Taplow Court

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Taplow Court front view

Taplow Court is a large Victorian house in the village of Taplow near Maidenhead, Buckinghamshire, England.

In the grounds of the house, near the church, is a 7th century Anglo-Saxon burial mound. This was excavated in 1883 and a number of treasures were discovered, unrivalled until the discovery of Sutton Hoo in 1939.

There has been a manor house on the site since before the Norman Conquest in 1066. The manor was owned by the monks at Merton Priory until the Dissolution of the Monasteries. It was then owned by the Hampson family in the 17th century, coming under attack during the English Civil War. In the 18th century, Taplow Court was home to the Earl and Countess of Orkney.

Taplow Court inside view

From 1852, Taplow Court became the home of the Grenfell family, in particular William Grenfell, 1st Baron Desborough and his wife Ettie. They hosted an aristocratic and elite group known as "the Souls" at the house. Visitors included Henry Irving, Vita Sackville-West, Prince of Wales, H. G. Wells, Edith Wharton and Oscar Wilde.

A stické court was built by Lord Desborough at Taplow Court in 1892 and the dimension of this court subsequently became the became the standard size of the court.

After World War II, Taplow Court was owned by British Telecommunications Research and Plessey Electronics. Since 1988, the house has been a Soka Gakkai Buddhist centre.

Taplow Court is also the name of a building in Middle Warberry road, Torquay, UK. It is formerly known as Ridgehill. It is now divided into several rental flats.