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Dyrham Park

Dyrham Park was the home of William Blathwayt, a civil servant who became rich serving the monarchs installed by parliament following the Glorious Revolution in 1688. Work started on Dyrham Park in 1694. By 1704 William Talman, the architect of Chatsworth, - another grand house strongly linked with the Glorious Revolution - had become involved.

 

When James the Second had been deposed by Parliament in 1688, he was replaced by the Dutch aristocrat, William of Orange, and his wife Mary, the daughter of Charles the Second. With fashions tending to follow the royal lead, all things Dutch became popular in the years following 1688. Dyrham Park has a large collection of Dutch decorative art, reflecting the tastes of those times.

 

The Glorious Revolution was also significant from a financial point of view. It was in the decades around 1688 that lending money at interest was transformed from a sin into a useful business tool. (See our page on Stourhead for more on this.) In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries there were huge fortunes to be made, and the acceptance of money lending partly explains the success and wealth of Britain during this period. One outcome of the new wealth was the creation of a large servant class. By 1851 there were 751,540 servants in the census. By 1891 there were 1,386,167, and in London one person in every fifteen was in service. (Figures quoted by A.N. Wilson in The Victorians). This huge group of people often gets forgotten. At Dyrham the Victorian domestic quarters have been restored, giving an insight into the kind of life led by so many people.

 

The gardens at Dyrham were originally formal. But the eighteenth century was to see a move towards natural landscape in garden design. By the late eighteenth century the original formal gardens were largely cleared. They were replaced by a park landscaped by Humphrey Repton and Charles Harcourt Masters. A small section of the formal garden survives behind the house around the two lakes.

 

Opening Times: The park is open everyday all year 11am - 5.30pm. The house is open 14th March until the 2nd November, Friday to Tuesday, 12 midday - 5pm.

The garden, tea room and shop are open daily in July and August, 11am - 5pm; and are then closed on Wednesday and Thursday for the periods 14th March to 29th June, and 1st September to 2nd November. From 8th November to 14th December opening is limited to weekends only 11am - 4pm.

 

Directions: Dyrham Park is south of Chipping Sodbury in Gloucestershire, a few miles south of junction 18 of the M4, off the A46. Click here for an interactive map centred on Dyrham Park.

Access: There is level access to part of the house, but there are many stairs, uneven floors and low doorways. Grounds have steep slopes in places, but there is an accessible route. Adapted toilet facilities can be found in the visitor car park and stable courtyard. Braille and large print guides are provided.

 

 

 

 

Contact:

phone: 0117 937 2501

web site: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-dyrhampark.htm