History of West Wycombe Park, Village and Hill

Expert curated

A long, bright yellow Portico with over 2 dozen classical columns across the ground floor and first storey of the house. — The South Portico at West Wycombe Park, Buckinghamshire | © National Trust Images/Hugh Mothersole

West Wycombe Park, Buckinghamshire, is one of the most theatrical of all 18th-century English country houses. With its remarkable architecture and sculptures, the house and parkland are testament to the idiosyncratic and flamboyant tastes of Francis Dashwood, 2nd Baronet.

Domesday to the Dashwoods

Domesday Book of 1086 records that West Wycombe was let to the influential Dormer family of Buckinghamshire.

In 1643, during the English Civil Wars, Robert Dormer, Earl of Carnarvon (1610–43) was killed fighting for the King. Deeply in debt, Robert’s son, the 2nd Earl, sold the estate to Thomas Lewis (1657–96) a merchant and alderman of the City of London.

In 1698, brothers Francis (1658–1724) and Samuel Dashwood (1643–1705) acquired the estate, with Francis taking sole ownership in 1706. He replaced the 17th-century manor house with a modest property and formal garden. This house formed the basis for the extensive alterations undertaken by Francis’s son, the 2nd Baronet, also called Francis (1708–81).

The three storey, yellow stuccoed, Palladian mansion seen from across the lake framed by woods at West Wycombe Park, Village and Hill, Buckinghamshire — The Palladian mansion seen across the lake at West Wycombe Park, Village and Hill, Buckinghamshire | © National Trust Images/Martin Hailey

A politician and rake

After the death of his father in 1724, the 2nd Baronet went on a succession of tours. This included four separate tours of Italy and two more unusual tours for the time of Greece, Asia Minor (modern-day Türkiye) and Russia. These visits greatly informed the architectural work and landscaping he commissioned at West Wycombe Park.

The 2nd Baronet was renowned for his interest in the classical world. He was a founding member of the Society of the Dilettanti, an organisation which sponsored the study of ancient Greek and Roman art, and the short-lived Divan Club for gentlemen who had visited the Ottoman Empire.

The 2nd Baronet also founded the Order of the Knights of St Francis (also known as the Franciscans of Medmenham) in 1745. The Order was one of several, exclusive 18th-century society groups that later became known as Hellfire Clubs. Dashwood became notorious for tales of excess during his travels and for the time he spent socialising in gentlemen’s clubs. The antiquarian and author, Horace Walpole, described the Society of the Dilettanti as, ‘...a club for which the nominal qualification is having been to Italy, and the real one, being drunk.’

The 2nd Baronet returned to England in 1741 and became MP for New Romney in Kent. He briefly held the post of Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1762. He later became a Member of the House of Lords and joint Postmaster General in 1766, a role he held until his death.

A temple designed in the classical style, a hexagonal, stone built and plastered temple sits atop a bare stone base with an arched opening — The Temple of Four Winds at West Wycombe Park, Village and Hill, Buckinghamshire | © National Trust Images/Hugh Mothersole

Flamboyance and theatre

The 2nd Baronet began work on West Wycombe Park from about 1735. He employed architects Nicholas Revett and John Donowell to alter his father’s unassuming house into the grand Palladian mansion that stands today. Revett’s west portico is an important and early example of Greek Revival architecture. The interiors were inspired by contemporary archaeological excavations.

A sense of classical theatricality extends into the parkland. Revett and Donowell designed several temples, which are dotted throughout the pleasure grounds. These include the Temple of the Four Winds, the Temple of Music and the Temple of Venus. Francis’s desire for spectacle included having a sailing frigate on the lake which could be used for naval re-enactments.

The 2nd Baronet’s architectural vision extended beyond the park and out into the village of West Wycombe. He commissioned extensive alterations to the 14th-century church of St Lawrence and the construction of the Dashwood family mausoleum and Hellfire caves in the mid-1700s.

West Wycombe Park and global trade

The 2nd Baronet was able to make these grand changes in part through money he inherited. His father and uncle, Francis and Samuel Dashwood, were successful merchants of the late 17th and early 18th century. They imported silk and other luxury goods via the East India Company for which both men held seats on the governing body.

Furthermore, Samuel and Francis were two of 24 MPs who were both Royal African Company officials and Members of Parliament. As company directors, they both traded company stock during the Royal African Company’s formative years.

Later, Sir George Henry Dashwood (c. 1790–1862), MP for Buckinghamshire from 1832–5 and Wycombe from 1837–62 became a trustee of four sugar plantation estates in Barbados and received financial compensation following the Slave Compensation Act of 1837. The three estates, Spring, Over Hill and Ashton Hall received a total of £7771 12s 10d in compensation payments for a total of 353 enslaved people.

The painted ceiling depicts various Gods of antiquity in varying degrees of undress, dining and carousing around a gilt gold table, attended to by cherubs. Painted by Giuseppe Borgnis it is based on the Banquet of the Gods at the Villa Farnesina by Raphael. — The painted ceiling in The Music Room at West Wycombe Park, Buckinghamshire | © National Trust Images/John Hammond

The Collection

The National Trust’s collection at West Wycombe Park includes 18th-century works by English sculptor, John Cheere, and wall paintings by Italian painter and architect, Giuseppe Mattia Borgnis. Most of the works on display in the house are part of the Dashwood family’s extensive private collection and include family portraits, tapestries, furniture and sculpture.

West Wycombe Park and the National Trust

Throughout much of the Second World War the house was the headquarters of the National Trust. In 1943, Sir John Dashwood (1896–1966) gifted West Wycombe Park to the National Trust. His son Francis, the 11th Baronet (1925–2000), began a programme of work to conserve and protect its striking interiors and dramatic landscapes. This work has been continued by the 12th Baronet, Sir Edward (born 1964). The house and grounds often feature in television and film productions.