The Sandys and Chute families made The Vyne their home for over 500 years. They accumulated beautiful and important objects and made significant changes to the house during their lives. Enjoy the collection in opulent state rooms and humble servants’ quarters.
Which parts of the house are open?
Tues 6 Jan - Sun 1 Mar: Ground floor open weekends only 11am-3pm.
𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲.
House highlights
Enter the house through the door on the South Drive and discover intriguing stories about The Vyne's former residents. With Grecian pillars, sweeping balconies and plasterwork like royal icing, the 18th-century staircase hall is a sight to behold.
Tucked away in a ground-floor ante-room, examine the intricate detail on Lattimo plates handpainted with 18th-century Venetian scenes. In the stone gallery, you’ll find a Tudor roundel that emulates the style and grandeur of the ancient world. The Vyne's pre-Reformation chapel showcases the earliest depiction of Henry VIII in stained glass.
Five 'must-sees' at The Vyne
Whether you want to see the house’s surviving examples of Tudor craftsmanship or admire the exquisite taste of John Chute, here are key things to look out for after Christmas.
Part of an Italian Old Master work, see a rare-surviving 17th-century sketch by one of the most celebrated painters in Italian art. Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, who was known during his lifetime as il Guercino (the squinter) because of his crossed eyes, drew this preparatory sketch for the altarpiece of the Church of San Marco Evangelista in Osimo, Italy.
Created using red chalk on paper, the sketch is part of an album of 28 drawings bought by John Chute during his Grand Tour (1741-46). John Chute was an early collector of Guercino’s works, which became increasingly popular in the later 18th Century. The complete album was sold in 1949 and broken-up with each sketch then separately sold. Returning to its former home for the first time in 70 years, The Vyne purchased this sketch in 2020.
In July 1741 John Chute and his friends commissioned these hand-made plates while visiting Venice. In a time before photography, these decorative souvenirs were a way of displaying their visit, featuring different painted views of the city. Made using a technique named lattimo, tin oxide was added to the glass to give it a white appearance. The images were copied from paintings and engravings.
What really makes this set special is its survival. The sets belonging to John’s friends Walpole and Pelham-Clinton were sold after their deaths and are now dispersed. The Vyne is the only place where you can see a large, intact set of these plates (16 of the original 24 survive) which are still displayed in the cabinets made for them in the 19th Century.
This 18th-century ebony Italian casket has panels of pietra dura mounted in ormolu and encrusted with semi-precious stones. It was purchased at great expense by John Chute on the Florence leg of his Grand Tour, as a tongue-in-cheek ‘apology’ to his older brother Anthony, who had asked him to curb his spending.
John Chute was under pressure from his close friend Horace Walpole to make improvements and alterations to The Vyne. Mostly, he made drawings and then never acted upon it. An exception to this was the new entrance hall which he built in 1769 and 1770. Richly decorated with classical features, it gave a real ‘wow’ factor for visitors to his home and still provides a dramatic entrance today.
We don’t often look too closely at what’s beneath our feet, but take a look at the 16th-century tiles in the chapel and you’ll see lots of different designs, from people to animals.
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Discover more at The Vyne
Find out when The Vyne is open, how to get here, the things to see and do and more.
Conservators condition survey 18th-century brocatelle wall hangings at The Vyne
On a dark winter’s afternoon in early January, Zenzie and Ania from textile conservators Zenzie Tinker Studios carried out an in-depth survey of the red and cream brocatelle wall hangings in The Vyne’s Further Drawing Room - the first of three rooms to be examined. Influenced by his earlier travels to Europe, 18th-century owner John Chute bought these decadent wall hangings from Italy to adorn the walls of his home. As Storm Goretti cast the house and grounds into gloom, Zenzie and Ania carefully examined every inch of the wall hangings by the light of torches and conservation lamps. The results from the condition survey will provide a vital record to help shape how we care for the collection at The Vyne.
The Vyne was once one of the most important Tudor houses in Hampshire. For over 500 years, it was owned and shaped by just two families, the Sandys and the Chutes. Each generation enriched the property, resulting in an incredible collection and range of architecture and interiors, demonstrating the highest quality in design and craftsmanship.
Enjoy a refreshment stop in the atmospheric tea-room at The Vyne. Treat yourself to a gift in the shop or get comfy in the window seat while browsing pre-loved books.
