Dyrham Park

Dyrham Park

Nestled in an ancient deer park at one end of the Cotswold Ridge, this baroque mansion was built in two stages between 1692 and 1704 for King William III’s Secretary of State, William Blathwayt. Building upon an earlier Tudor house, the Huguenot architect Samuel Hauduroy created the west front of the house while William Talman, Comptroller of the King’s Works, built the east front. Talmann also built an orangery, inspired by the example at Versailles, onto the south front of the house. Over the years, little of the interior has changed; as such, Dyrham boasts one of the best surviving Baroque interiors in the country. The rooms feature oak wainscoting, walnut panelling and leather-hung walls. The hugely spacious Great Hall is the historic core of Dyrham; once the heart of the original Tudor house, it is all that survived from that period after Blathwayt’s rebuilding.

Dyrham Park, Gloucestershire (Accredited Museum)

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Dyrham was transformed from a Tudor house into the baroque mansion we see today as a result of William Blathwayt’s advantageous service as Secretary at War to William of Orange. He filled his home with furniture, china and pictures with a strong Dutch influence, such as Samuel van Hoogstraten’s “A View Down a Corridor” and abundant Delftware. As the head of William III’s army, William Blathwayt was a military man, and his descendants continued this tradition, including service in the Great War and Second World War.

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