West Wycombe Park

West Wycombe Park is a country house near the village of West Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England. First impressions of West Wycombe are that it should be situated in the hills of the Veneto, or perched as an aristocratic summer retreat looking over the sea in the Crimea. The house is long and rectangular, and all four of its façades are columned and pedimented, three theatrically so. However, there are anomalies in the design of the house which make it architecturally unique. It is situated in an 18th-century landscaped park, surrounded by smaller temples which act as satellites to the greater temple, which is the house itself.

The house was given to the National Trust in 1943 by Sir John Dashwood 10th Baronet (1896-1966) because of the Second World War, however he retained ownership of the contents of the house; during the 1960s the house was restored at the the expense of his son Sir Francis Dashwood. Today, although, the house is open to the public during the summer months and a venue for civic weddings and corporate entertainment it is still inhabited by the Dashwood family.

Exterior

The builder of West Wycombe, Sir Francis Dashwood (later Lord Despencer, best known for establishing the Hellfire Club close to the mansion in the West Wycombe Caves) had employed three different architects, and two landscape architects in the design of the house, and had a huge input himself. He had made the Grand Tour, seen the villas of the Italian renaissance first hand, and he wished to emulate them.

West Wycombe's facades were inspired by the various Palladian villas of Italy. Work began in 1740 and was finally finished circa 1800 when the older house was fully transformed inside and out. This long building time explains the flaws in design, when building commenced in 1740 Palladianism was the height of fashion, however, by the time of its completion Palladianism had been completely succeeded by neoclassicism, thus the house is a marriage of both styles. Thus while the marriage is not completely unhappy the Palladian features are marred by the lack of Palladio's proportions, the East portico is actually asymmetrical with the axis of the house, trees were planted either side to draw the eye away from the design flaw. .

The finest architects of the day submitted plans for West Wycombe, among them Robert Adam who did submit a plan for the west portico but this idea was dropped and finally the architect Nicholas Revett was consulted and created the present portico we see. Today, the first sight of the house is usually from this portico; from this direction one end of the house appears as a small, almost Grecian porticoed temple inspired by the Temple of Bacchus and completed by 1770. The opposing end of the house appears equally temple-like but this time the muse was from the Villa Rotunda completed about 1755. This small temple like portico was also by John Donowell.

The principal façade is the great south front; a two story colonnade of Corinthian columns, surmounted by a pediment in the centre. The architect of this elevation was John Donowell, who did the work between 1761 and 1763 (although he had to wait until 1775 for payment). The façade, which has similarities to the main façade of Palladio's Palazzo Chiericati of 1550,was originally the entrance front. The front door still remains in the centre of the ground floor leading into the main entry hall. This in itself is a huge deviation from the classical form: West Wycombe does not have a first floor piano nobile. Palladio would have placed the main entrance on the first floor reached by an outer staircase.

The more severe north front is of eleven bays, with the end bays given significance by rustication at ground floor level. This façade faces the lake, and offers commanding veiws of the park and its various ornamental buildings. One is also able to see the Dashwood Mausoleum on the top of West Wycombe Hill. The centre of this façade has Ionic columns supporting a pediment and originally had the Dashwood Coat of Arms. This façade dates from around 1750 - 1751.

Interiors

The principal reception rooms are on the ground floor with large sash windows opening immediately into the porticos and the colonnades, therefore on to the gardens, a situation unheard of in the grand villas and palaces of Renaissance Italy. The mansion contains a series of 18th-century salons decorated and furnished in the style of that period, with polychrome marble floors, and painted ceilings depicting classical scenes of Greek and Roman mythology. Of particular note is the Entrance Hall, which resembling a Roman atrium with marbled columns and a painted ceiling copied from the 18th century book 'Ruins of Palmyra' compiled in Italy.

Many of the reception rooms have frescoed ceilings copied from the palazzi of renaissance Italy notably from the Palazzo Farnese in Rome. The largest room in the house is the grand 'Music Saloon' which leads onto the east portico. The ceiling fresco in this room is called the "Banquet of the Gods" and was copied from the Villa Farnesina, Rome. Another grand reception room is the Saloon which occupys the centre of the north front. This room contains many ornate Marble decorative objects, including statuettes of the four seasons. The ceiling in this room is called "The Council of the Gods and the admission of Psyche" as with the ceiling of the Music Saloon this is a copy fron Farnesina " target="_blank" >^*

In the Dining Room the walls are painted faux jasper and hold paintings of the house's patron -Sir Francis Dashwood and his fellow members of the Divian Club (a society for those who had visited the Ottoman Empire). The room also has a ceiling of painted 'Palmyra' inspired from same book as the ceiling in the Entrance Hall but of a different design.

The Blue Drawing Room is dominated by the elaborate painted ceiling depicting "The Triumph of Bacchus and Ariadne". The room also houses a statuette the of Venus de' Medici and also a small portrait of Benjamin Franklin- a regular visitor to the house and a president of the United States of America. The relativley small study contains plans for the house and potential impressions for various elevations. One is reputed to have been drawn by Sir Francis Dashwood himself, while the Tapestry Room contains hangings claimed to have been obtained from the first Duke of Marlborough through inheritance.

The Gardens and the Estate

The two principal architects of the gardens at West Wycombe were John Donowell and Nicholas Revett. They designed all of the ornamental buildings on the estate. Thomas Cook the landscape architect began to execute the plans for the park, with a nine-acre man-made lake created from the near River Wye, the various cascades and the many follies and temples in the park today. Later Humphrey Repton was to enhance the grounds of around 5000 acres further until they appeared much as they do today by extending it to the east towards the nearby town of High Wycombe.

The gardens at West Wycombe Park are notable for being the best preserved Rococo gardens in England. The park is unique in its constant use of Classical architecture- from both Greece and of Italy. The 'Temple of Music' which is located on an island in the lake was inspired by the Temple of Vesta (mythology) in Rome. It is thought that the temple may have been used as a theatre. Opposite the temple is the garden's main cascade which has statues of two Water Nymphs. The present cascade is a remake as the original was demolised in the 1830's. The lake itself is monumental, it is laid in the shape of a swan- the sign for Buckinghamshire and is nine acres in size. It originally had a Spanish Galleon for the amusement of the guests. The 'Temple of the Winds' is a near exact copy of the 'Tower of the Wind' in Athens.

The classical architecture continues - the hidden summerhouse the 'Temple of Flora (mythology)' is reminiscent of a small temple on the Acropolis as is the 'Temple of Daphne (mythology). Another hidden 'temple' known as the 'Round Temple' has a curved loggia. There are Roman Triumphal Arche s- the 'Temple of Apollo also known as 'Cockpit Arch', which holds a copy of the famed Apollo Belvedere in a niche. Nearby is the Temple of Diana (mythology). This also has a small niche containing a statue of the Godess. Another hidden treasure is the the 'Temple of Venus (mythology). Below this is an Exedra, a grotto (known as Venus's Parlour) and a statue of Mercury (mythology). This once held a copy of the 'Venus di'Medici' it was demolished in the 1820s but has recently been reconstructed and now holds the 'Venus di Milo'.

Later structures which break the classicaL theme include the Gothic style boathouse, a Gothic Alcove - now a romantic ruin hidden amongst undergrowth, and a Gothic Chapel once home of the village cobbler but later used as the estate kennels. A monument dedicated to Queen Elizabeth II was erected on on The Queen's 60th birthday in 1986

List of main Garden Structures:

West Wycombe House
Boathouse
Britannia Pillar
Cascade
Gothic Alcove
Kittys Lodge
Park Farm (Private residence)
Round Lodge
Round Temple
Sawmill House (Private residence)
'St Crispins' (Chapel)
Temple of Apollo
Temple of Daphne
Temple of Diana
Temple of Flora
Temple of Music
Temple of Venus
Venus's Parlour
The Temple of the Winds

Trivia

West Wycombe Park has been used as a film and as a media location many times and can be seen in the following features:

Doctor Who
The Lost Prince
Midsomer Murders
The Importance of Being Earnest (2002)

External links

Gardens in Buckinghamshire | Historic houses in Buckinghamshire | National Trust properties in England

Gourt Home::Gourt :: West Wycombe Park

Exterior

Interiors

The Gardens and the Estate

Trivia

See also

External links