For our final outing of the summer our group chose West Wycombe Park, the home of the Dashwood family for over 300 years which has one of the finest surviving 18th-century landscape gardens created by Sir Francis Dashwood. The 2nd baronet bought his brother’s share of the estate for £15,000 in 1706. Inspired by his travels to Italy, he spent his life converting the house into a Palladian villa and redesigned the grounds, opting for more naturalistic landscaping, and added classically-inspired temples and follies.
We spent a wonderful afternoon exploring the 45 acres of parkland at West Wycombe
In the morning we had climbed West Wycombe Hill to see the imposing Dashwood Mausoleum and the medieval St Lawrence’s Church whose tower was raised by Sir Francis so that it was more visible from far off. He also crowned it with the golden sphere that is thought to have been a meeting place for the notorius Hellfire Club who are also rumoured to have held wild and extravagant parties in the nearby Hellfire Caves.
Sir John Dashwood gifted the park to the National Trust in 1943 and the 12th Baronet, Sir Edward, continues to live there today. Even if you haven’t visited West Wycombe Park yet, it may seem familiar. The house and parkland have featured in TV dramas including Cranford, Sense and Sensibility (2008), Downton Abbey, Midsomer Murders and The Crown.