West Wycombe Park - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

West Wycombe Park is a country house

English country house

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

near the village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

of West Wycombe

West Wycombe

West Wycombe is a small village situated along the A40 road, due three miles west of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England.The historic village is largely a National Trust property and receives a large annual influx of tourists - being the site of West Wycombe Park, West Wycombe Caves and the...

in Buckinghamshire

Buckinghamshire

Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, built between 1740 and 1800. It was conceived as a pleasure palace for the 18th century libertine

Libertine

A libertine is one devoid of most moral restraints, which are seen as unnecessary or undesirable, especially one who ignores or even spurns accepted morals and forms of behavior sanctified by the larger society. Libertines, also known as rakes, placed value on physical pleasures, meaning those...

and dilettante Sir Francis Dashwood, 2nd Baronet

Francis Dashwood, 15th Baron le Despencer

Francis Dashwood, 15th Baron le Despencer was an English rake and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer and founder of the Hellfire Club.-Early life:...

. The house is a long rectangle with four façade

Facade

A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....

s that are column

Column

A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a vertical structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. For the purpose of wind or earthquake engineering, columns may be designed to resist lateral forces...

ed and pediment

Pediment

A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...

ed, three theatrically so. The house encapsulates the entire progression of British 18th century architecture from early idiosyncratic Palladian to the Neoclassical

Neoclassical architecture

Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...

, although anomalies in the design of the house also make it architecturally unique. The mansion is set within an 18th century landscaped park, containing many small temple

Temple

A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...

s and follies

Folly

In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but either suggesting by its appearance some other purpose, or merely so extravagant that it transcends the normal range of garden ornaments or other class of building to which it belongs...

which act as satellites to the greater temple, the house.

The house, which is a Grade I listed building, was given to the National Trust

National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty

The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...

in 1943 by Sir John Dashwood, 10th Baronet

Dashwood Baronets

There have been two Baronetcies created for members of the Dashwood family, one in the Baronetage of England and one in the Baronetage of Great Britain...

(1896–1966), an action strongly resented by his heir. Dashwood retained ownership of the contents of the house, much of which he sold; after his death, the house was restored at the expense of his son, Sir Francis Dashwood. Today, while the structure is owned by the National Trust, the house is the home of Sir Edward Dashwood and his family. The house is open to the public during the summer months and a venue for civil weddings and corporate entertainment, which help to fund its maintenance and upkeep.

Ethos

West Wycombe Park, architecturally inspired by the villas of the Veneto

Veneto

Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...

constructed during the late renaissance

Renaissance

The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...

period, is not one of the largest, grandest or best-known of England's many country houses. Compared to its Palladian contemporaries, such as Holkham Hall

Holkham Hall

Holkham Hall is an eighteenth-century country house located adjacent to the village of Holkham, on the north coast of the English county of Norfolk...

, Woburn Abbey

Woburn Abbey

Woburn Abbey , near Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, is a country house, the seat of the Duke of Bedford and the location of the Woburn Safari Park.- Pre-20th century :...

and Ragley Hall

Ragley Hall

Ragley Hall is located south of Alcester, Warwickshire, eight miles west of Stratford-upon-Avon. It is the ancestral seat of the Marquess of Hertford and is one of the stately homes of England.-The present day:...

, it is quite small, yet it is architecturally important as it encapsulates a period of 18th century English social history, when young men, known as dilettanti, returning from the nearly obligatory Grand Tour

Grand Tour

The Grand Tour was the traditional trip of Europe undertaken by mainly upper-class European young men of means. The custom flourished from about 1660 until the advent of large-scale rail transit in the 1840s, and was associated with a standard itinerary. It served as an educational rite of passage...

with newly purchased acquisitions of art, often built a country house to accommodate their new collections and display in stone the learning and cultivation they had acquired during their travels.

The West Wycombe estate was acquired by Sir Francis Dashwood, 1st Baronet

Sir Francis Dashwood, 1st Baronet

Sir Francis Dashwood, 1st Baronet was a British merchant.A son of Francis Dashwood, Alderman of London, he and his brother Samuel Dashwood early joined their father's business and became leading silk importers. They were also members of the British East India Company and the Worshipful Company of...

and his brother Samuel in 1698. Dashwood demolished the existing manor house

Manor house

A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...

and built a modern mansion on higher ground nearby. This mansion forms the core of the present house. Images of the house on early estate plans show a quite conventional square house in the contemporary late Carolean

Restoration style

Restoration style, also known as Carolean style Restoration style, also known as Carolean style Restoration style, also known as Carolean style (from the Latin Carolus (Charles), refers to the decorative arts popular in England from the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 to the late 1680s after...

style. In 1724, Dashwood bequeathed this unremarkable house to his 16-year-old son, the 2nd Baronet, also Francis, later Lord le Despencer

Francis Dashwood, 15th Baron le Despencer

Francis Dashwood, 15th Baron le Despencer was an English rake and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer and founder of the Hellfire Club.-Early life:...

, who is perhaps best known for establishing the Hellfire Club

Hellfire Club

The Hellfire Club was a name for several exclusive clubs for high society rakes established in Britain and Ireland in the 18th century, and was more formally or cautiously known as the "Order of the Friars of St. Francis of Wycombe"...

close to the mansion, in the West Wycombe Caves

West Wycombe Caves

West Wycombe Caves are a network of man-made chalk and flint caverns which extend one quarter of a mile underground, situated above the village of West Wycombe, at the southern edge of the Chiltern Hills near High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, Southeast England.They were excavated between 1748 and...

. Two years later, he embarked on a series of Grand Tours: the ideas and manners he learned during this period influenced him throughout his life and were pivotal in the rebuilding of his father's simple house, transforming it into the classical edifice that exists today.

West Wycombe has been described as "one of the most theatrical and Italianate mid-18th century buildings in England". Of all the country houses of the 18th century, its façade

Facade

A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....

s replicate in undiluted form not only the classical

Classical architecture

Classical architecture is a mode of architecture employing vocabulary derived in part from the Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, enriched by classicizing architectural practice in Europe since the Renaissance...

villa

Villa

A villa was originally an ancient Roman upper-class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became small farming compounds, which were increasingly fortified in Late Antiquity,...

s of Italy on which Palladianism was founded, but also the temple

Temple

s of antiquity

Classical antiquity

Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...

on which Neoclassicism

Neoclassicism

Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...

was based. The Greek Doric

Doric order

The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...

of the house's west portico is the earliest example of the Greek revival in Britain.

The late 18th century was also a period of change in the interior design of English country houses. The Baroque

Baroque

The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...

conception of the principal floor, or piano nobile
Piano nobile
The piano nobile is the principal floor of a large house, usually built in one of the styles of classical renaissance architecture...

, with a large bedroom suite known as the state apartments and only one large hall or saloon

State room

A state room in a large European mansion is usually one of a suite of very grand rooms which were designed to impress. The term was most widely used in the 17th and 18th centuries. They were the most lavishly decorated in the house and contained the finest works of art...

for common use, was gradually abandoned in favour of smaller, more comfortable bedrooms on the upper floors. This revised floor plan allowed the principal floor to become a series of reception rooms, each with a designated purpose, creating separate areas such as the withdrawing room, dining room, music room, and ballroom. In this way, West Wycombe perfectly reflects the changes and ideals of the late 18th century. This arrangement of reception and public rooms on a lower floor, with bedrooms and more private rooms above, survives unchanged.

Exterior

The builder of West Wycombe, Sir Francis Dashwood, 2nd Baronet, employed three different architect

Architect

An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...

s and two landscape architect

Landscape architect

A landscape architect is a person involved in the planning, design and sometimes direction of a landscape, garden, or distinct space. The professional practice is known as landscape architecture....

s in the design of the house and its grounds. He also had a huge input himself: he had made the Grand Tour

Grand Tour

, seen the villas of the Italian renaissance

Italian Renaissance

The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 13th century to about 1600, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe...

first hand, and wished to emulate them.

Work began in 1740 and finished c.1800, when the older house had been fully transformed inside and out. This long building time explains the flaws and variations in design: when building commenced in 1740, Palladianism was the height of fashion, but, by the time of its completion, Palladianism had been completely succeeded by Neoclassicism; thus, the house is a marriage

Marriage

Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

of both styles. While the marriage is not completely unhappy, the Palladian features are marred by the lack of Palladio's proportions: the east portico is asymmetrical with the axis of the house, and trees were planted either side to draw the eye away from the design flaw.
The finest architects of the day submitted plans to transform the older family house into a modern architectural extravaganza. Among them was Robert Adam

Robert Adam

Robert Adam was a Scottish neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam , Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him...

, who submitted a plan for the west portico, but his idea was dropped; finally, the architect Nicholas Revett

Nicholas Revett

Nicholas Revett was a Suffolk gentleman and amateur architect and artist.He is best known for his famous work with James Stuart documenting the ruins of ancient Athens. Its illustrations compose 5 folio volumes and include 368 etched and engraved plates, plans and maps drawn at scale...

was consulted and created the present west portico. Today, the first sight of the house as one approaches from the drive is this large west portico: from this direction, the entire end of the house appears as a Grecian temple. This eight-columned portico, inspired by the Temple of Bacchus

Temple of Bacchus

The Temple of Bacchus was one of the three main temples at a large complex in Classical Antiquity, at Baalbek in Lebanon. The temple was dedicated to Bacchus , the Roman god of wine, but was traditionally referred to by Neoclassical visitors as the "Temple of the Sun". It is considered one of the...

in Baalbek

Baalbek

Baalbek is a town in the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon, altitude , situated east of the Litani River. It is famous for its exquisitely detailed yet monumentally scaled temple ruins of the Roman period, when Baalbek, then known as Heliopolis, was one of the largest sanctuaries in the Empire...

and completed by 1770, is considered to be the earliest example of Greek revival architecture

Greek Revival architecture

The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...

in Britain. The opposite (east) end of the house, designed by John Donowell

John Donowell

John Donowell was a little known, 18th century British architect and engraver, most notable for his architectural work at West Wycombe Park in Buckinghamshire, where he appears to have been influenced by the works of Colen Campbell...

and completed c.1755, appears equally temple-like, but this time the muse was the Villa Rotunda. Thus the two opposing porticos, east and west, illustrate perfectly the period of architectural transformation of the late 18th century from the earlier Roman inspired Palladian architecture to the more Greek inspired Neoclassicism.
The principal façade is the great south front, a two-storey colonnade

Colonnade

In classical architecture, a colonnade denotes a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building....

of Corinthian

Corinthian order

The Corinthian order is one of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric and Ionic. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order...

columns superimposed on Tuscan

Tuscan order

Among canon of classical orders of classical architecture, the Tuscan order's place is due to the influence of the Italian Sebastiano Serlio, who meticulously described the five orders including a "Tuscan order", "the solidest and least ornate", in his fourth book of Regole generalii di...

, the whole surmounted by a pediment

Pediment

in the centre. The column

Column

s are not stone, but wood coated in stucco

Stucco

Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...

. This is particularly interesting, as cost was no object in the construction of the house. The architect of this elevation was John Donowell, who executed 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

Palazzo Chiericati

Palazzo Chiericati is a Renaissance palace in Vicenza , designed by Andrea Palladio.- History :The Palazzo was commissioned to Palladio by Count Girolamo Chiericati. The architect started building the architecture in 1550, some further work was completed under the patronage of Chiericati's son and...

of 1550, was originally the entrance front. The front door is still in the centre of the ground floor leading into the main entry hall. This in itself is a substantial deviation from the classical form: West Wycombe does not have a first floor piano nobile
Piano nobile
The piano nobile is the principal floor of a large house, usually built in one of the styles of classical renaissance architecture...

: had the architect truly followed Palladio's ideals, the main entrance and principal rooms would have been on the first floor reached by an outer staircase, giving the main reception rooms elevated views, and allowing the ground floor to be given over to service rooms.

The more severe north front is of 11 bays

Bay (architecture)

A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...

, with the end bays given significance by rustication

Rustication (architecture)

thumb|upright|Two different styles of rustication in the [[Palazzo Medici-Riccardi]] in [[Florence]].In classical architecture rustication is an architectural feature that contrasts in texture with the smoothly finished, squared block masonry surfaces called ashlar...

at ground floor level. The centre of this façade has Ionic

Ionic order

The Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and the Corinthian...

columns supporting a pediment and originally had the Dashwood coat of arms

Coat of arms

A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...

. This façade is thought to date from around 1750–1751, although the segmented windows of this facade suggest it was one of the first of the 2nd Baronet's improvements to the original house to be completed, as the curved or segmented window heads are symbolic of the earlier part of the 18th century.

Interior

The principal reception rooms are on the ground floor with large sash window

Sash window

A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels or "sashes" that form a frame to hold panes of glass, which are often separated from other panes by narrow muntins...

s opening immediately into the porticos and the colonnades, and therefore onto the gardens, a situation unheard of in the grand villas and palaces of Renaissance

Renaissance

Italy. The mansion contains a series of 18th century salons decorated and furnished in the style of that period, with polychrome

Polychrome

Polychrome is one of the terms used to describe the use of multiple colors in one entity. It has also been defined as "The practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." Polychromatic light is composed of a number of different wavelengths...

marble floors, and painted ceilings depicting classical scenes of Greek

Greek mythology

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...

and Roman mythology

Roman mythology

Roman mythology is the body of traditional stories pertaining to ancient Rome's legendary origins and religious system, as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans...

. Of particular note is the entrance hall, which resembles a Roman atrium

Atrium (architecture)

In modern architecture, an atrium is a large open space, often several stories high and having a glazed roof and/or large windows, often situated within a larger multistory building and often located immediately beyond the main entrance doors...

with marbled columns and a painted ceiling copied from Robert Wood's Ruins of Palmyra.

Many of the reception rooms have painted ceilings copied from Italian palazzi

Palazzo

Palazzo, an Italian word meaning a large building , may refer to:-Buildings:*Palazzo, an Italian type of building**Palazzo style architecture, imitative of Italian palazzi...

, most notably from the Palazzo Farnese in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

. The largest room in the house is the Music Room, which opens onto the east portico. The ceiling fresco in this room depicts the "Banquet of the Gods" and was copied from the Villa Farnesina

Villa Farnesina

The Villa Farnesina is a Renaissance suburban villa in the Via della Lungara, in the district of Trastevere in Rome, central Italy.The villa was built for Agostino Chigi, a rich Sienese banker and the treasurer of Pope Julius II. Between 1506–1510, the Sienese artist and pupil of Bramante,...

. The Saloon, which occupies the centre of the north front, contains many marbles, including statuettes of the four seasons. The ceiling depicting "The Council of the Gods and the Admission of Psyche" is also a copy from Villa Farnesina

Villa Farnesina

.
The Dining Room walls are painted faux jasper

Jasper

Jasper, a form of chalcedony, is an opaque, impure variety of silica, usually red, yellow, brown or green in color; and rarely blue. This mineral breaks with a smooth surface, and is used for ornamentation or as a gemstone. It can be highly polished and is used for vases, seals, and at one time for...

and hold paintings of the house's patron — Sir Francis Dashwood — and his fellow members of the Divan Club

Divan Club

The Divan Club was a short-lived dining club in 18th century England, with membership open to gentlemen who had visited the Ottoman Empire. The club took its name from the Turkish "divan"....

(a society for those who had visited the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

). The room also has a painted ceiling from Wood's Palmyra.

The Blue Drawing Room is dominated by the elaborate painted ceiling depicting "The Triumph of Bacchus and Ariadne" (illustrated left). This room houses a plaster statuette of the Venus de' Medici

Venus de' Medici

The Venus de' Medici or Medici Venus is a lifesize Hellenistic marble sculpture depicting the Greek goddess of love Aphrodite. It is a 1st century BC marble copy, perhaps made in Athens, of a bronze original Greek sculpture, following the type of the Aphrodite of Cnidos, which would have been made...

and marks the 2nd Baronet's risqué devotion to that goddess of love. The room has walls of blue flock

Flocking (texture)

Flocking is the process of depositing many small fiber particles onto a surface. It can also refer to the texture produced by the process, or to any material used primarily for its flocked surface. Flocking of an article can be performed for the purpose of increasing its value in terms of the...

hung in the 1960s bearing paintings from various Italian schools of the 17th century.

The relatively 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, once ante-room to the adjoining former principal bedroom, is hung with tapestries given to the 1st Duke of Marlborough

John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough

John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, Prince of Mindelheim, KG, PC , was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reigns of five monarchs through the late 17th and early 18th centuries...

to celebrate his victories in the Low Countries

Low Countries

The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....

. Marlborough was a distant kinsman of the Dashwoods. The tapestries

Tapestry

Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven on a vertical loom, however it can also be woven on a floor loom as well. It is composed of two sets of interlaced threads, those running parallel to the length and those parallel to the width ; the warp threads are set up under tension on a...

, woven c.1710, depicting peasant scenes by Teniers

Teniers

Teniers was a family of celebrated Flemish painters that included:*David Teniers the Elder *David Teniers the Younger *David Teniers III...

, have been cut and adapted to fit the proportions and features of the room.

In spite of the grandeur of the interior decoration, the interior of the house is not overpowering. The rooms are not cavernously large nor the ceilings gigantically high. The many large windows in each room allow light to flood in illuminating the colours of the many paintings, silk hangings on the walls and antique furniture.

The gardens and the Park

The gardens at West Wycombe Park are among the finest and most idiosyncratic 18th century gardens surviving in England

England

. The park is unique in its consistent use of Classical architecture from both Greece and Italy. The two principal architects of the gardens at West Wycombe were John Donowell and Nicholas Revett

Nicholas Revett

. They designed all of the ornamental buildings in the park. The landscape architect Thomas Cook began to execute the plans for the park, with a nine-acre

Acre

The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...

man-made lake created from the nearby River Wye

River Wye, Buckinghamshire

The River Wye in Buckinghamshire is a river in England that rises in the Chiltern Hills of Buckinghamshire. It flows for around , through High Wycombe on its way down to Bourne End, where it meets the River Thames on the reach above Cookham Lock....

in the form of a swan. The lake originally had a Spanish galleon

Galleon

A galleon was a large, multi-decked sailing ship used primarily by European states from the 16th to 18th centuries. Whether used for war or commerce, they were generally armed with the demi-culverin type of cannon.-Etymology:...

for the amusement of Dashwood's guests, complete with a resident captain on board. Water leaves the lake down a cascade

Waterfall

A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...

and into a canal pond.

One of the most important landmarks in the late Georgian period was the introduction of many new species of trees and flora from around the world, which Horace Walpole described as giving the "richness and colouring so peculiar to the modern landscape". The new species also allowed changes of mood through changes of planting, so an area could be dark and melancholic, or light and ebullient, or mysterious; thus, contemporary gardens such as West Wycombe and Stourhead

Stourhead

Stourhead is a 2,650 acre estate at the source of the River Stour near Mere, Wiltshire, England. The estate includes a Palladian mansion, the village of Stourton, gardens, farmland, and woodland...

, both arranged as a walk around a lake, took the visitor through a range of locations, each with its own specific character and quite separate from the last. Humphry Repton

Humphry Repton

Humphry Repton 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 19th century...

later extended the 5,000 acres (20 km²) of grounds to the east, towards the nearby town of High Wycombe

High Wycombe

High Wycombe , commonly known as Wycombe and formally called Chepping Wycombe or Chipping Wycombe until 1946,is a large town in Buckinghamshire, England. It is west-north-west of Charing Cross in London; this figure is engraved on the Corn Market building in the centre of the town...

, until they appeared much as they do today.
The park still contains many follies

Folly

and temples. The "Temple of Music" is on an island in the lake, inspired by the Temple of Vesta

Temple of Vesta

The Temple of Vesta is an ancient edifice in Rome, Italy, located in the Roman Forum near the Regia and the House of the Vestal Virgins. The temple's most recognizable feature is its circular footprint. Since the worship of Vesta began in private homes, the architecture seems to be a reminder of...

in Rome

Rome

. It was designed for Dashwood's fêtes champêtres

Fête champêtre

A Fête champêtre was a popular form of entertainment in the 18th century, taking the form of a garden party. This form of entertainment was particularly popular at the French court where at Versailles areas of the park were landscaped with follies, pavilions and temples to accommodate such...

, with the temple used as a theatre; the remains of the stage survive. Opposite the temple is the garden's main cascade which has statues of two water nymphs

Nymph

A nymph in Greek mythology is a female minor nature deity typically associated with a particular location or landform. Different from gods, nymphs are generally regarded as divine spirits who animate nature, and are usually depicted as beautiful, young nubile maidens who love to dance and sing;...

. The present cascade has been remade, as the original was demolished in the 1830s. An octagonal tower known as the "Temple of the Winds" is based in design on the Tower of the Winds

Tower of the Winds

The Tower of the Winds, also called horologion , is an octagonal Pentelic marble clocktower on the Roman agora in Athens. The structure features a combination of sundials, a water clock and a wind vane...

in Athens

Athens

Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

.

Classical architecture continues along the path around the lake, with the "Temple of Flora

Flora (mythology)

In Roman mythology, Flora was a goddess of flowers and the season of spring. While she was otherwise a relatively minor figure in Roman mythology, being one among several fertility goddesses, her association with the spring gave her particular importance at the coming of springtime...

", a hidden summerhouse

Summer house

A summer house or summerhouse has traditionally referred to a building or shelter used for relaxation in warm weather. This would often take the form of a small, roofed building on the grounds of a larger one, but could also be built in a garden or park, often designed to provide cool shady places...

, and the "Temple of Daphne", both reminiscent of a small temple on the Acropolis

Acropolis

Acropolis means "high city" in Greek, literally city on the extremity and is usually translated into English as Citadel . For purposes of defense, early people naturally chose elevated ground to build a new settlement, frequently a hill with precipitous sides...

. Another hidden temple, the "Round Temple", has a curved loggia

Loggia

Loggia is the name given to an architectural feature, originally of Minoan design. They are often a gallery or corridor at ground level, sometimes higher, on the facade of a building and open to the air on one side, where it is supported by columns or pierced openings in the wall...

. Nearer the house, screening the service wing from view, is a Roman triumphal arch

Triumphal arch

A triumphal arch is a monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road. In its simplest form a triumphal arch consists of two massive piers connected by an arch, crowned with a flat entablature or attic on which a statue might be...

, the "Temple of Apollo

Apollo

Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...

", also known (because of its former use a venue for cock fighting) as 'Cockpit Arch', which holds a copy of the famed Apollo Belvedere

Apollo Belvedere

The Apollo Belvedere or Apollo of the Belvedere—also called the Pythian Apollo— is a celebrated marble sculpture from Classical Antiquity. It was rediscovered in central Italy in the late 15th century, during the Renaissance...

. Close by is the "Temple of Diana

Diana (mythology)

In Roman mythology, Diana was the goddess of the hunt and moon and birthing, being associated with wild animals and woodland, and having the power to talk to and control animals. She was equated with the Greek goddess Artemis, though she had an independent origin in Italy...

", with a small niche containing a statue of the goddess. Another goddess is celebrated in the "Temple of Venus

Venus (mythology)

Venus is a Roman goddess principally associated with love, beauty, sex,sexual seduction and fertility, who played a key role in many Roman religious festivals and myths...

". Below this is an Exedra

Exedra

In architecture, an exedra is a semicircular recess or plinth, often crowned by a semi-dome, which is sometimes set into a building's facade. The original Greek sense was applied to a room that opened onto a stoa, ringed with curved high-backed stone benches, a suitable place for a philosophical...

, a grotto

Grotto

A grotto is any type of natural or artificial cave that is associated with modern, historic or prehistoric use by humans. When it is not an artificial garden feature, a grotto is often a small cave near water and often flooded or liable to flood at high tide...

(known as Venus's Parlour) and a statue of Mercury

Mercury (mythology)

Mercury was a messenger who wore winged sandals, and a god of trade, the son of Maia Maiestas and Jupiter in Roman mythology. His name is related to the Latin word merx , mercari , and merces...

. This once held a copy of the Venus de' Medici

Venus de' Medici

; it was demolished in the 1820s but has recently been reconstructed and now holds a replica of the Venus de Milo

Venus de Milo

Aphrodite of Milos , better known as the Venus de Milo, is an ancient Greek statue and one of the most famous works of ancient Greek sculpture. Created at some time between 130 and 100 BC, it is believed to depict Aphrodite the Greek goddess of love and beauty. It is a marble sculpture, slightly...

.

Later structures that break the classical theme include the Gothic

Gothic Revival architecture

The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...

style boathouse

Boathouse

A boathouse is a building especially designed for the storage of boats, normally smaller craft for sports or leisure use. These are typically located on open water, such as on a river. Often the boats stored are rowing boats...

, a Gothic Alcove — now a romantic ruin hidden amongst undergrowth — and a Gothic Chapel

Chapel

A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...

, once home of the village cobbler

Shoemaking

Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand. Traditional handicraft shoemaking has now been largely superseded in volume of shoes produced by industrial mass production of footwear, but not necessarily in quality, attention to detail, or...

but later used as the estate kennel

Kennel

A kennel is the name given to any structure or shelter for dogs. A kennel is a doghouse, run, or other small structure in which a dog is kept...

s. A monument dedicated to Queen Elizabeth II

Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...

was erected on her 60th birthday in 1986.

The Dashwoods of West Wycombe

Sir Francis Dashwood built West Wycombe to entertain, and there has been much speculation on the kind of entertainment he provided for his guests. Judged against the sexual moral

Moral

A moral is a message conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim...

s of the late 18th century, Dashwood and his clique

Clique

A clique is an exclusive group of people who share common interests, views, purposes, patterns of behavior, or ethnicity. A clique as a reference group can be either normative or comparative. Membership in a clique is typically exclusive, and qualifications for membership may be social or...

were regarded as promiscuous; while it is likely that the contemporary reports of the bacchanalia

Bacchanalia

The bacchanalia were wild and mystic festivals of the Greco-Roman god Bacchus , the wine god. The term has since come to describe any form of drunken revelry.-History:...

n orgies

Orgy

In modern usage, an orgy is a sex party where guests engage in promiscuous or multifarious sexual activity or group sex. An orgy is similar to debauchery, which refers to excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures....

over which Dashwood presided in the Hellfire

Hellfire Club

caves above West Wycombe were exaggerated, free love

Free love

The term free love has been used to describe a social movement that rejects marriage, which is seen as a form of social bondage. The Free Love movement’s initial goal was to separate the state from sexual matters such as marriage, birth control, and adultery...

and heavy drinking did take place there. Dashwood often had himself depicted in portrait

Portrait

thumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...

s in fancy dress (in one, dressed as the pope

Pope

The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...

toasting a female Herme

Hermé

Hermé is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.-External links:* *...

), and it is his love of fancy dress which seems to have pervaded through to his parties at West Wycombe Park. Following the dedication of the West portico as a bacchanalian temple in 1771, Dashwood and his friends dressed in skins adorned with vine leaves and went to party by the lake for "Paean

Paean

A paean is a song or lyric poem expressing triumph or thanksgiving. In classical antiquity, it is usually performed by a chorus, but some examples seem intended for an individual voice...

s and libation

Libation

A libation is a ritual pouring of a liquid as an offering to a god or spirit or in memory of those who have died. It was common in many religions of antiquity and continues to be offered in various cultures today....

s". On another occasion, during a mock sea battle

Naumachia

The naumachia in the Ancient Roman world referred to both the re-enactment of naval battles and the basin in which this took place....

on the lake, the "captain" of one of the yacht

Yacht

A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...

s masquerading as a battle ship was nearly killed when he was struck by a cannon ball of wadding fired at him from an opposing ship. Dashwood seems to have mellowed in his later years and devoted his life to charitable works. He died in 1781, bequeathing West Wycombe to his half-brother Sir John Dashwood-King, 3rd Baronet

Sir John Dashwood-King, 3rd Baronet

Sir John Dashwood-King, 3rd Baronet was an English country gentleman. Born John Dashwood, he adopted the additional surname of King by the terms of his uncle Dr. John King's will....

.

Dashwood-King spent little time at West Wycombe. On his death in 1793, the estate was inherited by his son Sir John Dashwood, 4th Baronet

Sir John Dashwood-King, 4th Baronet

Sir John Dashwood-King, 4th Baronet was a British Tory politician and country gentleman.The son of Sir John Dashwood-King, 3rd Baronet and half-nephew of Francis Dashwood, 15th Baron le Despencer, he shared little of their cultured and hedonistic ways and was a pious churchgoer.On 29 August 1789,...

, Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

for Wycombe

Wycombe (UK Parliament constituency)

Wycombe is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It currently elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post system of elections....

and a friend of the Prince of Wales

George IV of the United Kingdom

George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...

, although their friendship was tested when Sir John accused his wife of an affair with the prince. Like his father, Sir John cared little for West Wycombe and held a five-day sale of West Wycombe's furniture in 1800. In 1806, he was prevented from selling West Wycombe by the trustee

Trustee

Trustee is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, can refer to any person who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the benefit of another...

s of his son, to whom the estate was entailed. He became religious in the last years of his life, holding ostentatiously teetotal parties in the West Wycombe's gardens in aid of the "Friends of Order and Sobriety" — these would have been vastly different from the bacchanalian fêtes given by his uncle in the grounds. In 1847, Sir John was bankrupt and bailiff

Bailiff

A bailiff is a governor or custodian ; a legal officer to whom some degree of authority, care or jurisdiction is committed...

s possessed the furniture from his home at Halton

Halton House

thumb|right|300px|Halton House, BuckinghamshireHalton House is a country house situated in the Chiltern Hills above the village of Halton in Buckinghamshire, England. It was built for Alfred de Rothschild between 1880 and 1883...

. He died estranged from his wife and surviving son in 1849.
Sir John was succeeded by his estranged son Sir George Dashwood, 5th Baronet

Sir George Dashwood, 5th Baronet

Sir George Henry Dashwood, 5th Baronet was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons in two periods between 1832 and 1865....

. For the first time since the death of the 2nd Baronet in 1781, West Wycombe became again a favoured residence. However, the estate was heavily in debt and Sir George was forced to sell the unentailed estates, including Halton, which was sold to Lionel de Rothschild

Lionel de Rothschild

Baron Lionel Nathan de Rothschild was a British banker and politician.-Biography:The son of Nathan Mayer Rothschild and Hanna Barent Cohen, he was a member of the prominent Rothschild family....

for the then huge sum of £54,000 (£ in ). The change in the Dashwoods' fortunes allowed for the refurbishment and restoration of West Wycombe. Sir George died childless in 1862, and left his wife, Elizabeth, a life tenancy of the house while the title and ownership passed briefly to his brother and then a nephew. Lady Dashwood's continuing occupation of the house prevented the nephew, Sir Edwin Hare Dashwood, 7th Baronet, an alcoholic sheep farmer in the South Island

South Island

The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...

of New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

, from living in the mansion until she died in 1889, leaving a neglected and crumbling estate.

The 7th Baronet's son, Sir Edwin Dashwood, 8th Baronet, arrived from New Zealand to claim the house, only to find Lady Dashwood's heirs claiming the house's contents and family jewellery, which they subsequently sold. As a consequence, Sir Edwin was forced to mortgage the house and estate in 1892. He died suddenly the following year, and the heavily indebted estate passed to his brother, Sir Robert Dashwood, 9th Baronet. Sir Robert embarked on a costly legal case against the executors of Lady Dashwood, which he lost, and raised money by denuding the estate's woodlands and selling the family town house in London. On his death in 1908, the house passed to his 13-year-old son Sir John Dashwood, 10th Baronet, who in his adulthood sold much of the remaining original furnishings (including the state bed, for £58 — this important item of the house's history complete with its gilded pineapples is now lost). In 1922, he attempted to sell the house itself. He received only one offer, of £10,000 (£ in ), so the house was withdrawn from sale. Forced to live in a house he disliked, the village of West Wycombe was sold in its entirety to pay for renovations. Not all these renovations were beneficial: painted 18th century ceilings were overpainted white, and the dining room was divided into service rooms, allowing the large service wing to be abandoned to rot.

A form of salvation for West Wycombe was Sir John's wife: Lady Dashwood, the former Helen Eaton, was a socialite

Socialite

A socialite is a person who participates in social activities and spends a significant amount of time entertaining and being entertained at fashionable upper-class events....

who loved entertaining, and did so in some style at West Wycombe throughout the 1930s. Living a semi-estranged life from her husband, occupying opposite ends of the mansion, she frequently gave "large and stylish" house parties funded by further sales of land from the estate.

During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, the house saw service as a depository for the evacuated Wallace Collection

Wallace Collection

The Wallace Collection is a museum in London, with a world-famous range of fine and decorative arts from the 15th to the 19th centuries with large holdings of French 18th-century paintings, furniture, arms & armour, porcelain and Old Master paintings arranged into 25 galleries.It was established in...

and a convalescent home. A troop of gunners occupied the decaying service wing, and the park was used for the inflation of barrage balloon

Barrage balloon

A barrage balloon is a large balloon tethered with metal cables, used to defend against low-level aircraft attack by damaging the aircraft on collision with the cables, or at least making the attacker's approach more difficult. Some versions carried small explosive charges that would be pulled up...

s. During this turmoil, the Dashwoods retreated to the upper floor and took in lodgers to pay the bills, albeit very superior lodgers, who included Nancy Mitford

Nancy Mitford

Nancy Freeman-Mitford, CBE , styled The Hon. Nancy Mitford before her marriage and The Hon. Mrs Peter Rodd thereafter, was an English novelist and biographer, one of the Bright Young People on the London social scene in the inter-war years...

and James Lees-Milne

James Lees-Milne

James Lees-Milne was an English writer and expert on country houses. He was an architectural historian, novelist, and a biographer. He is also remembered as a diarist.-Biography:...

.

Lees-Milne was secretary of the Country House Committee of the National Trust, which had a wartime office based at West Wycombe. Sir John, appreciating the historical importance of the house, if not the house itself, gave the property to the National Trust in 1943, together with an endowment of £2,000 (£ in ).

West Wycombe in the 21st century

Today, West Wycombe Park serves a combined role of public museum

Museum

A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...

, family home, and film set. During the summer months, the paying public can tour the ground floor room to view the architecture and the antique contents of the house still owned by the Dashwoods, many of which have been re-purchased and restored to the house by Sir Francis Dashwood, 11th Baronet, in the late 20th century, following their dispersal during the various sales of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

The present head of the Dashwood family, Sir Edward Dashwood (born 1964), lives in the mansion with his wife and three young children. Sir Edward runs the estate and house as a commercial concern, in order that the entire estate can be retained and maintained. The house is frequently let out as a filming location, and, in addition to agricultural enterprises

Farm enterprise

A farm enterprise is a component of a farm business. For example a farm may include an arable enterprise and a dairy enterprise....

, there is a large pheasant shoot

Pheasant

Pheasants refer to some members of the Phasianinae subfamily of Phasianidae in the order Galliformes.Pheasants are characterised by strong sexual dimorphism, males being highly ornate with bright colours and adornments such as wattles and long tails. Males are usually larger than females and have...

with paying guns. Sir Edward is the president of West Wycombe Park Polo Club

West Wycombe Park Polo Club

West Wycombe Park Polo Club is a polo club, established in 1995. The club plays in the grounds of West Wycombe Park.The Club is a Hurlingham Polo Association Polo Club situated in the village of West Wycombe in Buckinghamshire. The clubs facilities include three polo fields...

who have grounds on the estate.

West Wycombe is not just maintained today, but continues to be improved. For example, a huge equestrian sculpture

Equestrian sculpture

An equestrian statue is a statue of a rider mounted on a horse, from the Latin "eques", meaning "knight", deriving from "equus", meaning "horse". A statue of a riderless horse is strictly an "equine statue"...

has been installed as the focal point of a long tree lined vista from the house. On close inspection, it proves to be a fibre glass prop

Theatrical property

A theatrical property, commonly referred to as a prop, is an object used on stage by actors to further the plot or story line of a theatrical production. Smaller props are referred to as "hand props". Larger props may also be set decoration, such as a chair or table. The difference between a set...

found at Pinewood Studios

Pinewood Studios

Pinewood Studios is a major British film studio situated in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, approximately west of central London. The studios have played host to many productions over the years from huge blockbuster films to television shows to commercials to pop promos.The purchase of Shepperton...

, acquired in the late 20th century by Sir Francis Dashwood (11th Baronet) who paid for it with 12 bottles of champagne. The local Planning Authority

Local government in the United Kingdom

The pattern of local government in England is complex, with the distribution of functions varying according to the local arrangements. Legislation concerning local government in England is decided by the Parliament and Government of the United Kingdom, because England does not have a devolved...

was furious but lost their action

Lawsuit

A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...

to have it removed. Today, from a distance, it has been "known to fool experts". The grounds of the park feature in the CBBC TV series, Hounded, starring Rufus Hound

Rufus Hound

Rufus Hound is a British comedian and presenter. He is also the winner of 2010 "Let's Dance for Comic Relief".-Career:...

. They appear as 'The Park' where the time-travelling Rufus receives instructions from his future self.

The park, a natural amphitheatre

Amphitheatre

An amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment and performances.There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word "amphitheatre" is used: Ancient Roman amphitheatres were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used...

, is often the setting for large public concert

Concert

A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...

s and firework displays. In this way, the mansion, often used for weddings and corporate entertainment, and its park are still the setting for the lavish entertaining that their creator planned. In the stewardship of both the National Trust and Sir Edward Dashwood, West Wycombe Park is not only a well-preserved monument to the tastes and foibles of the late 18th century but also a much-used public venue.

External links

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