Visiting Tyntesfield House in Wraxall, North Somerset in the company of Old Girls from GDST schools brought back memories of other school trips, long ago. The need for ‘sensible’ shoes and a coat, the anxiety about the location of the loo and the inevitability that one would have to write something about it afterwards!

The National Trust acquired Tyntesfield in 2002, when the 2^nd lord Wraxall died. Initially the estate, house and contents were to have been sold off and the proceeds split among 19 beneficiaries. However, after the loss of Mentmore and the dispersal of the contents of that house, the Trust was very keen to preserve this fine example of a Victorian Gothic ‘time capsule’. 

The Gibbs family, motto ‘Tenacious of Purpose’, who gave Tyntesfield House its present appearance and lived in it for 4 generations, combined the money to procure the finest craftsmanship and the instinct for thrift that meant they did not throw much away. For example, when the drawing room fireplace was replaced in 1908, the former, Gothic one by Norton was stored elsewhere in the house, rather than being broken up.

Succeeding generations altered the house, but always sympathetically and one of its great glories is the attention to detail in stone and wood carvings. The frieze of boxwood carvings of exotic fruit and flowers in Mrs Gibbs’s room is especially fine. Indeed, one of the family, Antony (1874-1957), was a skilled wood turner himself.

The family were devout supporters of the Oxford Movement in the nineteenth century and the chapel reflects their High Church propensities. Modelled on the Sainte Chapelle in Paris, it was built between 1873 and 1875 and contains beautiful stained glass, mosaics and memorial crosses for family members, all of whom are buried elsewhere. The chapel only ever enjoyed a ‘partial consecration’ and so neither weddings nor funerals could be held there. Apparently the local rector feared that he would lose his job if the estate workers and the Gibbs family were able to dispense with his services altogether!

Tyntesfield house is a ‘work in progress’ and the upper floor is not yet open to the public. The National Trust is making great efforts to extend its appeal beyond its ‘core’ supporters and groups of disadvantaged youngsters have enjoyed an opportunity to contribute to the restoration of the grounds. Flower beds near the house had a particularly lovely display of tulips when we were there. There is also a stipulation that teams working on the internal restoration of the house must contain an apprentice or trainee so that they may add to their skills portfolio the fact that that they have worked on a house of this age.

Despite the ongoing work, there are loos (!) and a shop and café. We were lucky that early morning rain had cleared by the time we arrived and we were able to sit outside with our coffee and chat. A walk through some most attractive woodland brought us to the chapel and then down the drive to the front of the house. Over the front door is carved the charming sentiment ‘Pax intrantibus salus exeuntibus’ Peace to those who enter, farewell to those who depart (I knew ‘O‘ Level Latin would be useful one day!) Tyntesfield is most interesting now and promises to be even more so in future when it is fully open. Situated near the M5, it is easy to reach, though perhaps not quite as easy as when a family friend, a certain Mr Brunel, located a railway station a mere half mile away!

Evelyn Irvine

Notting Hill & Ealing (1952 - 1965)