Tyntesfield, Wraxall

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 complete in 1875, just before William’s death. The chapel was licensed for family services, used daily for prayers, but was never consecrated.  

The house is surrounded by 540 acres of historic land that includes a woodland and orchard.

The garden is varied, ranging from open lawns and formal terraces, to a historic Orangery and an working Kitchen Garden.

 

The Orangery

The Kitchen Garden was the ideal space for Antony Gibbs, the heir of William and Blanche Gibbs, to make his own mark on the impressive Victorian gothic estate they had created. It was a good distance from the main house, and discretely enclosed by walls and yew hedges.

With hundreds of acres to explore, there's plenty of room to run wild, including play areas for the little ones.

In the surrounding woodland, you can explore trails and paths all laid out by Tyntesfield's previous owners. The meadows are home to countless species of wildlife.

Just off the car park, the Home Farm welcome building has maps of the estate and useful information. The spacious Home Farm Shop has everything from seasonal specialities and locally sourced produce to National Trust classics and the café  serves meals, snacks and drinks.

 

In the winter months, the garden team are working hard to prepare the for the spring, bulbs are being planted and the earliest spring flowers such as snowdrops and daffodils begin to pop up.

Definitely, we will be back to witness spring in bloom!