April 2009

At the April meeting of FARNHAM DECORATIVE AND FINE ARTS SOCIETY, Matthew Williams, Curator of Cardiff Castle and Lecturer, gave a talk on “Tyntesfield:  A Victorian House Rediscovered”.  This lecture was arranged to be in conjunction with a visit by members to Tyntesfield in May.

Tyntesfield, a Victorian Gothic country house in Somerset, was acquired amid great excitement by The National Trust in 2002.  Following the death of the Second Baron Wraxall, who had no children, in 2001, the estate was to be divided, which forced its sale.  The house was felt to be of such importance that the Save Britain’s Heritage group started a campaign to enable The National Trust to acquire it as, although they manage a great number of older houses, Victorian houses, as significant as Tyntesfield, do not feature in their portfolio.  The money to buy the house for The National Trust was eventually raised by means of donations and a large sum from the National Heritage Memorial Fund.

Four generations of the Gibbs family have contributed to the house as it is today.  William Gibbs and his wife, Matilda Blanche bought Tyntesfield, a modest regency house near the village of Wraxall in 1843.  In 1850, John Norton, the Bristol architect, and Thomas Cubitt the builder, were chosen to carry out the task of enlarging it in the Gothic style, which was the architectural language of the day, reflecting Britain’s perception of itself.  The Gibbs were a wealthy, religious family, living in London, who had made their money from guano.  The Great Western Railway had opened up the opportunities for London-based families to travel easily to their country homes in the West Country.  The library and the oratory were added in 1863-66 and the new chapel, designed by Sir Arthur Blomfield, and based on the style of St Chapelle in Paris, in the 1880s.  After William’s death in 1875, his wife inherited and added bathrooms and the loggia, designed by Henry Woodyear. 

In 1889, Anthony, their eldest son, moved into the house and extended the house still further, employing Henry Woodyear to do the work, in a revival of the Queen Anne style.  Electric lighting was introduced. 

Anthony’s son, George was the next owner.  He entered Parliament in 1907, married Leah, the daughter of an MP and, in order to accommodate their political parties, they decided that the house needed redecoration.  Many of the changes made have remained to the present day.  George became Treasurer to the Royal Household and was appointed a Baron.  George and Leah had one daughter, Doreen, but following Leah’s death in 1920, George married Ursula.  They had two sons and the eldest became the second Baron Wraxall, who lived at Tyntesfield until he died.

The interest of the house lies in the people who created it, the atmosphere of the past and its significance as one of the most important Victorian houses in Britain.  But The National Trust has a large task of renovation.

Picture: Graham Parlett