House & chapel
Watch Tyntesfield being unwrapped
Tyntesfield unwrapped from National Trust on Vimeo.
We're scaffolding free
This winter we said goodbye to our scaffolding and temporary roof, which had cocooned the house during our major restoration and repair project. Note: house access by timed ticket.
A beautiful new roof
Watertight and weatherproof, the newly restored black and red tiles display the complex diaper pattern that had been unseen for generations.
Our sparkling weather vane
On the highest point of the house the cockerel weather vane was removed and re-gilded, returning it to its former golden glory.
Changing rooms
All 106 rooms of the house, as well as the chapel were affected by the rewiring, plumbing and roof repairs, so it’s been a busy winter getting everything cleaned and back in place.
Unpacking and unwrapping
Now that the major reservicing works are complete we’re beginning to re-present the rooms, evoking the different ways all four generations of the Gibbs’ family used the house.
The chapel
The chapel
Very few Victorian houses had private purpose-built chapels, especially on the scale and grandeur of Tyntesfield’s but William Gibbs who commissioned the building of the chapel in 1873 was deeply religious and a passionate supporter of the Oxford or High Church Movement.
A little piece of Paris
Inspired by the flamboyant Gothic architecture of Sainte Chapelle in Paris, every aspect of the chapel is decorated, from the beautiful mosaic floor to the flowering brass chandeliers, which is typical of the Oxford or High Church Movement.
Going to the chapel...
As the chapel is not consecrated we can’t hold weddings here so at the moment it’s only used by the parish church for special occasions and on request by other churches and for events, like our Christmas carol concerts.
Rise and decline
William Gibbs, first owner of Tyntesfield, Somerset
Tyntesfield is the continuing story of a great Victorian estate and house, which was created by the Gibbs family. The fortunes of the Gibbs rose to fabulous wealth with William Gibbs’ (1790 – 1875) trade in the droppings of South American sea birds, called guano, which became Britain's most popular fertiliser. In the 1860s, he re-modelled Tyntesfield, a Regency country house, into a fantastic Gothic masterpiece. By the 20th century, like many English country houses, Tyntesfield entered a period of decline.
Rediscovery
In 2002 Tyntesfield was saved with the contributions of many ordinary people, the help of National Heritage Memorial Fund and with generous support from the Heritage Lottery Fund, and is now managed by the National Trust