Earlier Houses: An earlier house (visited in 1601 Queen Elizabeth I on her last progress) was demolished in 1731 and replaced by the current house.

Built / Designed For: 2nd Baron Onslow

House & Family History: The Onslow family acquired land here in 1641; three Onslows were speakers in the House of Commons. The 2nd Baron Onslow built the current house in the early 18th century to the designs of the Venetian architect Giacomo Leoni. One of the glories of Clandon was the hall—a single cube: 40 feet by 40 feet by 40 feet. The room contained two chimneypieces with reliefs carved by Michael Rysbrack, while the plaster ceiling was probably the work of G. Artari. Clandon was bequeathed to the National Trust in 1956 by Lady Iveagh, the 6th Earl's aunt, who wrote at the time: "It is with the deepest satisfaction that I can now feel that my old home is safe for the future." On April 29, 2015 Clandon suffered a devastating fire that gutted 95% of the house and destroyed most of the contents. The fire was caused by an electrical fault in a fuse box that spread up an elevator shaft and swept through the house, in what became the worst disaster in the National Trust's history. In January 2016 the National Trust announced, in what it called the "biggest conservation project in a generation," that the ground floor would be returned to its original 18th century plan, while the top floor will be entirely recreated as a modern exhibition space, all at an estimated cost of £65 million, the majority of which will come from the insurance payout. The house was also home to the Queen's Royal Surrey Regimental Museum, though much of its collection was lost in the fire.

Collections: Clandon contained a superb collection of 18th century English furniture, porcelain, textiles, and carpets acquired in the 1920s by the connoisseur Hannah Gubbay (a cousin of Sir Philip Sassoon), as well as the Ivo Forde Meissen collection of Italian comedy figures, a series of Mortlake tapestries, and a small portrait of Hannah Gubbay by Rex Whistler. Virtually all of these were lost in the 2015 fire.

Garden & Outbuildings: The grounds contain a parterre garden, the grotto, the sunken Dutch Garden, and the Maori Meeting House.

John Preston (J.P.) Neale, published under the title of Views of the Seats of Noblemen and Gentlemen in England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, among other titles: 2.S. Vol. III, 1826.

Country Life: LXII, 366 plan, 398, 434, 1927. CXLVI, 1456, 1582, 1969. CXLIX, 1004 [Gubbay Collection], 1971.

House Listed: Grade I

Park Listed: Grade II

Past Seat / Home of: SEATED AT CURRENT HOUSE: Thomas Onslow, 2nd Baron Onslow, 1730-40; Richard Onslow, 3rd Baron Onslow, 1740-76; George Onslow, 1st Earl of Onslow and 4th Baron Onslow, 1776-1814; Thomas Onslow, 2nd Earl of Onslow, 1814-27; Arthur George Onslow, 3rd Earl of Onslow, 1827-70; William Hillier Onslow, 4th Earl of Onslow, 1870-1911; Richard William Alan Onslow, 5th Earl of Onslow, 1911-45; Onslow family here from 1641 until 1956.

Current Ownership Type: The National Trust

Primary Current Ownership Use: Visitor Attraction

House Open to Public: Limited Access

Phone: 01483-222-482

Fax: 01483-223-479

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk

Historic Houses Member: No