Sandringham House

[colynsmomma]

Does anyone have pics of Sandringham, then residence of King George and Queen Alexandra.

[Warren]

Google Images has dozens of pics of Sandringham.

[Royal Fan]

its quite Beautiful!

[Marengo]

Well, it seems one of those neo-Gothic Victorian monsters to me, but the garden is lovely of course. Was it built in 1862 or just aquired by the RF in that year?

[Elspeth]

I think it was built about 100 years earlier, but it looks so Victorian that there must have been extensive additions and renovations in the 19th century.

[Marengo]

Ah, those Victorians have a lot to awnser for, as Miss Marple said in one of Agatha Cristie's books... They ruined a lot of buildings (not that this one is particulary ugly).

Was it acquired by Queen Victoria or by the Prince of Wales? I usually associate it with Edward & Alexandra but maybe I am wrong in this.

And to end the bombardment of questions, I believe George and Mary received a house on the estate when they married. Much to the displeasure of May the house was so close to the main house that her sisters & mother-in-law dropped by very often (way to often probably, as Queen Alexandra was a possesive mother on all accounts). Anyway, I wondered what happened to their house, is it still there and who owns it? I believe to have read that the rooms were rather small.

[CasiraghiTrio]

Yes, the house on the estate favored by King George V & Queen Mary was York Cottage. Correct me if necessary, but I think I remember from the Duke of Windsor's book that even after his father became King, the King liked to stay in York Cottage, and so the Big House was totally left as domain of Queen Alexandra.

[muriel]

I have been to Sandringham House and it is, indeed a lovely building. Quite large, but not very imposing. The reception rooms (or at leat the ones they open up to the paying public) themselves are not very large, even though there are a great many bedrooms.

Not sure if you are aware, but the Queen and Prince Philip usually stay at Home Farm (or a similarly named building) when they visit Sandringham. The main house is typically only used at Christmas, and at other gatherings.

[CasiraghiTrio]

So then, they use the ?? "Wood Farm" house when they visit, except for Christmas? I know the Sandringham park and estate are many thousands of acres, with many villages, farms, forests. And the Queen has two or three stud farms on the estate. And at least one kennel.
Have you seen the official website?

Sandringham Estate - Stately Home, Apple Juice, Norfolk
The flash show on the main page shows you pics. I like the interior a lot. I like the equestrian statue of George V.

[muriel]

Originally Posted by CasiraghiTrio

So then, they use the ?? "Wood Farm" house when they visit, except for Christmas? I know the Sandringham park and estate are many thousands of acres, with many villages, farms, forests. And the Queen has two or three stud farms on the estate. And at least one kennel.
Have you seen the official website?

Sandringham Estate - Stately Home, Apple Juice, Norfolk
The flash show on the main page shows you pics. I like the interior a lot. I like the equestrian statue of George V.

Just saw the website, its very nice. If my memory serves me right, they use "Wood Farm" when they usually visit.

[jcbcode99]

I believe that "Wood Farm" was also where Prince John lived before his death at age 13.
Prince John: A Life in Pictures: Prince John, a life in pictures
(I wasn't sure where to put this, I couldn't find a "Prince John" forum"
Wood Farm:Google Image Result for http://www.cda.org.uk/megab2/build/solaris/images/image5.jpg



York Cottage: Image:York Cottage.JPG - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[CasiraghiTrio]

Yes, Wood Farm is the house where Prince John stayed.

If the tabloids are right, then Wood Farm is also used at Christmas to accommodate Sarah Ferguson. It would make sense with Muriel's information because at Christmas, said Muriel, the royal family uses the Big House.

I remember also that Sandringham is located about six miles from the coast. I think the royal family has a "beach hut" there. I wonder how much "hut" is accurate! The Althorp-Spencers, when living at Park House, had a "beach hut" too @ the seaside place called Brancaster. Maybe the royal family's beach house is in brancaster too?

[Iluvbertie]

Originally Posted by CasiraghiTrio

Yes, the house on the estate favored by King George V & Queen Mary was York Cottage. Correct me if necessary, but I think I remember from the Duke of Windsor's book that even after his father became King, the King liked to stay in York Cottage, and so the Big House was totally left as domain of Queen Alexandra.

Part of the reason for that was the Edward VII left Sandringham House to his wife for her lifetime as it was the only home that she could have throughout her life in Britain. She had had to move from Marlborough House to BP and back again.

Sandringham was Edward's personal home and therefore his to leave as he saw fit and he left it to his wife for her lifetime and then to his son, George, who decided to leave it to his son rather than to Mary, or someone else.

That is certainly my understanding from reading various accounts of the lives of Edward and Alexandra and what I was told by the guide at Sandringham itself.

[CasiraghiTrio]

Thanks, Iluvbertie. In the Duke of Windsor's biography, the Duke says that his parents were incredibly attached to York Cottage, and especially George V was so very happy with the way it had always been at the cottage and liked nothing better than to relax there and review his stamp collection. The DoW also implied that his father did not want to upset Queen Alexandra by disrupting the established order of things at the Big House.

Well, I just thought of two questions for anyone who might wish to help.

1) What has happened to "York Cottage" and what is it called and used for these days?

2) ANMER HALL -- I think this house was once a home for the Duke & Duchess of Kent, undoubtedly on lease from Her Majesty. But ....... I have read a few books (i.e. Dimbleby & Morton) that state that the van Cutsem family has the lease on this house now. Does someone know about this?

[jcbcode99]

I think that York Cottage is now used as offices and such---I may be wrong, but I seem to recall reading that somewhere recently.

[ada]

Thank you so much jcbcode99 for the pics, especially Prince John

[muriel]

Originally Posted by CasiraghiTrio

Yes, Wood Farm is the house where Prince John stayed.

If the tabloids are right, then Wood Farm is also used at Christmas to accommodate Sarah Ferguson. It would make sense with Muriel's information because at Christmas, said Muriel, the royal family uses the Big House.

I remember also that Sandringham is located about six miles from the coast. I think the royal family has a "beach hut" there. I wonder how much "hut" is accurate! The Althorp-Spencers, when living at Park House, had a "beach hut" too @ the seaside place called Brancaster. Maybe the royal family's beach house is in brancaster too?

If my contention that HM and Prince Philip use Wood Farm regularly is true, I doubt very much that Sarah is accomodated there at Christmas. There are a number of other dwellings on the estate, and I am sure she is given the use of one of them for some time.

[muriel]

Originally Posted by Iluvbertie

Part of the reason for that was the Edward VII left Sandringham House to his wife for her lifetime as it was the only home that she could have throughout her life in Britain. She had had to move from Marlborough House to BP and back again.

Sandringham was Edward's personal home and therefore his to leave as he saw fit and he left it to his wife for her lifetime and then to his son, George, who decided to leave it to his son rather than to Mary, or someone else.

That is certainly my understanding from reading various accounts of the lives of Edward and Alexandra and what I was told by the guide at Sandringham itself.

Sounds very plausible to me!

[CasiraghiTrio]

Originally Posted by muriel

If my contention that HM and Prince Philip use Wood Farm regularly is true, I doubt very much that Sarah is accomodated there at Christmas. There are a number of other dwellings on the estate, and I am sure she is given the use of one of them for some time.

Well, it is always the Daily Mail and The sun and or the Mirror that claim Sarah stays in Wood Farm at Christmas, with the royal family all at the big house, so as always with those publications, we should take it with a grain of salt. It's likely that you're right about her using another house and maybe the tabloids just say it's Wood Farm to give it a name. I mean, who would correct them? Not the royal family.

[Stefan]

Originally Posted by CasiraghiTrio

Thanks, Iluvbertie. In the Duke of Windsor's biography, the Duke says that his parents were incredibly attached to York Cottage, and especially George V was so very happy with the way it had always been at the cottage and liked nothing better than to relax there and review his stamp collection. The DoW also implied that his father did not want to upset Queen Alexandra by disrupting the established order of things at the Big House.

Well, I just thought of two questions for anyone who might wish to help.

1) What has happened to "York Cottage" and what is it called and used for these days?

2) ANMER HALL -- I think this house was once a home for the Duke & Duchess of Kent, undoubtedly on lease from Her Majesty. But ....... I have read a few books (i.e. Dimbleby & Morton) that state that the van Cutsem family has the lease on this house now. Does someone know about this?

But from what i read Queen Mary was not to happy with York Cottage as it was very small and especially when they had guests and after Mary and Albert had married there wasn't enough room for all people.