page_title: Polesden Lacey
section_title: Early 20th Century
hierarchical_section_title: Polesden Lacey / Early 20th Century
caption_attribution_description: English: Ronald Greville and Margaret Helen Greville who owned Polesden Lacey
context_page_description: 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 1,400-acre estate includes a walled rose garden, lawns, ancient woodland and landscape walks.
  The future George VI and Queen Elizabeth spent part of their honeymoon here in 1923.
context_section_description: The Polesden Lacey estate was purchased in 1902 by Sir Clinton Edward Dawkins, a career civil servant, who commissioned Ambrose Poynter, architect son of Sir Edward Poynter P.R.A., to significantly extend Cubitt's work to create the present house. Sir Clinton, however died shortly after its completion. The estate was then bought in 1906 by William McEwan for his daughter, the former Margaret Anderson, and her husband Captain the Honourable Ronald Greville.
  Architects Charles Mewès and Arthur Davis, who were responsible for the Ritz Hotel in London, remodelled the house for the Grevilles.  The couple filled the house with collections of fine furniture, porcelain, silver and art.
  Ronald Greville died in 1908 only two years after they had moved to Polesden Lacey. He was aged 46. 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.
caption: Ronald and Margaret Greville, c. 1900
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