Sunninghill Park
Encyclopedia
Sunninghill Park is a country house and estate of some 665 acre (2.7 km²; 1 sq mi), located north of Sunninghill
, lying between Ascot
and the southern boundary of Windsor Great Park
in Berkshire
, England
. It was the official residence
of the Duke of York
from 1990 until 2004.
until 1630 when King Charles I
granted it to Thomas Carey. In circa 1633, it was purchased by Sir Thomas Draper and sold in 1769 by his great grandson, Thomas Draper Baber, to Jeremiah Crutchley, whose family owned it until perhaps the death of Percy Edward Crutchley in 1940. The first significant house was built on the estate in the late Georgian period in the early 19th century, being a stucco
building of two stories with later additions.
It served as the headquarters of the American Ninth Air Force
from November 1943 to September 1944. The Crown Estate Commissioners
purchased the property in 1945, from the late Philip Hill
. The main house was made available to Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II
) and her future husband Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
, for after their marriage in November 1947, but the house burned down on 30 August 1947 before they could occupy it, so they rented Windlesham Moor
instead. In the mid-1960s the site was considered for a new home for Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
, but this did not happen.
of some 5 acre (20,234.3 m²; 217,800.2 sq ft) was purchased from the Crown Estate Commissioners on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II. The following year construction began on a two-storey red brick
house to be the home of the Duke and Duchess of York. The architect responsible was Sir James Dunbar-Nasmith
, Balmoral Estate Architect and Professor and Head of the Department of Architecture at Heriot-Watt University
. Construction was completed in 1990.
The house has six reception rooms, 12 bedrooms, and 12 bathrooms, and compares in size to the larger country houses built since the Second World War. Sunninghill Park was the first newly-built royal home since Bagshot Park
was built in 1879 for the Duke of Connaught
. In the British tabloid press the home was often referred to as 'SouthYork' a play on words for the 'Southfork
' estate on the popular 1980s soap opera Dallas
, and was also "mocked for its resemblance to a Tesco
-style supermarket".
Following the death of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
in 2002, it was announced that the Duke of York planned to move out of Sunninghill Park and into Royal Lodge
, Windsor, the Queen Mother's former residence. Until 2004, the Duke of York and his former wife
shared the family’s home, Sunninghill Park. That same year, the Duke moved to the refurbished Royal Lodge
, previously the home of his grandmother
, who resided there until her death in 2002. In 2007, the Duchess rented Dolphin House, and became next door neighbours with her ex-husband. He moved in 2004, following refurbishment of Royal Lodge, funded by taking out a mortgage on Sunninghill Park. HM Land Registry
records show that the house was sold for £15 million in 2007, £3 million over the asking price, to an offshore trust
in the British Virgin Islands
. Kenes Rakishev, a 29-year- old Kazakhstan
businessman who calls himself a 'friend' of Prince Andrew, has admitted negotiating the deal with the help of his father-in-law Imangali Tasmagambetov
, the mayor of Astana
; but insists neither of them is the owner. The British press have speculated that the most likely owner is his business partner, Timur Kulibayev
, the billionaire son-in-law of the Kazakh president, Nursultan Nazarbayev
.
On 24 February 2009, the Daily Mail
newspaper reported that the house has been allowed to fall into an increasingly derelict state. In July 2009, Bracknell Forest Borough Council were said to be considering seizing the property under the Housing Act 2004
and using it as a homeless shelter
, following several reported break-ins
.
Sunninghill, Berkshire
Sunninghill is a village in the civil parish of Sunninghill and Ascot in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the English shire county of Berkshire-Location:...
, lying between Ascot
Ascot, Berkshire
Ascot is a village within the civil parish of Sunninghill and Ascot, in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, Berkshire, England. It is most notable as the location of Ascot Racecourse, home of the prestigious Royal Ascot meeting...
and the southern boundary of Windsor Great Park
Windsor Great Park
Windsor Great Park is a large deer park of , to the south of the town of Windsor on the border of Berkshire and Surrey in England. The park was, for many centuries, the private hunting ground of Windsor Castle and dates primarily from the mid-13th century...
in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It was the official residence
Official residence
An official residence is the residence at which heads of state, heads of government, gubernatorial or other senior figures officially reside...
of the Duke of York
Prince Andrew, Duke of York
Prince Andrew, Duke of York KG GCVO , is the second son, and third child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
from 1990 until 2004.
First house
Sunninghill Park was originally part of Windsor ForestWindsor Great Park
Windsor Great Park is a large deer park of , to the south of the town of Windsor on the border of Berkshire and Surrey in England. The park was, for many centuries, the private hunting ground of Windsor Castle and dates primarily from the mid-13th century...
until 1630 when King Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
granted it to Thomas Carey. In circa 1633, it was purchased by Sir Thomas Draper and sold in 1769 by his great grandson, Thomas Draper Baber, to Jeremiah Crutchley, whose family owned it until perhaps the death of Percy Edward Crutchley in 1940. The first significant house was built on the estate in the late Georgian period in the early 19th century, being a stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
building of two stories with later additions.
It served as the headquarters of the American Ninth Air Force
Ninth Air Force
The Ninth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina....
from November 1943 to September 1944. The Crown Estate Commissioners
Crown Estate
In the United Kingdom, the Crown Estate is a property portfolio owned by the Crown. Although still belonging to the monarch and inherent with the accession of the throne, it is no longer the private property of the reigning monarch and cannot be sold by him/her, nor do the revenues from it belong...
purchased the property in 1945, from the late Philip Hill
Philip Hill
Philip Hill may refer to:*Philip Carteret Hill , premier of Nova Scotia*Phil Hill , American race car driver*UFO Phil, American novelty songwriter-See also:*Phillip Hill, pop punk bass player...
. The main house was made available to Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
) and her future husband Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Elizabeth II. He is the United Kingdom's longest-serving consort and the oldest serving spouse of a reigning British monarch....
, for after their marriage in November 1947, but the house burned down on 30 August 1947 before they could occupy it, so they rented Windlesham Moor
Windlesham Moor
Windlesham Moor is a country house and former royal residence at Sunningdale, Ascot, Surrey, England.- History :It was bought in 1942 for £40,000 by Philip Hill, from whom Sunninghill Park was later bought. He renovated the house in 1944. It was rented furnished from his widow, Mrs...
instead. In the mid-1960s the site was considered for a new home for Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon was the younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II and the younger daughter of King George VI....
, but this did not happen.
Second house
In 1988 the walled gardenWalled garden
A walled garden is specifically a garden enclosed by high walls for horticultural rather than security purposes, though traditionally all gardens have been hedged about or walled for protection from animal or human intruders...
of some 5 acre (20,234.3 m²; 217,800.2 sq ft) was purchased from the Crown Estate Commissioners on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II. The following year construction began on a two-storey red brick
Brick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
house to be the home of the Duke and Duchess of York. The architect responsible was Sir James Dunbar-Nasmith
James Dunbar-Nasmith
Sir James Duncan Dunbar-Nasmith, CBE, RIBA, PPRIAS, is a leading conservation architect from England.He was born in 1927, son of Admiral Sir Martin Dunbar-Nasmith, VC KCB KCMG DL...
, Balmoral Estate Architect and Professor and Head of the Department of Architecture at Heriot-Watt University
Heriot-Watt University
Heriot-Watt University is a university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The name commemorates George Heriot, the 16th century financier to King James, and James Watt, the great 18th century inventor and engineer....
. Construction was completed in 1990.
The house has six reception rooms, 12 bedrooms, and 12 bathrooms, and compares in size to the larger country houses built since the Second World War. Sunninghill Park was the first newly-built royal home since Bagshot Park
Bagshot Park
Bagshot Park is a royal residence located near Bagshot, a village south west of Windsor and approximately north east of Guildford . It is the current home of The Earl and Countess of Wessex. Bagshot Park is on Bagshot Heath, a fifty square-mile tract of formerly open land in Surrey and Berkshire...
was built in 1879 for the Duke of Connaught
Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn
Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn was a member of the shared British and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha royal family who served as the Governor General of Canada, the 10th since Canadian Confederation.Born the seventh child and third son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and...
. In the British tabloid press the home was often referred to as 'SouthYork' a play on words for the 'Southfork
Southfork Ranch
Southfork Ranch is a conference and event center located near Plano, Texas; it contains the Ewing Mansion, which was the setting for the 1978 - 1991 television series Dallas. The ranch is located at 3700 Hogge Drive in Parker, Texas.-History:...
' estate on the popular 1980s soap opera Dallas
Dallas (TV series)
Dallas is an American serial drama/prime time soap opera that revolves around the Ewings, a wealthy Texas family in the oil and cattle-ranching industries. Throughout the series, Larry Hagman stars as greedy, scheming oil baron J. R. Ewing...
, and was also "mocked for its resemblance to a Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
-style supermarket".
Following the death of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
in 2002, it was announced that the Duke of York planned to move out of Sunninghill Park and into Royal Lodge
Royal Lodge
The Royal Lodge is a house in the civil parish of Old Windsor, located in Windsor Great Park, half a mile north of Cumberland Lodge and south of Windsor Castle. It was the Windsor residence of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother from 1952 until her death there in 2002. Since 2004 it has been the...
, Windsor, the Queen Mother's former residence. Until 2004, the Duke of York and his former wife
Sarah, Duchess of York
Sarah, Duchess of York is a British charity patron, spokesperson, writer, film producer, television personality and former member of the British Royal Family. She is the former wife of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, whom she married from 1986 to 1996...
shared the family’s home, Sunninghill Park. That same year, the Duke moved to the refurbished Royal Lodge
Royal Lodge
The Royal Lodge is a house in the civil parish of Old Windsor, located in Windsor Great Park, half a mile north of Cumberland Lodge and south of Windsor Castle. It was the Windsor residence of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother from 1952 until her death there in 2002. Since 2004 it has been the...
, previously the home of his grandmother
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
, who resided there until her death in 2002. In 2007, the Duchess rented Dolphin House, and became next door neighbours with her ex-husband. He moved in 2004, following refurbishment of Royal Lodge, funded by taking out a mortgage on Sunninghill Park. HM Land Registry
HM Land Registry
Land Registry is a non-ministerial government department and executive agency of the Government of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1862 to register the ownership of land and property in England and Wales...
records show that the house was sold for £15 million in 2007, £3 million over the asking price, to an offshore trust
Offshore trust
An offshore trust is simply a conventional trust that is formed under the laws of an offshore jurisdiction.Generally offshore trusts are similar in nature and effect to their onshore counterparts; they involve a settlor transferring assets on the trustees to manage for the benefit of a person or...
in the British Virgin Islands
British Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands, often called the British Virgin Islands , is a British overseas territory and overseas territory of the European Union, located in the Caribbean to the east of Puerto Rico. The islands make up part of the Virgin Islands archipelago, the remaining islands constituting the U.S...
. Kenes Rakishev, a 29-year- old Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
businessman who calls himself a 'friend' of Prince Andrew, has admitted negotiating the deal with the help of his father-in-law Imangali Tasmagambetov
Imangali Tasmagambetov
Imangali Nurgaliuly Tasmagambetov is the current mayor of Astana, Kazakhstan. From December 2004-April 2008 he served as the mayor of Almaty...
, the mayor of Astana
Astana
Astana , formerly known as Akmola , Tselinograd and Akmolinsk , is the capital and second largest city of Kazakhstan, with an officially estimated population of 708,794 as of 1 August 2010...
; but insists neither of them is the owner. The British press have speculated that the most likely owner is his business partner, Timur Kulibayev
Timur Kulibayev
Timur Askarovich Kulibayev is a significant Kazakhstani public figure, and son-in-law of Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev. Kulibayev has held several positions in important state-owned enterprises that manage Kazakhstan's natural resources, and has immense influence over the country's...
, the billionaire son-in-law of the Kazakh president, Nursultan Nazarbayev
Nursultan Nazarbayev
Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev has served as the President of Kazakhstan since the nation received its independence in 1991, after the fall of the Soviet Union...
.
On 24 February 2009, the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
newspaper reported that the house has been allowed to fall into an increasingly derelict state. In July 2009, Bracknell Forest Borough Council were said to be considering seizing the property under the Housing Act 2004
Housing Act 2004
The Housing Act 2004 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It introduces Home Information Packs, which came into force for homes of four or more bedrooms on 1 August 2007. It also significantly extends the regulation of houses in multiple occupation by requiring HMOs to be licensed...
and using it as a homeless shelter
Homeless shelter
Homeless shelters are temporary residences for homeless people which seek to protect vulnerable populations from the often devastating effects of homelessness while simultaneously reducing the environmental impact on the community...
, following several reported break-ins
Trespass
Trespass is an area of tort law broadly divided into three groups: trespass to the person, trespass to chattels and trespass to land.Trespass to the person, historically involved six separate trespasses: threats, assault, battery, wounding, mayhem, and maiming...
.