Building the dream
Blathwayt employed leading architect William Talman, and fashionable gardeners George London and Henry Wise. The contents of Dyrham reflect his career and interests: a tea-table from Java, gilt leather wall panels from Amsterdam, books in many European languages, fine Dutch paintings, and a splendid collection of Delftware – from enormous tulip vases to plaques showing then exotic scenes of China.
Blathwayt’s colonial colleagues sourced walnut and cedar timber from Virginia and Carolina, which was shipped to Dyrham for staircases and panelling. The timber reflects his unique position at the epicentre of British colonial activity. This was at a pivotal moment of economic expansion, which included displacing indigenous peoples and expanding enslaved labour.
Before and after
Dyrham’s story starts long before William Blathwayt. People have been at Dyrham since the Bronze Age. In 577 the decisive battle of Deorham saw West Saxons defeat three British kingdoms, and push their frontiers into Wales and Cornwall.
Subsequent generations never had William Blathwayt’s ambition and changes to the house were subtle. In the mid-19th century Colonel George Blathwayt saved the house from decline, renovated the kitchens and secured the contents.
By the 1950s the house was again at risk. Dyrham was bought for the nation through the Land Fund, saving places of cultural value as a memorial to those lost in the Second World War.
Today Dyrham provides, in the story of William Blathwayt and the house he created, a place to explore how Britain became the country we know today.
