Originally part of the wider Dorney Court estate, Dorneywood grew from a farmstead in the 1700s into a larger residence in the late 1800s. Rebuilt and remodelled in 1919, the house became home to businessman Courtauld Thomson and his artist sister Winifred Thomson. In 1942, the house and its contents were given to the National Trust with the condition that it be made available to a Minister of the Crown for quiet relaxation and entertaining. Today, the house and gardens are leased to the Dorneywood Trust who are responsible for the day-to-day management of the property.
For much of its history, the Dorneywood estate was part of a larger landholding owned by the Palmer family of Kent who still live at the nearby Dorney Court. The marriage of Sir James Palmer of Wingham (1585–1658) and Martha Garrard (1586–1617), daughter of Sir William Garrard (the estate’s previous owner and Lord Mayor of London), saw the Palmer family acquire the land in the 1620s. Sir James Palmer was an MP, gentleman of the bedchamber to both James I and Charles I and an artist specialising in miniatures.
The 1700s saw the first evidence of a farmstead near the site of the present house and in the 1890s Charles Palmer converted the main farmhouse into a more formal residence.
From the early 1900s, Dorneywood was leased to Paget Toynbee (1855–1932), a noted Dante scholar, and Helen Wrigley Toynbee (1868–1910), a leading scholar of Horace Walpole. During their time at Dorneywood, Helen published sixteen volumes of The Letters of Horace Walpole, Fourth Earl of Orford before the couple moved to Burnham in 1907.
In 1910 the house was badly damaged by fire. The Aberdeen Journal reported that the picturesque residence had, ‘practically the whole of its valuable contents burned.’ The house was not rebuilt until the property was purchased by Courtauld Thomson nine years later.
Businessman Courtauld Thomson (1865–1954) purchased the house and grounds in 1919 suggesting it could be, ‘…made quite charming but has many defects as it is.’ Thomson employed the influential Scottish architect Sir Robert Lorimer to lay out the forecourt, extend the house and make internal alterations. From the early 1920s, he lived at Dorneywood with his sister Winifred Hope Thomson (1864–1944) and was responsible for the creation of the core of the estate, much as it remains today.
Courtauld was a successful businessman, founding a coaching company which he sold to the Dunlop Tyre Company in the 1890s before investing in property construction in Mayfair. He went on to hold several lucrative directorships and was knighted in 1912.
Winifred Hope Thomson was an artist who studied at the National Art Training School in South Kensington and was the first woman to be awarded a gold medal in the national competition open to all students at government Art Schools. She studied in France under Jean Jacques Henner and Carolus Duran and became renowned for her portrait miniatures of wealthy society figures. In later life, she wrote cookery columns for The Times newspaper and published a book ‘Someone to Dinner – Chef Cooking for Little Kitchens’ in 1935. Throughout her life Winifred turned her hand to several artistic disciplines, from illustration and portraiture to needlework and photography.
Elspeth Thomson (1862–1946) married ‘Wind in the Willows’ author Kenneth Grahame in 1899. The couple often visited Dorneywood and Grahame’s published works are well represented in the collection.
At the outbreak of the Second World War, Courtauld, who was already a sales Director for the Red Cross and chairman of the Lord Mayor’s Red Cross and St John’s Fund, made Dorneywood available as a retreat for convalescing Commonwealth Officers. Courtauld and Winifred hosted hundreds of service personnel at the property, allowing them free reign of the estate for relaxation and recuperation, as well as organising day trips to London.
In 1942, following the example set by Lord and Lady Lee of Fareham at Chequers, Courtauld and his sisters Elspeth and Winifred presented Dorneywood to the nation for the use of a Minister of the Crown. Courtauld lived at Dorneywood until his death in 1954. The following year, Anthony Eden, then Foreign Secretary, became the first politician to take residence. However, if the government of the day decides that Dorneywood is no longer required, Courtauld stipulated that the house should be offered to the American Ambassador or the Lord Mayor of London.
Following Courtauld’s death in 1954, a series of temporary Scout Camps held in fields at Dorneywood were formalised with the National Trust. A permanent Scout Camp was established in the early 1960s.
In giving the house to the National Trust, Courtauld was ‘anxious that no changes should be made in the house or contents less the vagaries of taste should spoil what his expert care had gathered and arranged.’ As a result, the house is decorated and furnished much as Courtauld and Winifred Thomson would have known it in the 1940s. The collection, amassed by Courtauld, has several significant works of art including a Rex Whistler mural, ‘Ave Silvae Dorni’ (‘Hail, woods of Dorney’) and artworks by John Singer Sargent, Winston Churchill and Winifred Thompson.
The Dorneywood library contains numerous notable works. These include: a German translation of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ inscribed by Lewis Carroll and illustrated by John Tenniel (a friend of the Thomsons); a 17th-century manuscript copy of the works of the Shirazi writer Saʻdī; and an early 18th-century Qu’ran which includes additional pages dating from the 10th century, making it the second oldest manuscript in National Trust collections. Due to the Thomson family links with Kenneth Grahame, his works – including signed presentation copies of his most famous publications and books from his own library – are an important part of the Dorneywood library collection.
Courtauld Thomson, A Memoir by L A G Strong, 1958
Dorneywood, J N P Watson, Robert Hale, 1992
Courtauld Thomson: A Memoir, L A G Strong, John Murray, 1958
100 Books from the Libraries of the National Trust, Yvonne Lewis, Tim Pye & Nicola Thwaite, the National Trust, 2023
100 Paintings from Collections of the National Trust, John Chu and David Taylor, the National Trust, 2021
Dorneywood is managed by The Dorneywood Trust. The house and garden are open on select days during the summer. Entry to the house is with timed slots which must be booked in advance to avoid congestion. It usually takes about 20 minutes to see the house, after which you are welcome to stroll round the six-acre garden and buy refreshments from our tea stall. All visits to see the house must be booked in advanced.