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TAPLOW LODGE - Cliveden Road
This is an intriguing (edited) article by Daman Torsden who was responsible for producing a horror film The Harrowing in Taplow back in 2002 and is of course the site of the present Orkney Court. I am surprised that the building was allowed to get into such a terrible condition. I believe it used to be the Nurses Home for the Canadian Red Cross Memorial Hospital. Thought you might enjoy it. Ed. I find it hard to believe that there isn't a single mention of Taplow Lodge elsewhere on the web. Not one. This is all the more intriguing when you consider that it was arguably more impressive than the Canadian Red Cross Memorial Hospital (CRCMH) itself. I would even go so far as to say that, for the sheer sight of it, Taplow Lodge was easily one of the country's finest abandoned buildings. But perhaps the major reason for this lack of general acknowlegement is that it no longer exists. The site - dead opposite the CRCMH on the other side of the Cliveden Road - was bulldozed and turned into the 'Orkney Court' housing estate (presumably named after Lord Orkney - a former owner of Cliveden, responsible amongst other things for planting the woods around the CRCMH) some time during late 1995. That the dilapidation of such a building was ever allowed to happen borders on being criminal.
Taplow Lodge was somewhat older than the adjacent hospital. It appears on the 1882 map during a time when Cliveden was still home to the Duke of Westminster, and the CRCMH was not even a twinkle in the Astors' eyes. Below is a 19th-century engraving, taken from a 1750 painting from when Frederick, Prince of Wales, and father of 'mad' King George III, moved to Cliveden. Contrary to the 'wishful-thinking' theory written on the graphic itself, the white building to the right of the picture is undoubtedly meant to be Taplow Court.
As part of the Cliveden estate, it was a grandiose building in itself - pre-Victorian but made substantially bigger during the late 19th century. Containing stables and workshops, Taplow Lodge was no doubt originally utilized by the Cliveden grounds staff. Later, it was used as accomodation by CRCMH nurses for a while before it fell into disrepair - apparently being in such a state (disgusting, cold and falling apart) that the nurses simply moved out. There is even a rumour that a servant's tunnel connected Taplow Lodge to the main buildings at Cliveden - and also of a well with no apparent bottom. Sadly, little else is known about the place.
We spent a very long time exploring the CRCMH before we actually discovered Taplow Lodge - and quite accidentally at that. I can't imagine why. Perhaps because it was so well hidden from the road - behind thick bushes and trees, down a gravel track that looked for all the world as if it was somebody's driveway. But we were amongst the fortunate ones. I'd say that an infinitely small proportion of CRCMH explorers throughout the years were ever aware that an equally fantastic experience awaited them across the road. Certainly among the adventurers I've encountered this appears to have been the case.
We first stumbled upon the place on the first day of shooting Mist Raiders. I'm not sure why we wandered off in the opposite direction for a change, but the cars were parked fairly close to what once would have been a driveway to the Lodge. Entering via the southern end of the site, the first thing we came across were a collection of outbuildings - stables and the like. We were certainly quite lost for words in finding yet another run-down site so close to the CRCMH (and indeed only later discovered the true identity of our find, having studied maps). We shot one scene in what appeared to be an old hall (perhaps a coachworks?) next to some stables. Like its CRCMH counterpart - there was a raised stage - and the fact that such a building existed (if that's what it really was) points to the fact that the site we were exploring had no less prestige than Cliveden itself.
Making our way around the side of these outbuildings, we met with a sight that was not so much awe-inspiring as completely out of this world. We just couldn't believe our eyes. Talk about stumbling into Narnia. A huge white crumbling stately home nestled in an open parkland setting enclosed by thick forest. Don't get me wrong - the CRCMH is very impressive - but this was something else.
Thankfully we have preserved some images of the truly remarkable sight that Taplow Lodge truly was.
External textures on the main building - note interesting iron balcony:
Once inside the main building, the decay was instantly visible. Unlike most of the CRCMH, there was a feeling that the place was quite structurally unsound. Ceilings and walls had collapsed. Much of the interior was a mess, and we truly had to tip-toe around everything. Some areas though still retained an air of grace. None more so than the grand staircase. This part of the house made me think of The Poseidon Adventure. Junk all over the place, yet this majestic staircase still winds its way to the upper balconies with lavish burgundy wallpaper throughout. Sadly, this dark part of the house wasn't treated kindly on film, with only our small torch to pinpoint features - though there were no such issues with the naked eye. We did dare to venture up the stairs - cautiously - but turned back from a room not far from the top when the floor began making very unsavoury noises.
The stairs leading down to the cellar held no such fears. Again too dark to photograph with much success, but perhaps the most fascinating part of the house. The atmosphere of the place changed from regal country manor house to the misty backstreets of Victorian London. The cellar consisted of strange bare-brick passageways with cobbled floors that brought back memories of the Jack The Ripper exhibit at Madame Tussauds. An incredibly creepy place. In the time we were down there, we failed to exhaust every single alley. Possibly because we were frightened to death. If the stories of a secret tunnel between here and Cliveden are true, it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest. This basement area would have been the perfect place to start or finish such an affair.
Unfortunately, that's about as far as our Taplow Lodge exploration ever took us. Had we known its immediate fate at the time (i.e. impending demolition), perhaps we'd have made more of an effort to document the place. But as it stands, all that's left is here on these pages for you all to see. For those who live today in what has become the Orkney Court estate. Can you please pull up your floorboards and see if there happens to be any, say, secret passage leading to Cliveden or anything under your house?
Damon Torsten