Before visiting the Cotswolds, US Vice-President JD Vance (second from left) and his wife Usha Vance (left) stayed with David Lammy, the UK's Foreign Secretary (second from right), and his wife Nicola Green in Kent. Photo / vp
Before visiting the Cotswolds, US Vice-President JD Vance (second from left) and his wife Usha Vance (left) stayed with David Lammy, the UK's Foreign Secretary (second from right), and his wife Nicola Green in Kent. Photo / vp
The owner of the manor house accommodating JD Vance in Oxfordshire has apologised to neighbours for bringing a “circus” to their hamlet.
The US Vice-President is to stay in the 18th-century, Grade-II listed house after visiting David Lammy at Chevening, the Foreign Secretary’s official country residence in Kent.
Secret Serviceagents have been preparing the area around Charlbury, a village with 3000 residents, for Vance’s arrival, putting checkpoints in place, installing new technology and cutting a makeshift helipad into a field.
And the owner of the home where the Vice-President is staying apologised to her community about the preparations and heightened public attention.
In a message seen by the Telegraph, Pippa Hornby, who bought the house with her husband Johnny Hornby in 2017, told neighbours she was “so sorry for the circus that is there for the next few days”, adding that she hoped it would not be “too disruptive”.
It came as Vance interrupted his holiday with a high-stakes meeting to discuss a peace plan for Ukraine.
The Vice-President and the Foreign Secretary held security talks on Saturday (local time) about a controversial Russian proposal under which Ukraine would permanently cede territory currently under occupation.
Chevening House, the UK Foreign Secretary's Grade I-listed summer residence near Sevenoaks in Kent. Photo / Getty Images
The White House is pushing for Europe to accept a deal.
In the Cotswolds, a number of people could be seen roaming the manor house’s 2.4ha grounds, while a man in a black suit and tie with an earphone and a US/UK flag lapel badge stood at the entrance.
Black trucks unloaded heavy duty boxes and marquees had been erected across the road at two locations, each housing a generator and chairs.
A large antennae was erected behind the house, which locals mused could be a signal jammer, an anti-drone system or a telecoms tower to beat the haphazard phone reception.
One resident said: “It’s humming constantly, I thought if I go near, it might improve my signal, but no luck.” Other antennae appeared on the manor house’s roof.
Vehicles marked with the branding of an event production company and blacked-out vans transporting people drove to and from the manor throughout the day.
Workers could be seen arranging cushions on the furniture outside. A resident said the usual household staff had been relieved of their duties for the week.
US Vice-President JD Vance (left) fishes with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy at Chevening House in Sevenoaks, England. Photo / Getty Images
Asked about the Vice-President’s impending visit, an American man moving bags of linen said with a wry smile: “Who? I’m unsure who that is.”
Vance, who is travelling with his wife, Usha Vance, and children Ewan Vance, 8, Vivek Vance, 5, and Mirabel Vance, 3, has previously had to cut holidays short and take extra safety precautions.
In March, he ended his Vermont ski trip early after crowds turned out to protest a day after he “ambushed” Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a bad-tempered meeting between US President Donald Trump and the Ukrainian leader in the White House.
When the Vances visited Rome the following month, the Colosseum was closed early to accommodate them, which infuriated other tourists.
The people of Charlbury, which is home to two acclaimed pubs, The Bell and The Bull, were on Saturday (local time) bracing themselves for the arrival of the Vice-President.
The manor in which Vance will be staying is said to have been built in around 1702 for Thomas Rowney, an Oxford MP.
When the Hornbys bought it, they submitted planning proposals for a basement gym, second cellar and orangery.
The Cotswolds have been described as the “Hamptons of the UK”, in reference to the upmarket New York State coastal resort.
The areas has offered refuge to runaway Americans such as Ellen DeGeneres and hosted events such as the multi-million dollar wedding of the daughter of Steve Jobs, the late Apple founder.
The manor is in the heart of the area populated by the “Chipping Norton set”, the group of political, media and entertainment figures of which David Cameron was a prominent member.
