Chateau de Madrid

The Madrid Room in the present Officers' Mess maintains the links with the former Chateau de Madrid which was the original Northwood Headquarters Officers' Mess shown here which was destroyed by fire in 1969.

Built in 1858 for Lord Palmerston, the chateau dominated the large Eastbury Park Estate. For many years it was a girls' school until 1920 when it became the Chateau de Madrid Country Club which had a somewhat dubious reputation and was allegedly one of the late HRH The Duke of Windsor's haunts in the Edwardian era.

The chateau and adjoining land were purchased in 1938 by the Royal Air Force for use as Coastal Command Headquarters and the reputation of the chateau was salvaged !