Wilbury House

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wilbury House is a Neo-Palladian country house in the parish of Newton Tony, Wiltshire in South West England, about 8.7 miles (14 km) northeast of Salisbury. It is a Grade I listed building,[1] and the surrounding park and garden are Grade II listed.[2]

History[]

Wilbury House as it appeared originally, folio from Colen Campbell's Vitruvius Britannicus (1715)
Plan of Wilbury House as it appeared originally, folio from Colen Campbell's Vitruvius Britannicus (1715)

It was built around 1710 by and for William Benson, a country esquire, in the style of Inigo Jones.[1][3] The south front was based on John Webb's 1661 Amesbury Abbey,[1] where Benson had been a tenant.[4] The original design for the house was featured in Vitruvius Britannicus in 1715.[5]

Around 1740–1750 the portico was altered and an upper floor added.[6] Single-storey half-octagonal bays were added at both ends of the elevation around 1760.[1] Later owners include Fulke Greville (1717–1806).[1] The house was sold again after the death of the owner, Lady St Just, in 1996.[2] It was carefully restored for the Guinness family in 2006.[7][8]

Pevsner describes Benson's original design as "the first, not Neo-Palladian, but Neo-Inigo-Jones house in England".[6] Historic England state that the house has "an outstanding period interior of the early 18th century".[1]

Today[]

The house is private and not open to the public, except for specific tours.[9]

In media[]

The house was the filming location as Pendersleigh, the country house where Maurice visits his friend Clive, in the 1987 film Maurice.[10] Lady Maria St. Just, an actress and trustee of the estate of Tennessee Williams, was a friend of Merchant and Ivory. In 1979 they had been weekend guests at Wilbury Park, which made an impression on James Ivory, and he chose this location for the film.

Bibliography[]

  • Hussey, Christopher. English Country Houses: Early Georgian, 1715-1760 . 1955. pp. 16–17. Country Life Limited, London.
  • Kidd, Charles; Williamson, David (Editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage. 1990. pg. P 1081. Debrett's Peerage Limited, London. ISBN 0312046405
  • Kelly's Handbook to the Titled, Landed and Official Classes, 95th Annual Edition. 1969. pg. 1733. Kelly's Directories Ltd, London.
  • Irish Georgian Society Newsletter. Summer 2004, pg. 6. Irish Georgian Society, Dublin.
  • Colvin, Howard Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600-1840. 1995. pg. 122. Yale University Press, New Haven. ISBN 0300072074
  • Pym, John. Merchant Ivory's English Landscape: Rooms, Views, and Anglo-Saxon Attitudes. 1995. pg. 60. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. ISBN 0810942755

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f Historic England. "Wilbury House (1300348)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  2. ^ a b Historic England. "Wilbury House: Park/Garden (Grade II) (1001245)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  3. ^ "Wilbury Park (Wilbury House) (Newton Toney Manor)". DiCamillo. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  4. ^ "Wilbury House, Wiltshire". Patrick Baty. Retrieved 6 June 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ^ Campbell, Colen (1715). Vitruvius Britannicus, Vol I: p.5 and plates 51,52 – via Internet Archive.
  6. ^ a b Pevsner, Nikolaus; Cherry, Bridget (revision) (1975) [1963]. Wiltshire. The Buildings of England (2nd ed.). Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. pp. 573–4. ISBN 0-14-0710-26-4.
  7. ^ "Wilbury Park, Wiltshire | Architecture - Peregrine Bryant".
  8. ^ http://lavieinterieure.blogspot.com/2012/01/maurice-and-wilbury-park.html[dead link]
  9. ^ https://georgiangroup.org.uk/event-directory/visit-wilbury-park-wiltshire/[dead link]
  10. ^ "Filming Locations for Maurice (1987), in London, Cambridgeshire, Wiltshire, Dorset, Gloucestershire and Italy".

External links[]

Coordinates: 51°10′17″N 1°41′03″W / 51.1714°N 1.6843°W / 51.1714; -1.6843

Retrieved from ""