Dyrham Park

Dyrham Park is a baroque country house in an ancient deer park near the village of Dyrham in South Gloucestershire, England. The house, attached orangery, stable block and accompanying parish church are Grade I listed buildings, while the park is Grade II* listed on the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.

The current house was built for William Blathwayt in stages during the 17th and early 18th centuries on the site of a previous manor house, with the final facade being designed by William Talman. It contains art works and furniture from around the world, particularly Holland, and includes a collection of Dutch Masters. The house is linked to the 13th-century church of St Peter, where many of the Blathwayt family are buried. The house is surrounded by 274 acres (111 ha) of formal gardens, and parkland which supports a herd of fallow deer. The grounds, which were originally laid out by George London and later developed by Charles Harcourt Masters, include water features and statuary.

The house and estate are now owned by the National Trust and underwent extensive renovation in 2014 and 2015. They are open to the public on some days and host events and attractions, including open-air concerts. They have also been used as a location for film and television productions.

The Manor of Dyrham has been recorded since the Domesday Book of 1086, when there were 34 households. The first lord of the manor to be resident may have been William Denys, who was an Esquire of the Body to Henry VIII and later High Sheriff of Gloucestershire. He was granted the licence to empark 500 acres (200 ha) of Dyrham in 1511, although not all of this area was enclosed. This meant that he could enclose the land with a wall or hedgebank and maintain a captive herd of deer within the park, over which he had exclusive hunting rights; the name "Dyrham" derives from the Anglo-Saxon word dirham, an enclosure for deer. The estate was sold to the Wynter family in 1571 and Sir George Wynter was allowed to empark further land in 1620. In 1689 the estate was acquired through marriage by William Blathwayt, who was Secretary at War to William III. He retained the existing Tudor building and expanded it in stages. The west front of 1692 was commissioned from the Huguenot architect, Samuel Hauduroy, and includes an Italianate double staircase leading from the terrace to the grounds. In 1698 a stable block with space for 26 horses, and servants' quarters above, around a courtyard was added. The east front of 1704 was designed by William Talman, architect of Chatsworth. The construction of the east wing included demolition of the remains of the original Tudor house and the addition of a statue of an eagle on the roof.

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