Beckley, near Oxford
Oxfordshire
England
Historic County: BerkshireCirca Date: 1540s w/17th & 20th century alterations and additions
Status: Fully Extant
House Open to Public: No
Country House: Yes
The house from the garden. This photo is in the public domain.
Earlier Houses: There was at least one earlier house on, or near, the site of the current house.
House & Family History: Probably built for Lord Williams of Thame as a hunting lodge, Beckley is a moated house situated on a site said to have belonged to King Alfred the Great in the 9th century. In 1920 the then-ruinous Beckley Park was purchased by Percy and Clotilde Kate Feilding, who sympathetically restored the house. Since 1998 Beckley Park has been the home of the Beckley Foundation, founded by Amanda Feilding to reform global drug policy and to support scientific research into psychoactive substances. Feilding, who was also the countess of Wemyss and March, died on May 22, 2025, at Beckley Park at the age of 82. Known during her lifetime as the Crackpot Countess and Lady Mindbender, Feilding believed that psychedelic drugs could be used to treat depression and other human ailments. The house is unusual for remaining little altered since it was built in the 16th century.
Garden & Outbuildings: The topiary garden was created in the 1920s as a form of living sculpture, with hedges dividing the garden into outdoor rooms.
Country Life: LXV, 400 plan, 1929.
Title: Glory of the English House, The
Author: Esher, Lionel
Year Published: 1997
Reference: pg. 50
Publisher: London: Barrie & Jenkins
ISBN: 0752904434
Book Type: Hardback
House Listed: Grade I
Park Listed: Grade II*
Current Seat / Home of: Feilding family; here since 1920.
Past Seat / Home of: SEATED AT EARLIER HOUSES: Roger D'Ivry, 12th century. King Edward III, 14th century. Richard, Duke of Cornwall (Richard of Bordeaux), later King Richard II, 14th century. Hamden family (crown tenants). Verney family (crown tenants). SEATED AT CURRENT HOUSE: Lord Williams of Thame, 16th century. Norrey family, 16th century. Ledwell family, 17th century. James Bertie, 1st Earl of Abingdon, until 1699; Montagu Venables-Bertie, 2nd Earl of Abingdon, 1699-1743; Willoughby Bertie, 3rd Earl of Abingdon, 1743-60; Willoughby Bertie, 4th Earl of Abingdon, 1760-99; Montagu Bertie, 5th Earl of Abingdon, 1799-1854; Montagu Bertie, 6th Earl of Abingdon, 1854-84; Montagu Arthur Bertie, 7th Earl of Abingdon, 1884-1920. Clotilde Kate Brewster Feilding, 1920-37; Basil Percy Terence Henry Feilding, 1937-86; Amanda Claire Marian Charteris (née Feilding), Countess of Wemyss and March, 1986-2025.
Current Ownership Type: Individual / Family Trust
Primary Current Ownership Use: Private Home
House Open to Public: No
Phone: 01865-351-019
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://www.beckleyfoundation.org/
Historic Houses Member: No