History
There are written records that there was a farm as early as the 16th century in the clinge (dune valley), Clingendael now is. In 1591 Philips Doublet bought the land. Philips Doublet III demolished the farm, built a mansion and a garden with influence of the French classicist Landscaping garden in a Baroque style with a lot buxushagen and symmetrical patterns. The house was a center of arts and culture. His wife Suzanna and his father Constantijn Huygens played an important role.

In 1804 the estate became property of Baron van Brienen. He hired Zocher to adapt the garden to the English landscape style. The garden architects/designers Springer and Petzold worked on the gardens after Zocher.

Japanese garden
Freule of Daisy Brienen (Den Haag 1871 - Den Haag 1939) lived at the house at the beginning of the 20th century. She traveled a lot and took lanterns from Japan, a water barrel and some bridges to constuct a Japanese garden. It is now the largest Japanese garden in the Netherlands with an area of 6800m ². She died in 1939.

The war years
The estate was part of the Atlantic Wall, for a clear field of view was necessary. Trees were felled, bunkers constructed, and in Benoordenhout houses were demolished. But the Clingendael house could stay and the became the home of rijkscommissaris Seyss-Inquart. Na de oorlog kwam het landgoed in handen van de familie Michiels van Verduynen, die tot de oorlog op Reigersbergen woonde. The estate was owned by the family of Michael Verduynen after the war, who lived in Reigersbergen untill the end of the war.