This stately home was bought in 1863 by Duleep Singh, the last maharajah of Punjab, who rebuilt it in Indian style. The hall was bought in 1894 by Edward Guinness (of brewery fame), since 1921 Earl of Iveagh. From the August 1942 to the end of WWII in Europe the hall was the Headquarters of the 3rd Bombardment Division of the USAAF. Current owner is Arthur Edward Rory Guinness, 4th Earl of Iveagh (b. 1969) and the hall is still private residence. Interior scenes for the films "Eyes Wide Shut" and "Tomb Raider" were filmed here.
More history:
http://www.sikhspectrum.com/022005/maharaja_hsv.htm
Elveden Hall
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By Hinkkanen @ 2005-08-13 12:28:37
I was lucky enough to go inside the hall when Christies came to sell the contents. It was beautiful - all the ornate decoration and beautiful furniture. So sad to see it all go.
To add to the movie list, a banquet scene in THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS (with Timothy Dalton as Bond) was filmed there. The scene involves a central character being shot at and faking a death (fake blood packs make a mess of the white suit). They spent about 2 weeks filming what is essentially a 2min scene.
The water tower and the stables are to the SW as is the ever-dry ornate pond. As a child i used to play round here with one of my friends.
The sale made £6,250,000.
I consider myself very lucky to have lived quite a few years in such a fantastic, over the top house...even if it meant keeping secret about the value of it's contents!
One downside was the ever present threat of opening my bedroom curtains in the morning to find a group of nosey people with their noses pressed to the windows trying to see in.
Thanking you all for your help