Dyrham Park () is a

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

English 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 ...

in an ancient deer park near the village of Dyrham in

South Gloucestershire South Gloucestershire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, South West England. Towns in the area include Yate, Chipping Sodbury, Thornbury, Filton, Patchway and Bradley Stoke, the latter three forming ...

, England. The house, attached orangery, stable block, and accompanying parish church are Grade I

listed buildings 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 ...

, while the park is Grade II* listed on the

National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens The Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England provides a listing and classification system for historic parks and gardens similar to that used for listed buildings. The register is managed by Historic England ...

. The current house was built for William Blathwayt in stages during the 17th and early 18th centuries on the site of a previous manor house, with the final facade being designed by William Talman. It contains art works and furniture from around the world, particularly Holland, and includes a collection of

Dutch Masters Dutch Golden Age painting is the painting of the Dutch Golden Age, a period in Dutch history roughly spanning the 17th century, during and after the later part of the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) for Dutch independence. The new Dutch Repub ...

. The house is linked to the 13th-century church of St Peter, where many of the Blathwayt family are buried. The house is surrounded by of formal gardens, and parkland which used to support a herd of

fallow deer ''Dama'' is a genus of deer in the subfamily Cervinae, commonly referred to as fallow deer. Name The name fallow is derived from the deer's pale brown colour. The Latin word ''dāma'' or ''damma'', used for roe deer, gazelles, and antelopes ...

. The grounds, which were originally laid out by George London and later developed by Charles Harcourt Masters, include water features and statuary. The house and estate are now owned by the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

and underwent extensive renovation in 2014 and 2015. They are open to the public on some days and host events and attractions, including open-air concerts. They have also been used as a location for film and television productions.

History

The Manor of Dyrham has been recorded since the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of 1086, when there were 34 households. The first

lord of the manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...

to be resident may have been William Denys, who was an Esquire of the Body to

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

and later

High Sheriff of Gloucestershire This is a list of Sheriffs and High Sheriffs of Gloucestershire, who should not be confused with the Sheriffs of the City of Gloucester. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown (in England and Wales the office previously kn ...

. He was granted the licence to empark of Dyrham in 1511, although not all of this area was enclosed. This meant that he could enclose the land with a wall or hedgebank and maintain a captive herd of deer within the park, over which he had exclusive hunting rights; the name "Dyrham" derives from the Anglo-Saxon word ''dirham'', an enclosure for deer. The estate was sold to the Wynter family in 1571 and Sir George Wynter was allowed to empark further land in 1620. Dyrham Park eagle

In 1689 the estate was acquired through marriage by William Blathwayt, who was

Secretary at War The Secretary at War was a political position in the English and later British government, with some responsibility over the administration and organization of the Army, but not over military policy. The Secretary at War ran the War Office. Afte ...

to William III. He retained the existing Tudor building and expanded it in stages. The west front of 1692 was commissioned from the

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

architect, Samuel Hauduroy, and includes an

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian ...

double staircase leading from the terrace to the grounds. In 1698 a stable block with space for 26 horses, and servants' quarters above, around a courtyard was added. The east front of 1704 was designed by William Talman, architect of Chatsworth. The construction of the east wing included demolition of the remains of the original Tudor house and the addition of a statue of an eagle on the roof. Owing to Blathwayt's royal connections, and his influential uncle,

Thomas Povey Thomas Povey (1613/14 – in or before 1705) FRS, was a London merchant-politician. He was active in colonial affairs from the 1650s, but neutral enough in his politics to be named a member from 1660 of Charles II's Council for Foreign Plantat ...

, Dyrham became a showcase of

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

decorative arts ] The decorative arts are arts or crafts whose object is the design and manufacture of objects that are both beautiful and functional. It includes most of the arts making objects for the interiors of buildings, and interior design, but not usua ...

. The collection includes

delftware Delftware or Delft pottery, also known as Delft Blue ( nl, Delfts blauw) or as delf, is a general term now used for Dutch tin-glazed earthenware, a form of faience. Most of it is blue and white pottery, and the city of Delft in the Netherlands ...

, paintings and furniture. Eighteenth-century additions include furniture by Gillow and Linnell. The interiors have remained little altered since decorated by Blathwayt. The gardens were designed by George London in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Dyrham Park roof

The Blathwayt family owned the house until 1956, when the government acquired it, but during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

it was used for child evacuees while rented by Anne,

Baroness Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or ...

Islington, the widow of The 1st Baron Islington (1866-1936), a former

Governor of New Zealand The governor-general of New Zealand ( mi, te kāwana tianara o Aotearoa) is the viceregal representative of the monarch of New Zealand, currently King Charles III. As the King is concurrently the monarch of 14 other Commonwealth realms and l ...

; Lady Islington redecorated many of the rooms. The

acquired it in 1961. In 2015 major renovation work, costing £3.8 million, included replacing the roof. Part of the cost was met from a

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

grant of £85,000. While the repairs were in progress, visitors could view the house from a rooftop walkway.

Architecture

House

The

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

building has

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

and

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cut, ...

roofs above the attics. The two-storey west front, which was built in the 1690s, has three

bays A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a na ...

of each side of the central doorway, which has

Doric Doric may refer to: * Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece ** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians * Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture * Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode * Doric dialect (Scotland) * Doric ...

columns, with smaller pavilions at the ends of the wings. One of the wings creates a covered passageway to the church of St Peter. The east front, which was added around 1704, has shallow projecting wings and a central door under a

balustrade A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its c ...

with an

double staircase leading down to the lawns. A central

pedestal A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In ...

is inscribed "virtute et veritate". Above it is an eagle statue, carved by John Harvey of Bath, representing the family crest of the Blathwayt family. View of a Corridor 1662 Samuel van Hoogstraten

View of a Corridor 1662 Samuel van Hoogstraten

The interior is sumptuously decorated with wood panelling and tiles of

Delftware Delftware or Delft pottery, also known as Delft Blue ( nl, Delfts blauw) or as delf, is a general term now used for Dutch tin-glazed earthenware, a form of faience. Most of it is blue and white pottery, and the city of Delft in the Netherlands ...

. The collection of artworks and artifacts includes furniture,

china China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

and pictures with a strong Dutch influence. The china includes a pair of

tulip vase A tulip vase, or pyramid vase, is a vase designed to put cut flowers and especially tulips in, but it primarily serves as a decorative showpiece. They were first made in the Netherlands in the 17th century and were decorated with ''Delfts bl ...

s made in the 1680s. The state bed, with crimson and yellow velvet hangings, was made in Anglo-Dutch style around 1704. The entrance hall is hung with bird paintings by Melchior d'Hondecoeter and throughout the house are landscape and still lifes by

Abraham Storck Abraham Storck (or Sturckenburch) (bapt. 17 April 1644 in Amsterdam – buried 8 April 1708), was a Dutch painter, who enjoyed a reputation for his marine paintings, topographical views and Italianate harbour scenes.

Samuel Dirksz van Hoogstraten Samuel Dirksz van Hoogstraten (2 August 1627, in Dordrecht – 19 October 1678, in Dordrecht) was a Dutch painter of the Golden Age, who was also a poet and author on art theory. Biography Samuel Dirksz van Hoogstraten trained first with his fa ...

David Teniers the Younger David Teniers the Younger or David Teniers II (bapt. 15 December 1610 – 25 April 1690) was a Flemish Baroque painter, printmaker, draughtsman, miniaturist painter, staffage painter, copyist and art curator. He was an extremely versatile ar ...

, Melchior d'Hondecoeter, and other

. Hoogstratens "View of a Corridor" has been hung in a doorway as the artist originally intended. Blathwayt's travels are also represented by paintings by Spanish artists such as

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo Bartolomé Esteban Murillo ( , ; late December 1617, baptized January 1, 1618April 3, 1682) was a Spanish Baroque painter. Although he is best known for his religious works, Murillo also produced a considerable number of paintings of contempora ...

and a staircase made of

walnut A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true ...

from his estates as auditor general of the

Colony of Virginia The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertGilbert (Saunders Family), Sir Humphrey" (histor ...

. Many of these were brought to Dyrham by George William Blathwayt after he inherited the house in 1844. There are also artifacts from Blathwayt's journeys to other parts of the world, particularly Jamaica.

Orangery and stable block

On the south eastern side of the house is an

orangery An orangery or orangerie was a room or a dedicated building on the grounds of fashionable residences of Northern Europe from the 17th to the 19th centuries where orange and other fruit trees were protected during the winter, as a very lar ...

, which was built as a

greenhouse A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse, or, if with sufficient heating, a hothouse) is a structure with walls and roof made chiefly of transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic conditions are grown.These ...

in 1701 and has a glazed roof which was added around 1800 by

Humphrey Repton Humphry Repton (21 April 1752 – 24 March 1818) was the last great English landscape designer of the eighteenth century, often regarded as the successor to Capability Brown; he also sowed the seeds of the more intricate and eclectic styles of ...

. The orangery hides the view of the servants' quarters from the main house. The servants' quarters was revised and modernised in the 1840s. It contains the kitchen, dairy, bakehouse and several

larder A larder is a cool area for storing food prior to use. Originally, it was where raw meat was larded—covered in fat—to be preserved. By the 18th century, the term had expanded. Now a dry larder was where bread, pastry, milk, butter, or cooked m ...

s for raw and cooked meat. There is also a servants' hall where the staff would take their meals and a tenants' hall which was used by the

tenant farmer A tenant farmer is a person (farmer or farmworker) who resides on land owned by a landlord. Tenant farming is an agricultural production system in which landowners contribute their land and often a measure of operating capital and management, ...

s to eat on the days when they came to pay their rent. In addition to the designs for the house, William Talman created the large 15-bay stable block. It is now used as a tea-room for visitors.

Church

The

Anglican parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes c ...

of St Peter was originally built in the mid 13th century and had a three-stage tower added in the 15th, however it was extensively restored when the main house was built in the late 17th century. The church consists of a north and south

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, pa ...

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. ...

and south west porch with the tower to the west. In the south

are encaustic tiles dating from the 13th century. The

font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a typeface. Each font is a matched set of type, with a piece (a " sort") for each glyph. A typeface consists of a range of such fonts that shared an overall design. In mo ...

is Norman while the

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, acces ...

is Jacobean. There is also a 16th-century Flemish altar

triptych A triptych ( ; from the Greek adjective ''τρίπτυχον'' "''triptukhon''" ("three-fold"), from ''tri'', i.e., "three" and ''ptysso'', i.e., "to fold" or ''ptyx'', i.e., "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divided ...

. The church is not owned by the National Trust but is closely associated with the rest of the estate and has the tombs and memorials for many owners of the house. The parish is part of the

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

Wick Wick most often refers to: * Capillary action ("wicking") ** Candle wick, the cord used in a candle or oil lamp ** Solder wick, a copper-braided wire used to desolder electronic contacts Wick or WICK may also refer to: Places and placename ...

with

Doynton Doynton is a village in South Gloucestershire, England. The population of this village taken at the 2011 census was 320. Setting Doynton is a village situated on the lower slopes of the Cotswolds, approximately two miles south-east of Pucklech ...

and Dyrham, within the

Diocese of Bristol The Diocese of Bristol is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Church of England in the Province of Canterbury, England. It is based in the city of Bristol and covers South Gloucestershire and parts of north Wiltshire, as far east ...

Grounds

The house is set in of gardens and parkland, which was home to a herd of 200

until they were culled due to the spread of bovine tuberculosis in 2021. Many of the walls and gatepiers were added in the late 18th century. There is statuary in the grounds, including a statue of

Neptune Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 time ...

by Claude David, about east of the house. Artificial lakes and cascades of water are also a feature. The gardens were designed by George London in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. They included a formal Dutch water garden, but most of the features were replaced in the late 18th century with designs by Charles Harcourt Masters. The park is listed Grade II* on the

Public access

The house and gardens are open to the public on certain days, and the grounds are open all year long. A bus takes visitors from the car park down to the house, gardens, tea room and shop. The bus road can be walked down for access to the house or there is an easy walk to the house down grassy slopes. There is no car parking at the house itself. Dogs are not permitted in the park, but there is an exercise area for dogs near the car park. Events within the park include music concerts, open-air theatre productions, guided tours of the house, park and garden, and other attractions.

Film and television

Dyrham Park was one of the houses used as a filming location for the 1993

Merchant Ivory A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as industry ...

film '' The Remains of the Day'' (others included

Badminton House Badminton House is a large country house and Grade I Listed Building in Badminton, Gloucestershire, England, which has been the principal seat of the Dukes of Beaufort since the late 17th century. The house, which has given its name to th ...

and

Powderham Castle Powderham Castle is a fortified manor house situated within the parish and former manor of Powderham, within the former hundred of Exminster, Devon, about south of the city of Exeter and mile (0.4 km) north-east of the village of ...

). The house was used for outdoor and garden scenes in the 1999 BBC mini-series ''

Wives and Daughters ''Wives and Daughters, An Every-Day Story'' is a novel by Elizabeth Gaskell, first published in the ''Cornhill Magazine'' as a serial from August 1864 to January 1866. It was partly written whilst Gaskell was staying with the salon hostess M ...

''. In 2003, it was the filming location for the

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

series '' Servants''. An aerial view of Dyrham Park was featured in the opening title sequence of the 2008 film ''

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

''. In September 2010, the BBC filmed scenes for the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...

'' sixth series episode " Night Terrors" at Dyrham Park. Dyrham Park was also used for scenes in '' The Crimson Field'' by the BBC in 2014, and ''Sanditon'' on ITV in 2019. The BBC series, ''Poldark'', filmed scenes at Dyrham Park, as the home of George Warleggan, between 2015 and 2018.

References

External links

{{commons category
Dyrham Park
at the National Trust Country houses in Gloucestershire Buildings and structures in South Gloucestershire District National Trust properties in Gloucestershire Gardens in Gloucestershire Historic house museums in Gloucestershire Decorative arts museums in England Grade I listed houses in Gloucestershire Grade II* listed parks and gardens in Gloucestershire