Cliveden Astors) at the Cliveden swimming pool led to the Profumo Affair which so damaged the Macmillan government. Spring Cottage was awarded Grade II listed status in 1986, and in 1997 the hotel company which leased Cliveden House from the National Trust also acquired the lease to the cottage. A reported £750,000 was spent restoring and refurbishing the dilapidated building before it reopened in 1998 as a self-contained luxury holiday let. The cottage and its garden are not open to the public. Cliveden Reach, between Cookham Lock and Boulter's Lock, is one of the most scenic stretches of the Thames. A
Secretary of State for War Secretary of State for War The position of Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a British cabinet-level position, first held by Henry Dundas (appointed in 1794). In 1801 the post became that of Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. The position was re-instated in 1854. On 1 April 1964, with the creation of the new cabinet-level position of Secretary of State for Defence, in charge of a new united Ministry of Defence, the Secretary of State for War was abolished (along with that of First Lord of the Admiralty and Secretary of State for