The first house here was built in 1708 by Sir John Vanbrugh, the Restoration playwright and architect of Blenheim and Castle Howard.
Vanbrugh later sold it to the Duke of Newcastle, who twice served as Prime Minister. He changed the name to Claremont after inheriting the title Earl of Clare.
Two great wings and a turret were added to the house from which society guests could admire the sweeping views of the Surrey countryside, and the gardens were developed into formally arranged terraces and geometric parterres with a grand amphitheatre.
Newcastle commissioned the renowned landscape architect William Kent to create a more fashionable and naturalistic style of gardening, but by 1768, the house was considered to be damp and out of fashion and thus demolished. Only the White Cottage and the striking Belvedere Tower survive to this day.
After Newcastle’s death, the estate was sold to Robert Clive, the first British Governor of the Bengal Presidency.
The present-day Palladian mansion was built for Clive in 1774 by the celebrated landscape architect Lancelot “Capability” Brown, with interiors designed by Henry Holland.
The dimensions of the Great Room are said to have been designed specifically to accommodate a large opulent carpet – now lost – which Clive brought back from India.
Despite spending over £100,000 on the building and remodelling the grounds, Clive never lived there – he committed suicide in 1774, the year the house was finished.
In 1816, Claremont became a royal residence when bought as a wedding present for George IV’s daughter and future heir to the throne Princess Charlotte and her husband Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg.
The following year, Charlotte died in childbirth, an event that altered the succession of the British crown.
Charlotte’s bedroom is now used as a senior school history classroom. Leopold retained ownership of Claremont until his death in 1865 but left England to become the first King of the Belgians in 1831.
Queen Victoria was a frequent visitor to Claremont as a child.
She lived a secluded and suffocating life at Kensington Palace, so staying with her Uncle Leopold at “dear old Claremont” was a rare opportunity to enjoy some freedom.
She continued to come for extended stays as an adult – in 1840, she and Prince Albert set out from here for the Epsom Derby. After her uncle’s death in 1865, Parliament granted Claremont to her for her lifetime.
It passed to Queen Victoria’s grandson, Charles who as a German general in World War I, was disinherited of the mansion.
The estate was sold to shipping magnate Sir William Corry and later German financier Eugen Spier. When the latter was declared bankrupt, the estate was broken up and sold.
In 1931, Claremont established itself as a school for girls from Christian Science families, incorporating Fan Court School for boys in 1978.
Notable alumni include OBE English actress, comedian and singer Joyce Grenfell, television presenter Michaela Strachan and screenwriter and producer Miles Millar.
