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Wilbury House

Coordinates: 51°10′17″N 1°41′03″W / 51.1714°N 1.6843°W / 51.1714; -1.6843
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Wilbury House is a Palladian house in Wiltshire in South West England. It is a Grade I listed building,[1] and the surrounding park and garden are Grade II listed.[2]

History

Wilbury House as it appeared originally, folio from Colen Campbell's Vitruvius Britannicus (1715)

It was built around 1710 by and for William Benson, a country esquire, in the style of Inigo Jones.[1][3] The house and park was featured in Vitruvius Britannicus (C I, pls. 51-52) in 1715.[4] Originally it had only a ground floor; a second floor was added later.

The house was sold again after the death of the owner Lady Maria St. Just in 1996.[2] It was carefully restored in 2006.[5][6]

The house is private and not open to the public, except for specific tours.[7]

In media

The house was the filming location as Pendersleigh, the country house where Maurice visits his friend Clive, in the 1987 film Maurice.[8] Lady Maria St. Just, an actress and trustee of the estate of Tennessee Williams, was a friend of Merchant and Ivory. In 1979 they had been weekend guests at Wilbury Park, which made an impression on James Ivory, and he chose this location for the film.

Bibliography

  • Hussey, Christopher. English Country Houses: Early Georgian, 1715-1760. 1955. pgs. 16-17. Country Life Limited, London.
  • Kidd, Charles; Williamson, David (Editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage. 1990. pg. P 1081. Debrett's Peerage Limited, London. ISBN 0312046405
  • Kelly's Handbook to the Titled, Landed and Official Classes, 95th Annual Edition. 1969. pg. 1733. Kelly's Directories Ltd, London.
  • Irish Georgian Society Newsletter. Summer 2004, pg. 6. Irish Georgian Society, Dublin.
  • Colvin, HowardBiographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600-1840. 1995. pg. 122. Yale University Press, New Haven. ISBN 0300072074
  • Pym, John. Merchant Ivory's English Landscape: Rooms, Views, and Anglo-Saxon Attitudes. 1995. pg. 60. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. ISBN 0810942755

References

51°10′17″N 1°41′03″W / 51.1714°N 1.6843°W / 51.1714; -1.6843