Philipps House

Philipps House (until 1916 Dinton House) is an early nineteenth-century Neo-Grecian country house at Dinton, overlooking the Nadder valley about 8 miles (13 km) west of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. The house was built in 1816 by William Wyndham to the designs of Sir Jeffry Wyatville, replacing a 17th-century house. In 1916 the estate was bought by Bertram Philipps, who renamed the house after himself, then in 1943 gave the house and grounds to the National Trust. The house and its parkland (known as Dinton Park) are Grade II* listed.

The house is built of Chilmark stone, a local stone also used for Salisbury Cathedral, and Wyatt is believed to have based his design on Pythouse, some seven miles (11 km) away at Newtown, near Tisbury. The house is two-storied with symmetrically set chimney stacks and a central lantern. The main (south) front has nine bays with an Ionic portico. The rooms are planned around a spacious square hall with an imperial staircase to the first floor. The house is one of the first in England to have a central heating system installed, which was achieved by pumping hot air from a boiler in the basement into the stairwell.

History

The house was designed by Jeffry Wyatt, later Sir Jeffry Wyatville for William Wyndham (1769–1841), a descendant of Sir Wadham Wyndam, and was built between 1814 and 1817 on the site of an earlier, demolished seventeenth-century house, Dinton House, which had been the Wyndham family home since 1689. It was sold in 1916 by William Wyndham (1868–1951) of Orchard Wyndham in Somerset, whose father William VI Wyndham (1834–1914), of Dinton House, had inherited Orchard Wyndham as heir male to his grandfather William IV Wyndham (1769–1841), of Dinton, under the will of his distant cousin George Francis Wyndham, 4th Earl of Egremont (1786–1845) (who shared common descent from Sir John Wyndham (1558–1645) of Orchard Wyndham).

In 1917 foreclosure proceedings were brought against Dinton House and its estate. The estate was bought by Bertram Erasmus Philipps (1870–1947), a descendant of the Philipps baronets of Picton Castle (1621 creation); who renamed the house after himself. He was High Sheriff of Wiltshire in 1923. Philipps and his wife, who had no children, annually hosted the pupils from the village school for a tea party at Philipps House with sports and fireworks.

In 1936, Philipps leased the house to the YWCA and moved to nearby Hyde's House, a former rectory which he had bought in 1924 and where he lived until his death. During World War II, the park in front of Philipps House was requisitioned for use by the United States Army Air Force, who erected a number of Nissen huts there. In 1943 Philipps gave the house and 250 acres (1.0 km2) of parkland to the National Trust, along with Hyde's House as well as a number of paintings owned by the Wyndham and Philipps families.

National Trust

Although the house and estate became the property of the National Trust, the property was handed over on the condition that it would continue to be leased to the YWCA, on a peppercorn rent, for as long as they had purposeful use for it. During their occupation the house was predominantly used as an artists' retreat, providing residential art courses for keen amateur and semi-professional painters.

Philipps House was much loved by many creative people during this era. The interior spaces were converted into artist studios with bedrooms available for paying guests. The grounds and outlying area also provided locations for landscape painting. Some of Britain's best contemporary artists such as Tom Coates, Edward Wesson, Ken Paine, Deborah Manifold, and John Yardley provided tuition, amongst others.[]

The YWCA remained at Philipps House until 1995. Despite the art courses being as heavily subscribed to as ever, the withdrawal of the YWCA was inevitable after the terms of the lease were changed when it was presented to the YWCA for renewal, a process that occurred every ten years. The lease transferred the cost of maintaining the structure of the house and other amenities from the National Trust to the YWCA at a time when many major works were due, such as laying new pipes from the neighbouring village of Dinton.[]

After the YWCA left, the National Trust carried out a thorough refurbishment of the house, which was leased to a tenant family. The house is, as of June 2016, closed to the public. The parkland that surrounds the house is still known as Dinton Park, and is accessible by the public.

Bibliography

  • Anon, 1954, Philipps House, Dinton, Wiltshire: A Property of the National Trust, Curwen Press for the National Trust, 6 pages
  • James Lees-Milne, 1943, "Dinton House" Country Life 17 December 1943
  • Pevsner, Nikolaus; Cherry, Bridget (revision) (1975) [1963]. Wiltshire. The Buildings of England (2nd ed.). Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. p. 219. ISBN .

External links

Listed in the following categories:
Post a comment
Tips & Hints
Arrange By:
There are no tips nor hints for Philipps House yet. Maybe be you will be the first one to post useful information for fellow travellers? :)
4.4/10
387 people have been here
Map
0.3km from Hill View, Snow Hill, Dinton, Salisbury SP3 5HN, UK Get directions

Philipps House on Facebook

Other languages

Hotels nearby

See all hotels See all
Stonehenge Cottages

starting $189

Compasses Inn

starting $117

The Queens Head Hotel

starting $169

The Pembroke Arms Hotel

starting $158

The Swan at Stoford

starting $64

Peartree Serviced Apartments

starting $172

Recommended sights nearby

See all See all
Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Fonthill Abbey

Fonthill Abbey — also known as Beckford's Folly — was a large Got

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
New Wardour Castle

New Wardour Castle is an English country house near Tisbury,

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Old Sarum

Old Sarum is the site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury, in

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Salisbury Cathedral

Salisbury Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, England,

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Stonehenge

Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Bluestonehenge

'Bluestonehenge' or 'Bluehenge' is a prehistoric henge and stone

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Longford Castle

Longford Castle is located on the banks of the River Avon south of

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Gold Hill, Shaftesbury

Gold Hill is a steep cobbled street in the town of Shaftesbury in the

Similar tourist attractions

See all See all
Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Ightham Mote

Ightham Mote (), Ightham, Kent is a medieval moated manor house. The

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Tyntesfield

Tyntesfield is a Victorian Gothic Revival house and estate near

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Dunham Massey Hall

Dunham Massey Hall, usually known simply as Dunham Massey, is an

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Avebury Manor and Garden

Avebury Manor & Garden is a National Trust property consisting of

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Basildon Park

Basildon Park is a country house situated 2 miles (3 kilometres) south

See all similar places