The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester left their 40-room Barnwell Manor in 1995 due to the high cost of maintaining the sprawling 436-year-old estate
Barnwell Manor was supposedly too pricey to maintain
The Queen’s relatives, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, were forced to leave their private home due to financial pressures. The pair previously lived in Barnwell Manor, Northamptonshire, a Grade II-listed property with 40 rooms and 12 acres of land, offering a grand country residence fit for royalty.
In 1938, the late Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, the third son of King George V, bought the house and estate with his wife, Princess Alice, the late Duchess of Gloucester. However, it was announced in 1995 that Alice, along with her son, daughter-in-law and their children, would be moving from the home to live in an apartment at Kensington Palace.
Unfortunately for the Queen’s cousins – Prince Richard, the Duke of Gloucester, and his wife, the Duchess, Birgitte van Deurs – leaving Barnwell Manor wasn’t a choice. The Independent reported that the Duke receives financial aid from the Queen through the Civil List at £175,000 per year which, when combined with the Gloucester’s income from farming, was not enough to maintain the 436-year-old manor.
In 1938 Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, the third son of King George V, bought the house and estate alongside his wife, Princess Alice the Duchess of Gloucester(Image: Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
As a result, the Duke and Duchess and their children Alexander Windsor, Earl of Ulster, Lady Davina Windsor and Lady Rose Gilman moved to Apartment 1 at Kensington Palace. Despite this, there were no plans to sell Barnwell Manor, so they decided to lease it out for £30,000 per annum.
In 1995, when the family moved from Barnwell Manor, their private secretary Major Nicholas Barne told The Herald: “This is not an overnight decision.
“It’s basically for financial reasons. There has been a general erosion of finances over the years due to the size of Barnwell Manor and difficult times for farming.”
The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester reportedly had no plans to sell Barnwell Manor, so they put it up for rent for £30,000 per year(Image: Artur Lesniak/Reach)
Their new home, which was adjacent to Prince William and Kate Middleton’s grand Apartment 1A residence, featured an impressive 21 rooms.
Nevertheless, in 2019, the Gloucesters opted to downsize following their children’s departure, relocating to The Old Stables, also situated within Kensington Palace.
Since 2017, Barnwell Manor has been home to Windsor House Antiques, traditional antique dealers known for providing quality antiques.
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