A group of suspected travellers have ‘destroyed’ fields next to an A-list Berkshire wedding venue which has hosted everyone from Winston Churchill to Liam Gallagher.
The encampment, which locals fear could become ‘permanent’, has seen dozens of caravans and old cars ‘dumped’ in a field opposite the luxurious £500-a-night Cliveden House hotel.
The Grade I listed Italianate mansion is set in expansive grounds, with stunning views across to Windsor Castle and it has been a popular spot for members of the current crop of royals.
Prior to her wedding, Meghan Markle and her mother spent the night at a suite in the hotel in 2018 and the late Queen and Princess Margaret often visited the house, making the five-mile trip from Windsor Castle.
It was also the venue chosen by departing BBC star Carol Kirkwood who considered it the perfect backdrop to her private wedding to partner Steve Randall in 2023.
However, just yards from the glitzy venue, residents living in nearby £700,000 houses say the views are less impressive due to the actions of the occupants of the field who have transformed it into a ‘scrap yard’.
In the quaint village of Taplow, residents said their lives have become ‘hell’ as a result of the work, which they describe as looking like a ‘bombsite’.
And businesses who spoke to the Daily Mail admitted unless something is done they are worried the site of the fields opposite starting to look ‘dreadful’ will put off their posh clientele.
A group of suspected travellers have ‘destroyed’ fields next to an A-list Berkshire wedding venue, residents have claimed
Locals have complained of cars and vehicles visiting both fields ‘at all hours’, constant noise, and it making the area look ‘really ugly’
The encampment and scrapyard sits opposite the majestic Cliveden House (pictured) luxury hotel
Meghan Markle, pictured here with her mother, Doria Ragland, stayed at Cliveden House Hotel before she married Prince Harry
Carol Kirkwood also considered it the perfect backdrop to her private wedding to partner Steve Randall in 2023
Locals have complained of cars and vehicles visiting both fields ‘at all hours’, constant noise, and it making the area look ‘really ugly’.
Patrick James, 56, said: ‘It’s been a mystery how it has ended up like this. We understand travellers are there but it also looks like businesses are being run off the fields.
‘One looks like a scrap yard. There’s dozens of old abandoned cars in one of the fields. There’s even a fire engine. Almost every type of car you could imagine has just been dumped there. The fields are really badly churned up. It looks like a bombsite.
‘They have destroyed it. It happened over a year ago and then has just got worse. Nobody knows how this nightmare will end.’
Another resident said: ‘We’re all very unhappy. It looks appalling. It’s really ugly. The noise is a real pain. The traffic is bad, there’s often cars queuing out. It looks like a bombsite.’
A bar manager said: ‘It’s terrible. People are worried about house prices. I know people at Cliveden House are really worried.
‘You’re spending all that money and opposite you have a scrap yard and god knows what else going on.’
The Daily Mail spoke to a man who said he was living in a caravan on one of the fields.
He spoke little English and said he could not explain what happened on the site or what type of work was carried out.
Another who was working on the other field, which is where dozens of cars are dumped and which appears to be a scrap yard, refused to comment.
Residents claim the activity has been going on at the site for well over a year
When the Daily Mail approached people working in the field they offered little explanation
He had breached planning control by using the fields as a scrapyard.
The council previously said that its enforcement team had received an enquiry about the alleged unauthorised change of use of the agricultural land to a scrapyard on January 3, 2024.
But locals say the situation remains the same.
Roger Worthington, vice chairman of Taplow Parish Council, told the Daily Mail: ‘It used to be equestrian land and then it changed owner and they have just trashed the place.
‘It’s a disgrace. Various companies operate out of there and it is car scrapping, metal scrapping, burning and god knows what else. There’s also a paint shop booth I believe.
‘It’s been a nightmare for locals. Enforcement action is still ongoing to get rid of them.’
Peter Strachan, Buckinghamshire Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Planning, said: ‘Following a multi-agency investigation, a closure notice was issued at this site by Thames Valley Police in November 2025.
‘An enforcement notice has also previously been issued to the site owners for breaches of use. The landowners have appealed this enforcement notice but were unsuccessful. The use and the material on site must be removed by 2 April 2026.’
Cliveden House is one of the top wedding venues in the country.
Hiring the entire venue costs over £35,000 a day and per night for a room goes up to £650.
It was also one of Queen Victoria’s favourite places to stay, Winston Churchill loved it and more recently it has been the venue of Jermain Defoe’s wedding.
In 2023, it was also where Liam Gallagher visited with him mum Peggy where she ordered the rocker to mend his rift with brother Noel and reunite – which eventually happened.
From the moment it was built in 1666 the vast house has been associated with royalty and nobility and is the former seat of one Prince of Wales, two Dukes, an Earl and the Viscounts Astor.
It was built by the Duke of Buckingham for his mistress as a country pile where he could entertain her and their friends in style.
Built on a commanding position on a chalk cliff, the name Cliff-dene was originally given to the estate.
Lord George Hamilton bought Cliveden in 1696, shortly after he was made Earl of Orkney and on his death the estate passed through several generations.
From the moment it was built in 1666 the vast house has been associated with royalty and nobility
From 1737 to 1751 it was home to Frederick, Prince of Wales.
The house remained in private ownership until in 1893 William Waldorf Astor, America’s richest man, bought the house for $1.2million.
At the turn of the century Cliveden became the setting for numerous glittering parties and the centre of European political and literary meetings.
The heyday of entertaining was between the war where guests included George Bernard Shaw, TE Lawrence, Rudyard Kipling and Mahatma Gandhi.
Since the 1940s the house has been managed by the National Trust.
It is now leased to hoteliers Ian and Richard Livingstone who also own the spa resort Chewton Glen in the New Forest.
Apart from weddings, it is also popular as setting for films and TV series.
The Beatles second film Help featured the expansive grounds while other films including Chaplin and Cinderella were filmed at Cliveden. The TV series Mr Selfridge was also filmed at the Berkshire hotel.
