A BRIEF HISTORY OF TAPLOW
Woodford House is in the village of Taplow that has been home to people since the dawn of civilization. Excavations have uncovered a flint axe over 5,000 years old and Bronze Age tools and pottery dated around 2,000 BC. From about 1,000 BC until Roman times the area was dominated by a large hillfort set on a high ridge overlooking the important highway of the river Thames. This natural defensive position was surrounded by vast ditches and ramparts which protected many dwellings and a granary.
When the Romans left around 410 AD Taplow found itself at the crossroads of the warring Saxon kingdoms of Mercia, Wessex and Kent. Today, you can still visit the vast mound where, Tappa, a 7th century Anglo-Saxon warrior is buried. This is said to be Taeppa’s Hlaw or Tappa’s Mound from which the village of Taplow got its name. An excavation of the Burial Mound in 1883 uncovered Tappa’s remains wearing gold braided garments and golden ornaments and surrounded by a sword, shields, lances, a lyre and many other precious objects that are now on display in the British Museum in London.
Around the 8th century a small church was built near the Burial Mound and in the 13th century it was replaced by a larger medieval church. In 1828 a new church was opened at the other end of the village and the ruins of the medieval church were cleared away.
Next to the burial mound is Taplow Court – a splendid Manor House that has been rebuilt and modified over the centuries. It is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 that, after defeating Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William the Conqueror gave the Manor of Taplow to his half-brother, Odo, Bishop of Bayeux. In 1196 Odo’s relatives sold the Taplow estate to Merton Priory that kept it until seized by Henry VIII in 1538 as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries. In the 1640s the house was plundered by both Royalists and Parliamentarians during the Civil War.
In 1852 Charles Pascoe Grenfell purchased the Taplow estate from the 5th Earl of Orkney. Charles’ grandson William inherited the estate in 1867 at the age of 11. Willy, as he was known, became an accomplished sportsman whose many exploits included swimming the pool at the base of Niagara Falls in a snow storm and climbing the Matterhorn and four other mountains in eight days. Willy was also dedicated to public service and served in many capacities including as a Member of Parliament first as a Liberal and then as a Conservative, and in between being High Steward of Maidenhead and the town’s Mayor. At one time he was on at least 115 committees.
In 1905 Willy became Lord Desborough in recognition of his services to sport and local government. Perhaps his finest achievement was to bring the Olympic Games to England for the first time in 1908.
In 1887 Willy married Ethel Fane who became Taplow Court’s hostess to “The Souls”, a sparkling group of intelligent, witty and artistic people. Visitors included the Prince of Wales, Oscar Wilde, H G Wells, Henry Irving, Edith Wharton and Vita Sackville-West. The Desboroughs had three sons and two daughters, but all the boys died young – two at Flanders in World War I.
In 1988 Taplow Court was acquired by Soka Gakkai International of the United Kingdom (SGI-UK), a lay Buddhist organization dedicated to a more humane society and a peaceful world. For a few days each year Taplow Court is open to the public, free of charge. At other times it is worth asking if anyone is available to show you around. Also, Taplow Court can always be viewed from the Burial Mound.
This brief history of Taplow includes information published by SGI-UK, for which we are most grateful.