Sir William Blathwayt (1649--1717) had the world at his feet and made a small fortune as a result. It was a case of energy, ability and chance, or perhaps luck. Born in the year a king was executed, an event which signified the dawning of a new age, he prospered under James II as Secretary of State for War and chose the winning side when William of Orange came on the scene and drove the old king into exile. He was lucky in his choice of wife, Mary Annn Wynter, the heiress of Dyrham Park, whom he married in December 1686. Between then and her death in 1691 she bore him four sons and a daughter. The two events may not be unrelated.
His greatest piece of luck was being born when he was and achieving office when he did. The late C17th and early C18th witnessed global transformation and the underpinnings of the British Empire to come, and William Blathwayt knew exactly how to tack his sails. When William of Orange came to the throne, all things Dutch became the rage; aristocrats competed as to who could most slavishly imitate the new king—few more effectively than Sir William Blythwaite who demolished Dyrham’s dilapidated Tudor mansion and replaced it with the present Dyrham House and gardens, which copied almost exactly the new king’s palace and gardens.
Mary, however died from her various exertions and never lived to see the house completed. She was buried in the adjacent medieval church, where her husband and children in due course also took up residence. It was a salutary experience walking from the house, family portraits and their graves, where my feet are artfully shown.
From the second portrait in order: William Blathwayt, Mary Wynter, William Blathwayt II (1688- 72) John Blathwayt (1690-1754) soldier- fought at Culloden - and musician, Anne Blathwayt (1691-1717)
St Peter's Church
The Dutch fashion for embossed leather wall coverings
The State bedroom. No monarch actually slept there, but every great house had one just in case and as a status symbol. Out of picture to the right are two ornately carved armchairs for important visitors to any in-bed monarch. To the left are two armless chairs for the less important. And two stools at the foot of the bed for nonentities.
Best Staircase, so called because it led to the best rooms. Made from red cedar wood, it was shipped from Carolina at enormous expense - perk of the job. Sir William was Surveyor and Auditor General of Plantation Revenues at the time, amongst other positions. The cedar wood oils left a strong and pleasant odour. Sir William had only one complaint: it took longer for the wood to travel from Bristol docks to Dyrham Park than the time it took to sail the Atlantic. You wonder at the number of horse and carts it took to carry it all - and at the state of the pre toll gate roads of the time.
Old Staircase and the rooms above. As a high ranking government official, Blathwayt used British diplomatic, military and colonial networks to source his materials from across the world: Carrara marble from Italy, pine timber from Sweden, rare and valuable timbers for his staircases; in particular, black walnut and red cedar from Virginia. Dutch east asian networks sourced him fine porcelain, damask and silk.
The National Trust, with great sensitivity ask you to avert your eyes or even take an alternative route as you reach the first floor. The reason are the two side tables in the room above, showing two enslaved men each holding a large scallop shell. You may stop reading here if you wish or take it as part of the time.
I had to avert my eyes from some obscure exhibition of modern fabric art scattered randomly across the house and covering some very fine paintings.
