Tyntesfield, Wraxall
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An ornate Victorian Gothic Revival house with extensive garden and parkland in North Somerset, not far from Bristol. Originally a smaller Georgian house, Tyntesfield was transformed into a Gothic Revival masterpiece. The extravagant house of Tyntesfield was built for William Gibbs (1790–1875), a merchant who made his fortune in trade with Spain and South America, mostly from the import of Peruvian ‘guano’ fertiliser. Tyntesfield was not intended to be an extravagant statement of wealth, power or politics. Its purpose was simple: to serve as a family home. A Gothic Revival masterpiece, richly decorated and furnished with a collection of over 72,000 objects. Its bespoke architecture reflects the devout Anglo-Catholic beliefs of the Gibbs family. Following the completion of the house, in 1873 William commissioned a new chapel by Arthur Blomfield (1829–99), modelled on the flamboyant Gothic architecture of the Sainte Chapelle in Paris. It was nearly complet...