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West Wycombe Park House is a Grade I listed historic building in Buckinghamshire, cared for by the National Trust. Read about its history, architecture and gardens, plus how to visit and what's nearby.
About West Wycombe Park House
West Wycombe Park is an 18th-century country house near High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, built for Sir Francis Dashwood, 2nd Baronet.
The house sits within a landscape park of lakes, temples and classical follies that Dashwood laid out as a setting worthy of his Grand Tour tastes.
The National Trust has cared for the house since 1943, though the Dashwood family still lives there.
Visitors can walk through rooms with elaborate painted ceilings and then out into grounds designed to be seen almost as a series of outdoor rooms.
Read more on WikipediaHistory of West Wycombe Park House
Sir Francis Dashwood, 2nd Baronet, began remodelling the existing house from the mid-1730s, drawing on ideas gathered during his travels in Italy and the classical world. The work continued through the eighteenth century until around 1800. The Dashwood family gave the house and much of the surrounding estate to the National Trust in 1943, though they retain a private apartment and continue to live there today. Dashwood is also remembered as the founder of the Hellfire Club, formally the Order of the Friars of St Francis of Wycombe, whose members met in caves dug into the hillside nearby.
Architecture of West Wycombe Park House
The house was remodelled in the Palladian style over several decades in the eighteenth century, with colonnaded facades added on different sides at different periods, giving it a slightly experimental, evolving character rather than a single unified design.
Worth knowing
Sir Francis Dashwood's Hellfire Club, notorious for its secretive gatherings, drew members from the political and literary elite of the day, including figures associated with Benjamin Franklin during his visits to England.
Gardens & grounds at West Wycombe Park House
The landscape park, shaped around a series of lakes and classical temples, was designed as a sequence of picturesque views rather than a conventional formal garden.
Plan your visit to West Wycombe Park House
Nearest station: Saunderton Rail Station (2.6 miles)
Part of the Chilterns National Landscape: see all the National Trust places there, with a map and day-trip routes.
Open to the public during the summer months; check the National Trust website for specific dates and opening times.
Places to visit near West Wycombe Park House
Hughenden Manor
View Hughenden Manor on heritage mapCliveden War Cemetery
View Cliveden War Cemetery on heritage mapCliveden
View Cliveden on heritage mapAll Saints Church, Shirburn
View All Saints Church, Shirburn on heritage mapHistoric places nearby
Within 5 miles of West Wycombe Park House (HP14) there are 2 historic properties, including 1 historic building and 1 historic house, across Historic Houses and National Trust sites.
Within 10 miles of West Wycombe Park House (HP14) there are 9 historic properties, including 3 historic buildings, 3 historic houses and 2 gardens, across National Trust, Historic Houses and Churches Conservation Trust sites.
Within 20 miles of West Wycombe Park House (HP14) there are 39 historic properties, including 13 historic houses, 11 historic buildings and 9 churchs, across Historic Houses, National Trust and Churches Conservation Trust sites.
Facts
A Palladian mansion built by the founder of the Hellfire Club, still lived in by his descendants.
- Type
- historic building
- Location
- Buckinghamshire, England
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