Lunch at The Lutyens Memorial Hall, Gerrards Cross, with afternoon visit to Nashdom

Sunday 25 May 2025, 12.30 to 4.00pm

Lutyens Memorial Hall, 8 East Common, Gerrards Cross, Bucks SL9 7AD

and Nashdom, Nashdom Lane, Burnham, Bucks SL1 8NJ

Lutyens Memorial Hall. Image courtesy, Tim Skelton.

Lunch, Lutyens Memorial Hall

In the aftermath of the First World War, the Gerrards Cross Vicar was keen to have a “living memorial” which would be of use to the village community and its ex-service personnel. Although Lutyens designed over 40 war memorials in the aftermath of the First World War, Gerrards Cross was the only one in which he was commissioned to design a memorial with a functional purpose.  The building is based on the 18th-century vicarage stables. It is a rectangular structure constructed predominantly of red brick, most of which is painted white, with a slate roof and a large portico, which houses a stone memorial plaque the height of the wall. Lutyens’ original proposal included a similar portico at the rear of the building to allow for a larger hall, but this was not built.

Nashdom

Sketch.  Courtesy of the Nashdom Estate.

Nashdom. Image courtesy of the Nashdom Estate

Nashdom was built from 1905-09 for the Prince and Princess Dolgorouki as retreat to entertain their friends. Living at Claridge’s Hotel, the 18th C Wappington Manor in  Northamptonshire, Braemar Castle bordering the royal estate of Balmoral with wintering in Rome and the South of France, this house was only used on weekends. Prince Alexis was Chamberlain to the Tsar, owned his own Russian estate, Mikhailovka, near the border of the Crimea in the Ukraine, is described as having extensive landholdings and their later London house in Upper Grosvenor Street was in his name.  Lady Lytton (Sir Edwin’s mother-in-law who was a lady-in-waiting) was at Balmoral when the Tsar visited in the 1880s and noted that the Princess was in attendance. Lady Lytton particularly mentions the notoriety of the large rental fee for Braemar Castle and her spectacular jewels.

Nashdom from the south. Image courtesy of Nashdom Estate.

The main bulk of Nashdom was divided into three, a large ballroom with its own entrance staircase, then two huge suites, one each for the Prince and Princess, which could be opened into enfilades of over a hundred feet each.  From the drawings at the RIBA and the photographs, it appears that Sir Edwin provided furniture for the drawing and dining rooms – you can see his spider back chairs in the photographs.  So perhaps the round dinner table with a fountain in the middle was his idea?   Gertrude Jekyll was consulted on the planting of the gardens, and we shall visit these as well as parts of the house. The ruined water garden has marked similarities with that of Vann.  During the 1920’s the house was then converted to a Benedictine abbey, the first founded in Britain since the Reformation, and twenty five years ago became apartments.  Although the house is divided up, we will be able to visit certain apartments and the public spaces, which include the sweeping staircases, the writing room with the MacDonald Gill designed wind dial and two-story palm court, within the house.

Price £45 to include lunch.

Start at 1230, The Lutyens Memorial Hall, 8 East Common, Gerrards Cross SL9 7AD, for a light Lunch.

Delegates are to provide their own transport . Both the Memorial Hall and Nashdom have parking on site.