| Mapledurham House | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Mapledurham,Oxfordshire, England |
| Coordinates | 51°29′5.28″N1°2′7.80″W / 51.4848000°N 1.0355000°W /51.4848000; -1.0355000 |
| Built | c.1585; 440 years ago (1585) |
| Governing body | Mapledurham Estate |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
| Official name | Mapledurham House |
| Designated | 24 October 1951 |
| Reference no. | 1368944 |
  Location of Mapledurham House in Oxfordshire | |
Mapledurham House is anElizabethanstately home located in thecivil parish ofMapledurham in theEnglish county ofOxfordshire. It is a Grade Ilisted building, first listed on 24 October 1951.[1][2]
The manor of Mapledurham was bought in 1490 by Richard Blount of Iver however the current house was started bySir Michael Blount (c1530-1610) and has remained in the Blount-Eyston family to this day.[2][3][4] Building was started around 1585, at the time of theSpanish Armada,[2] in the classic Elizabethan E-shape.[citation needed] It includes a late 18th-century chapel built in theStrawberry HillGothic Revival style for therecusant Roman Catholic owners of the house.
Prior to theCatholic Emancipation, the owners would hide priests in itspriest holes, some of which were only discovered in the 21st century, and secretly celebrateMass with a makeshift altar hidden inside awriting desk.[4] The estate covers much of the village includingMapledurham Watermill and part of the church.
Anne of Denmark stayed at Mapledurham in August 1612 as a guest of Sir Richard Blount, before meetingJames VI and I atWoodstock Palace.[5]
The poetAlexander Pope was a frequent visitor to the house as he was enamoured ofTeresa andMartha Blount.[6] The house and surrounding village were used for the filming of the1976 film ofThe Eagle Has Landed and also for several television series, includingMidsomer Murders.[7] It is also reputed to have been the inspiration forE. H. Shepard's illustrations ofToad Hall forKenneth Grahame'sThe Wind in the Willows, although this is also claimed byHardwick House, Fowey Hall Hotel,[8]Foxwarren Park[9] andFawley Court.[10]
Sight-seeing helicopter flights run from the estate, with up to 70 short flights per day, caused complaints about noise levels, with one local resident describing it in 2013 as like being "inVietnam during a high intensity attack". A representative of the estate responded by saying that they had taken account of the complaints by reducing the number of helicopter flight days from 20 to 10 per year.[11][12]
{{cite web}}:|last= has generic name (help)