| West Wycombe Park was the home of the Dashwood family.
Between 1740 and 1781 the earlier house was transformed by the
second Sir Francis Dashwood.
Although he was a Fellow of the Royal Society, Postmaster General
from 1766 to 1781 and a founder member of the Dilettante Society Sir
Francis is still best recalled as a member of the notorious Hell Fire
Club.
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He travelled extensively and had a wide knowledge of
architectural styles. On separate occasions he commissioned Robert
Adam and Nicholas Revett to provide designs and various parts of the house
as well as the garden buildings are attributable to them.
John Donowell designed the south front and Thomas Cook laid out the
grounds in about 1760. Twenty years after Sir Francis Dashwood's
death his successors engaged Humphrey Repton to carry out improvements in
the grounds.
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| The exterior of the house is neo-classical with a double
colonnade along the south front. There are porticoes at both the
east and west sides of the building. The interior continues the
classical theme and is richly decorated. The hall and staircase are
considered to be like a Roman atrium. The Saloon has a painted
ceiling depicting the Council of the Gods. In the Blue Drawing Room
the painted ceiling shows the Triumph of Bacchus and Ariadne. There
are fine marble fireplaces and a staircase of maghogany, walnut and
satinwood. The house contain fine tapestries, family portraits and
some splendid 18th century furniture.
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In 1943 the house and grounds were given to the National
Trust who also own most to West Wycombe Village. In addtion, the
Trust owns Church Hill which faces West Wycombe Park. On this
hill Sir Francis Dashwood built a mausoleum for the members of the Hell
Fire Club.
The house is set in one of the best 18th century landscaped parks.
There is a lake and several classical temples.
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Everything about West
Wycombe bears the stamp of the man who created it, the mercurial
dilettante Sir Francis Dashwood. |
