Chalcot House is a

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

to the south of the village of

Dilton Marsh Dilton Marsh is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the far west of the county of Wiltshire, in the southwest of England. The village is about southwest of the centre of the town of Westbury, Wiltshire, Westbury; Dilton Mar ...

, near Westbury, Wiltshire, England, standing in Chalcot Park.

History

The house was built in the early 18th century on the site of an older house, extensively altered in 1872 by

James Piers St Aubyn James Piers St Aubyn (6 April 1815 – 8 May 1895), often referred to as J P St Aubyn, was an English architect of the Victorian era, known for his church architecture and confident restorations. Early life St Aubyn was born at Powick Vicarag ...

, and restored in the 1970s. The three-storey house, in Flemish bond brickwork with stone dressings, has a five-bay front with

pilasters In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wall ...

flanking the ground-floor windows. In the later nineteenth century the house was owned by

Charles Paul Phipps Charles Paul Phipps (1815–1880), of Chalcot House, near Westbury, Wiltshire, was an English merchant in Brazil and later Conservative MP for Westbury (1869–1874) and High Sheriff of Wiltshire (1875). Origins Charles Paul Phipps was the ...

(1815–1880), merchant in Brazil and later Conservative MP for Westbury (1869–1874) and

High Sheriff of Wiltshire This is a list of the Sheriffs and (after 1 April 1974) High Sheriffs of Wiltshire. Until the 14th century, the shrievalty was held ''ex officio'' by the castellans of Old Sarum Castle. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Gov ...

(1875). Some papers relating to the Phipps family are held by the

Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre The Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre in Chippenham, Wiltshire, England, serves as a focal point for heritage services relating to Wiltshire and Swindon. The centre opened in 2007 and is funded by Wiltshire Council and Swindon Borough Counci ...

. In the later twentieth century the house was owned by the stockbroker

Tony Rudd Anthony Cyril Rudd (8 March 1923 – 22 August 2003) was a British engineer involved in aero engine design and motor racing, with particular associations with BRM and Lotus. Early life and war service Rudd became involved with motor racing ...

.Obituary: Tony Rudd.
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', 13 June 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2017. Alterations were made in the twentieth century by the architect

Theo Crosby Theo Crosby (3 April 1925 – 12 September 1994) was an architect, editor, writer and sculptor, engaged with major developments in design across four decades. He was also an early vocal critic of modern urbanism. He is best remembered as a found ...

. A hoard of

Romano-British The Romano-British culture arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest in AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, a ...

coins was found in the grounds near the house in 1973. An auction of contents was held at the house by

Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and ...

in 1989.

References

Grade II* listed houses Grade II* listed buildings in Wiltshire Country houses in Wiltshire {{Wiltshire-struct-stub