Cumberland Lodge

Cumberland Lodge is a fascinating place. A twenty-minute walk straight up the Long Walk from Windsor Castle, this royal lodge has been home to a string of royal personnages, a military hero, and was the site of secret negotiations leading to the abdication of Edward VIII. Today, the lease on the Lodge is granted by the Queen, as it had been by her father George VI, to the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Foundation of St Catharine’s. Founded in 1947 with the help of Amy Buller, te foundation permits students to attend academic conferences and retreats. When I attended one such conference (Feb. 2007), my attention was firmly focused upon the house and not the sociology lectures! The man who enjoyed the 2006-7 residency position offered some of us a wonderful tour of the house. Every historical point was accompanied by an personal anecdote. He indicated that during his tenure the extent to which the house was haunted became increasingly clear. He mentioned an Indian professor whose first words upon entering the Lodge were: what wonderful spirits inhabit this home. And ultimately, despite its very prestigious inhabitants over the years, Cumberland Lodge still retains its cozy familial atmoshpere.

The 1st duke of Marlborough died in the room pictured above (just to the right of the photo frame). The resident who guided the tour told of a haunting experience which he himself had only a few weeks before. After a water pipe had burst in the kitchen, he was forced to ring a plumber on an emergency basis. The fellow who arrived came came in the side door, at the far end of the house, and said: I'm a bit clairvoyant and I feel there are many spirits in this house. As he worked, they chatted about those spirits, and the resident asked if the plumber/clairvoyant would visit the drawing room; just to satisfy the resident's curiosity about the spirits; he's previously been told that the drawing room was the most haunted one in the Lodge. The plumber said sure, and after his work was complete, they set off down the long corridor (Fitzalan Corridor); the drawing room was at the extreme other end of the house from the kitchen. As they walked, the plumber began to express some reservations. They traversed the great hall, rounded the main staircase, and arrived in the anteroom outside the drawing room. The plumber said he probably shouldn't go any further; he felt odd. The resident said something to the effect of: well you've come this far, let's just go in. He proceeded to open the door, stepped in and moved to turn the lights on just as the plumber was stepping over the threshold. Just at the moment when the resident flicked the switch, the plumber had not yet completely entered the room, and all the bulbs in the chandelier exploded at once! My conjecture is that they woke the sleeping duke.

Marlborough, or John Churchill, was the famed general of heroic renown, who vanquished the Franco-Bavarian forces at Blenheim during the War of the Spanish Succession. His wife, Sarah the indomitable, was Mistress of the Robes, Groom of the Stole, Keeper of the Privy Purse, Ranger of Windsor Great Park, and generally the favourite of Queen Anne. History generally accepts that with her strong character she deftly kept the Queen, until the end of her reign, wrapped around her finger. The Marlboroughs were awarded the lease on the former royal hunting lands at Woodstock, Oxfordshire; where Vanbrugh was commissioned to build Blenheim Palace. Ultimately Sarah dismissed Vanbrugh and oversaw the completion of the vast palace herself. Despite Blenheim Palace, the Marlboroughs preferred their London house and their cozy home down the road from Windsor Castle; then known as either Byfield House, Great Lodge or Windsor Lodge; a compact and symmetrical house at the top of the road from Windsor Castle. When Sarah fell from favour she and the duke travelled throghout Europe, where his status as a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, and his heroic stature, brought them the highest honours wherever they went. After Queen Anne's death in 1714, the couple returned to England. Despite a modest return to favour during the reigns of the first two Georges, they never regained the power which they wielded over the crown as they did over the last Stuart monarch.
Princess Marie-Louise of Schleswig-Holstein.
Cumberland Lodge's name is derived from the title of its first royal inhabitant: Prince William, Duke of Cumberland; second son of George II; in antagonisation of his detested older brother Frederick, Prince of Wales. He was appointed Ranger of the Great Park by his father. William was a military man, though not of the same stature as Marlborough. In fact, he acquired the unfortunate monicker: Billy the Butcher, or Butcher Cumberland; for the massacre underhis command of Scots at Culloden. William required alterations made to the Marlboroughs cozy little house, in order to accommodate the large retinue of a high-ranking prince. The lodge was considerbaly enlarged, and reconfigured; with the front door moved to the north front from the east. He introduced a menagerie at the Lodge, and spent most of his retirement there. When his father died, William became a confidant to his nephew; the young George III.

The next prince to inhabit the Lodge was again a Duke of Cumberland; Prince Henry Frederick; George III's youngest brother. Fatherless from a tender age, and coddled by his over-protective mother, Augusta, Princess of Wales, Henry grew up to be an insolent, petulant and all around spoiled brat. As a young man, he was involved in a scandal involving a married woman. he pushed his brother's patience to its limits when he secretly married a daughter of an Irish peer. This action prompted George III to push for the adoption of the Royal Marriages Act (1772); requiring the sovereign's consent to marriages of all members of the Royal Family. This act is still law, and was what precluded Princess Margaret from marrying her dashing captain. It was this Duke of Cumberland who introduced George IV, when still Prince of Wales, to Brighton; as well as to the more licentious side of life. For the young PoW, his uncle Cumberland's debauched circle provided the escape from his father's stuffy, rigid court. Uncle and nephew became quite close, the Duke being aware of Georgy's secret wedding to Mrs. Fitzherbert. Ultimately Henry's petulance and increasingly haughty mannerisms with his nephew meant that, for the sake of his dignity, the PoW distanced himself from his uncle. Henry preferred London to Windsor, but is known to have used the Lodge for hunting excursions and occassional celebrations.

Upon his younger brother's death, George III assumed the rangership himself (he was determined to keep the post in the Royal Family). Despite her constant demands of money (all refused), the King allowed the Dowager Duchess of Cumberland to remain in residence at the Lodge. She spent most of her remaining years, however, living abroad where her limited allowance spread further. After her death in 1809, George III began to make alterations to the Lodge with a view to using it as his own country retreat. The King engaged architect James Wyatt, of Stawberry Hill fame, who transformed the west front to the very fashionable gothic style. The King never had his country retreat due the advance of Porphyria; known as his madness. His son, Georgy, concentrated his efforts upon neighbouring Royal Lodge, which was built in the cottage orne style by Nash. While in the area, nash also undertook necessary repairs to Cumberland Lodge; completing work left unfinished my George III's seclusion at Windsor Castle. George IV used the Lodge as a guest house to Royal Lodge during Ascot Week. He also diverted the road leading to the castle (the Long Walk) at Snow Hill, where he erected a statue of his father (known as the 'The Man on the Copper Horse'). Throughout the 1820s the Lodge continued to be improved and updated (e.g. a water-closet in 1824). William IV offered the Lodge to his younger brother, the Duke of Sussex, who declined anyway.
Wyatt's gothic west front.
During the early reign of Queen Victoria, the Lodge provided accommodation to a series of court officials. It was her third daughter, and fifth child, Princess Helena (Lenchen to her family), who was to be the last royal inhabitant of Cumberland Lodge. Helena married Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein on condition that he assume the rangership and the couple remain in England. At first, the couple lived at Frogmore House, only steps from Windsor Castle, but the air there seemed to be detrimental to Helena's health. Victoria was not keen to let her move very far away from Windsor. In November 1869, Cumberland Lodge was ravaged by a strong fire which left Billy the Butcher's north-addition completely gutted. Queen Victoria arrived on the scene of the conflagration with her youngst children, and toured the burned-out building. At one point while touring what remained of the upper level, the Queen was 'pumped' upon and drenched accidentally. The fire meant that Lord Bridport, the latest court official to take up residence, was out. Victoria wanted the house rebuilt to the standards of the day, and of proportions fitting for a memeber of the Royal Family. Helena and her growing family took up residence in 1872. That year, Helena's younger daughter, Marie-Louise, was born at the Lodge; the first royal baby to be born there. In 1912, Helena undertook renovations which moved the main staircase to its current placement, installed electricity, as well as creating a second floor. Helena was well respected during her life for her charitbale work, especially for nursing and the YWCA. Living at Cumberland Lodge enabled Helena to spend part of every day with the Queen when both were in residence at Windsor. The Queen took an active interest in organizing the household staff at the Lodge, and would drive over from the castle to visit with Helena and her family. Helena died at Schomberg House, Pall Mall, in 1923; ending, for now, the use of Cumberland Lodge as a royal residence.
the back staircase.
The lease provided to the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Foundation of St Catharine’s is valid only during the lifetime of the monarch who provided it. In other words, although not probable, there is still a chance that Cumberland Lodge revert to a royal residence during successive reigns. Although the house is closed to the general public, walkers can enjoy its exterior while walking through the Great Park.