Painswick House

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Painswick House
Painswick House - geograph.org.uk - 525870.jpg
TypeHouse and garden
Location Painswick, Stroud District, Gloucestershire, England
Coordinates 51°47′34″N2°11′58″W / 51.7927°N 2.1995°W / 51.7927; -2.1995
Builtbegun 1737, extended 1837
Architect John Strahan, 18th-century work; George Basevi, 19th-century work
Architectural style(s) Neoclassical
Listed Building – Grade I
Official namePainswick House
Designated21 October 1955
Reference no.1153435
Official namePainswick Rococo Garden
Designated28 February 1986
Reference no.1000181
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official nameEagle House 25M west of the stables
Designated29 May 1968
Reference no.1340532
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official namePigeon House at Painswick House
Designated24 August 1990
Reference no.1090941
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official nameRed House 150M north of the stables
Designated24 August 1990
Reference no.1304275
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official nameGothic Seat 150M south-west of Painswick House
Designated24 August 1990
Reference no.1153492
Gloucestershire UK relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Location of Painswick House in Gloucestershire

Painswick House is a Neoclassical country house in Painswick, Gloucestershire, England. It was built c.1737 for Charles Hyett by the architect John Strahan. It was extended in the 19th century by George Basevi for William Henry Hyett. In the 1740s, Benjamin Hyett, Charles' son and heir, created a Rococo pleasure ground to the north of the house. By the 1950s, the garden was derelict and planted over with conifers. Restored from the 1980s, based on a painting of the park by Thomas Robins the Elder dated 1748, it is now England's "sole surviving complete rococo garden". The garden is listed at Grade II* on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England, while the house is listed at Grade I.

Contents

History

The house and a range of outbuildings were built in the 1730s by Charles Hyett to escape the smog of Gloucester but Hyett died in 1738 not long after moving there. [1] He demolished an earlier farmhouse which stood on the site. [2] It was originally known as "Buenos Ayres". [1] [3] Hyett's architect was likely John Strahan. [a] Around 1830 the house was extended by George Basevi adding the east and west wings. [2] [b]

Architecture and description

The limestone building has tiled roofs. The nine-bay front has a central door set in an Ionic porch with a pediment. The interior of the building has many original fireplaces and makes extensive use of friezes for decoration. [5]

Painswick Rococo Garden

The grounds include the Painswick Rococo Garden, as it is now known, which was laid out by Charles's oldest son Benjamin (1708-62), the brother of Nicholas Hyett, constable and keeper of the Castle of Gloucester. The garden was painted by Thomas Robins the Elder in 1748. [4] [c] Robins's painting allowed the garden to be restored from the 1980s under the direction of Painswick's owner, Lord Dickinson, who inherited the house in 1955. [8] [9]

The garden is the only surviving garden of the rococo period which is open to the public. [1] The Gardens Trust describes it as England's "sole surviving complete rococo garden". [10] It was designed and laid out in the 1740s. [11] The garden has been restored since 1984 having been abandoned in the 1950s. [1] [12] It includes woodland, flower and vegetable plots, garden buildings and a maze. [11] Several snowdrops, particularly Galanthus 'Atkinsii' are found in the grounds. [3] [13] There are a series of ponds and streams on the slopes of the valley with small waterfalls. [6] Some of the structures within the garden are reconstructions of original buildings, while others, such as the Exedra, are 20th-century recreations of buildings which were lost. [4]

Historic listing designations

The house is a Grade I listed building while the garden is listed at Grade II* on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England. [5] [6] The garden and park contain 15 further listed structures. Those at the second highest grade, Grade II*, include: the Eagle House; the Pigeon House; the Red House; the Gothic Seat; the Ram House; a Classical seat; a wellhead; a Spring Head and associated pool; a statue of Pan and a pair of urns. [14] Those listed at Grade II include: the stables; a carriage house; a pair of gates; and a lodge. [15]

Notes

  1. ↑ Pevsner is not definitive as to the attribution of the house to Strahan, but notes the close similarities to his probable Frampton Court. [4]
  2. ↑ Both Historic England and British Listed Buildings Online misspell George Basevi's surname as "Baseri". [5] [6] [7]
  3. ↑ Alan Brooks, in his Gloucestershire 1: The Cotswolds volume, in the Pevsner Buildings of England series, revised and re-issued in 2000, notes the tradition that Robins may have designed the garden as well as painting it. [4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Painswick Rococo Garden in the Cotswolds, Gloucestershire, nr Cheltenham, Stroud and Gloucester". Painswick Garden Trust. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  2. 1 2 Baggs, Jurica & Sheils 1976, pp. 65–70.
  3. 1 2 "Painswick Rococo Garden". Cotswold Adventures. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Verey & Brooks 2000, pp. 552–553.
  5. 1 2 3 Historic England. "Painswick House (Grade I) (1153435)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 Historic England. "Painswick House Park and Garden (Grade II*) (1000123)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 1 May 2025.
  7. ↑ "Painswick House". British Listed Buildings Online. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
  8. ↑ Cleveland-Peck, Patricia (11 September 1998). "Gardening: Portrait of a paradise regained". The Independent . Archived from the original on 1 February 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  9. ↑ Pavord, Anna. "Gardening: Scene by the limner of Bath". The Independent . Archived from the original on 6 August 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  10. ↑ "Painswick Rococo Garden, Gloucestershire". The Gardens Trust . Retrieved 1 May 2025.
  11. 1 2 "Painswick Rococo Garden". Historic Houses. Archived from the original on 29 March 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  12. ↑ "Painswick Rococo Garden". Cotswolds.com. Archived from the original on 28 December 2017. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  13. ↑ Gifford, Jane (21 January 2010). "Painswick Rococo Garden". Cotswold Life. Archived from the original on 18 October 2018. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  14. ↑
  15. ↑

Sources

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