarendon family for many years before
passing on to the Mousey family, the Barret family and then the
Earl of Dudley in 1948. It was during this time that Edward VIII,
Duke of Windsor, is know to have secretly resided at the house.
His self-imposed exile in France following his abdication from the
throne in 1937 for the marriage to Mrs Simpson, meant he had to
travel to England incognito. The house has been restored to some of its former glory of the past and is now owned by Dr Yoshiko Ouchi, founder of Yoshiko Entertainment. The beautiful gardens, idyllic green lawns and open fields offer a related and serene location for the busy operations of Yoshiko Records, an international record company based at Great Westwood and controlled from the Japanese Head Office. |
...nestles
between the valleys and woods deep in the rich rural countryside
of Hertfordshire. Dating back to the year 1307 when the King of
England, Edward II, cut down a large wood know as ‘Westwode’,
the estate has over the years played host to city gents, earls,
dukes and even kings!!
Great
Westwood, situated just 30 miles from Windsor Castle with it’s
miles of secluded land ideal for hunting, was a favoured treat for
the ex-king. His bedrooms – The Windor Suite, were always ready
and it is common knowledge in the small nearby village of Kings
Langley that he owned the estate – in all but name!