Tyntesfield

William Gibbs purchased Tyntes Place, the original Regency-Gothic house that stood on the site, in 1843. In 1863 he began the full-blown rebuilding to creat the Gothic Revival extravaganza that now stands. It cost £70,000 to build. Notable elements of the house include glass by Powell and Wooldridge, mosaics by Salviati, and ironwork by Hart, Son, Peard and Co. The original architect was John Norton. In the 1880s further alterations were made by architect Henry Woodyer. The chapel was designed by ...

See also:

Tyntesfield, Tyntesfield - History, Tyntesfield - The Gibbs Family, Tyntesfield - The Estate, Tyntesfield - House, Tyntesfield - Kitchen Garden, Tyntesfield - The Park

Read more here: » Tyntesfield: Encyclopedia II - Tyntesfield - History

In Britain and Ireland, the term country house generally refers to a large house which was built on an agricultural estate as the private residence of the landowner. The vast majority of country houses in Britain and Ireland were built before 1914. Country house - Defining the country house. Subject to qualifications which are discussed below, a country house will once have been the centrepiece of an agricultural estate large enough to provide the landowner with sufficient income to be accepted as a member ...

Including:

• Country house - Defining the country house
• Country house - Who built the houses and why
• Country house - The architectural history of the country house
• Country house - The first country houses: before 1500
• Country house - The Tudor and Jacobean periods:1500–1630
• Country house - The formal house:1630–1720
• Country house - The classical ideal: 1730–1790
• Country house - The Gothic Revival and 19th-century eclecticism
• Country house - Twentieth century postscript
• Country house - Life in the country house
• Country house - Social structures
• Country house - Old and new money
• Country house - Changes in the country house lifestyle since 1830
• Country house - The decline of the country house
• Country house - The country house in recent years
• Country house - Outside England
• Country house - The Scottish country house
• Country house - The Irish country house
• Country house - Beyond the British Isles

Read more here: » Country house: Encyclopedia - Country house

The Somerset Levels, and specifically the dry points such as Glastonbury and Brent Knoll, have a long history of settlement, and are known to have been settled by mesolithic hunters. The caves of the Mendip Hills were settled during the neolithic period and contain extensive archaeological sites. There are numerous Iron Age Hill Forts, some of which were later reused in the Dark Ages, such as Cadbury Castle. Somerset, like Dorset to the south, held the Saxon invasion back for over a century, remaining a frontier between the Saxons and the Ro ...

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Somerset, Somerset - History, Somerset - Geology landscape and ecology, Somerset - Trade industry and tourism, Somerset - Culture, Somerset - Settlements, Somerset - Place names, Somerset - Places of interest

Read more here: » Somerset: Encyclopedia II - Somerset - History

Subject to qualifications which are discussed below, a country house will once have been the centrepiece of an agricultural estate large enough to provide the landowner with sufficient income to be accepted as a member of either the aristocracy or the gentry. In the 19th century and earlier this generally required an estate of at least a thousand acres (4 km²) of land. A few landowners owned more than a hundred times this minimum, and this inequality within the ruling class i ...

See also:

Country house, Country house - Defining the country house, Country house - Who built the houses and why, Country house - The architectural history of the country house, Country house - The first country houses: before 1500, Country house - The Tudor and Jacobean periods:1500–1630, Country house - The formal house:1630–1720, Country house - The classical ideal: 1730–1790, Country house - The Gothic Revival and 19th-century eclecticism, Country house - Twentieth century postscript, Country house - Life in the country house, Country house - Social structures, Country house - Old and new money, Country house - Changes in the country house lifestyle since 1830, Country house - The decline of the country house, Country house - The country house in recent years, Country house - Outside England, Country house - The Scottish country house, Country house - The Irish country house, Country house - Beyond the British Isles

Read more here: » Country house: Encyclopedia II - Country house - Defining the country house

The architectural historian Mark Girouard argues in Life in the English Country House, that country houses were essentially "power houses" built to enhance the ability of the owners to influence local and national politics. Some of the great houses, such as Kedleston Hall and Holkham Hall, were certainly built to impress and to dominate the landscape. It should also be noted that not all country house builders had an interest in politics, even in an informal sense. Nevertheless, country houses often served as meeting places for the ru ...

See also:

Country house, Country house - Defining the country house, Country house - Who built the houses, and why, Country house - The architectural history of the country house, Country house - The first country houses: before 1500, Country house - The Tudor and Jacobean periods:1500–1630, Country house - The formal house:1630–1720, Country house - The classical ideal: 1730–1790, Country house - The Gothic Revival and 19th-century eclecticism, Country house - Twentieth century postscript, Country house - Life in the country house, Country house - Social structures, Country house - Old and new money, Country house - Changes in the country house lifestyle since 1830, Country house - The decline of the country house, Country house - The country house in recent years, Country house - Outside England, Country house - The Scottish country house, Country house - The Irish country house, Country house - Beyond the British Isles

Read more here: » Country house: Encyclopedia II - Country house - Who built the houses, and why

Somerset has long traditions of art, music and literature. Wordsworth and Coleridge wrote while staying in Nether Stowey, Alfoxden and Porlock in the west of the county. Traditional folk music, both song and dance, was important in the largely agricultural communities. Somerset songs were collected by Cecil Sharp and incorporated into a number of works including Holst's A Somerset Rhapsody. Halsway Manor near Williton is an international centre for folk music. The tradition continues to ...

See also:

Somerset, Somerset - History, Somerset - Geology landscape and ecology, Somerset - Trade industry and tourism, Somerset - Culture, Somerset - Settlements, Somerset - Place names, Somerset - Places of interest

Read more here: » Somerset: Encyclopedia II - Somerset - Culture

At some point in recent decades—perhaps after the exhibition, The Destruction of the Country House, at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1974, or after the election of the Thatcher government in 1979 which led to reductions in taxes on the rich—the precipitous decline of the British country house, which many people, both sympathetic and hostile, had assumed would continue until there were very few survivors, none of them occupied as private residences, levelled off, and arguably it has now been reversed. The role of the country ho ...

See also:

Country house, Country house - Defining the country house, Country house - Who built the houses and why, Country house - The architectural history of the country house, Country house - The first country houses: before 1500, Country house - The Tudor and Jacobean periods:1500–1630, Country house - The formal house:1630–1720, Country house - The classical ideal: 1730–1790, Country house - The Gothic Revival and 19th-century eclecticism, Country house - Twentieth century postscript, Country house - Life in the country house, Country house - Social structures, Country house - Old and new money, Country house - Changes in the country house lifestyle since 1830, Country house - The decline of the country house, Country house - The country house in recent years, Country house - Outside England, Country house - The Scottish country house, Country house - The Irish country house, Country house - Beyond the British Isles

Read more here: » Country house: Encyclopedia II - Country house - The country house in recent years

The main part of Somerset has few significant industrial centers. Bridgwater was developed during the Industrial Revolution as the West Country's leading port. Yeovil is important in the manufacture of helicopters. Many towns have developed small-scale light industries, such as Crewkerne's Ariel Motor Company, Ltd., one of the UK's smallest automobile manufacturers. Agriculture continues to be a major business in the county, if no longer a major employer. Apple orchards were once plentiful, and to this day Somerset is linked to the pr ...

See also:

Somerset, Somerset - History, Somerset - Geology landscape and ecology, Somerset - Trade industry and tourism, Somerset - Culture, Somerset - Settlements, Somerset - Place names, Somerset - Places of interest

Read more here: » Somerset: Encyclopedia II - Somerset - Trade industry and tourism

Somerset placenames are mostly Saxon in origin, though the settlements may well be older. In many cases it is likely that a Saxon place name replaced an earlier Celtic one, for example a charter of 682 concerning Creechborough Hill defines it as "the hill the British call Cructan and we call Crychbeorh". A few modern names are Celtic in origin, such as Tarnock, while others are hybrid, having both Saxon and Celtic elements such as Penhill. Most of the river names are Celtic, such as Axe, while a few may be pre-Celtic such ...

See also:

Somerset, Somerset - History, Somerset - Geology landscape and ecology, Somerset - Trade industry and tourism, Somerset - Culture, Somerset - Settlements, Somerset - Place names, Somerset - Places of interest

Read more here: » Somerset: Encyclopedia II - Somerset - Place names

The original county town of Somerset was Somerton, but in recent years that role has been transferred to Taunton. The county has two cities, Bath and Wells. Main settlements (with a population of more than 3,000) Bath Bishops Hull Bishops Lydeard Bridgwater Brympton Burnham-on-Sea Chard Cheddar Comeytrowe Crewkerne Frome Glastonbury Ilminster Martock Meare Minehead < ...

See also:

Somerset, Somerset - History, Somerset - Geology landscape and ecology, Somerset - Trade industry and tourism, Somerset - Culture, Somerset - Settlements, Somerset - Place names, Somerset - Places of interest

Read more here: » Somerset: Encyclopedia II - Somerset - Settlements

The decline of the English country house began during the Agricultural Depression of the 1870s and was dramatically accelerated by World War I. The huge staff required to maintain them had either left to fight and never return, departed to work in the munitions factories, or to fulfil the void left by the fighting men in other work places. On the cessation of war, of those who returned, many left the countryside for better paid jobs in towns. The final blow for many country houses came following World War II, when many houses which had been ...

See also:

Country house, Country house - Defining the country house, Country house - Who built the houses and why, Country house - The architectural history of the country house, Country house - The first country houses: before 1500, Country house - The Tudor and Jacobean periods:1500–1630, Country house - The formal house:1630–1720, Country house - The classical ideal: 1730–1790, Country house - The Gothic Revival and 19th-century eclecticism, Country house - Twentieth century postscript, Country house - Life in the country house, Country house - Social structures, Country house - Old and new money, Country house - Changes in the country house lifestyle since 1830, Country house - The decline of the country house, Country house - The country house in recent years, Country house - Outside England, Country house - The Scottish country house, Country house - The Irish country house, Country house - Beyond the British Isles

Read more here: » Country house: Encyclopedia II - Country house - The decline of the country house

The architectural historian Mark Girouard argues in Life in the English Country House, that country houses were essentially "power houses" built to enhance the ability of the owners to influence local and national politics. Some of the great houses, such as Kedleston Hall and Holkham Hall, were certainly built to impress and to dominate the landscape. It should also be noted that not all country house builders had an interest in politics, even in an informal sense. Nevertheless, country houses often served as meeting places for the ru ...

See also:

Country house, Country house - Defining the country house, Country house - Who built the houses and why, Country house - The architectural history of the country house, Country house - The first country houses: before 1500, Country house - The Tudor and Jacobean periods:1500–1630, Country house - The formal house:1630–1720, Country house - The classical ideal: 1730–1790, Country house - The Gothic Revival and 19th-century eclecticism, Country house - Twentieth century postscript, Country house - Life in the country house, Country house - Social structures, Country house - Old and new money, Country house - Changes in the country house lifestyle since 1830, Country house - The decline of the country house, Country house - The country house in recent years, Country house - Outside England, Country house - The Scottish country house, Country house - The Irish country house, Country house - Beyond the British Isles

Read more here: » Country house: Encyclopedia II - Country house - Who built the houses and why

The headings in this section are merely intended to provide a rough indication of the main periods in the architectural history of the country house: styles did not suddenly come and go in specific years, and many individual houses evolved slowly over several centuries. Country house - The first country houses: before 1500. Baddesley Clinton Country house - The Tudor and Jacobean periods:150 ...

See also:

Country house, Country house - Defining the country house, Country house - Who built the houses and why, Country house - The architectural history of the country house, Country house - The first country houses: before 1500, Country house - The Tudor and Jacobean periods:1500–1630, Country house - The formal house:1630–1720, Country house - The classical ideal: 1730–1790, Country house - The Gothic Revival and 19th-century eclecticism, Country house - Twentieth century postscript, Country house - Life in the country house, Country house - Social structures, Country house - Old and new money, Country house - Changes in the country house lifestyle since 1830, Country house - The decline of the country house, Country house - The country house in recent years, Country house - Outside England, Country house - The Scottish country house, Country house - The Irish country house, Country house - Beyond the British Isles

Read more here: » Country house: Encyclopedia II - Country house - The architectural history of the country house

Country house - Social structures. The country house was the centre of its own world, providing employment to literally hundreds of people in the vicinity of its estate. In previous eras, when state benefits were unheard of, those working on an estate were among the most fortunate, receiving secured employment and rent free accommodation. At the summit of these fortunate people were the indoor staff of the country house. Until the 20th century, unlike many of their contemporaries, they slept in proper beds, wore ...

See also:

Country house, Country house - Defining the country house, Country house - Who built the houses and why, Country house - The architectural history of the country house, Country house - The first country houses: before 1500, Country house - The Tudor and Jacobean periods:1500–1630, Country house - The formal house:1630–1720, Country house - The classical ideal: 1730–1790, Country house - The Gothic Revival and 19th-century eclecticism, Country house - Twentieth century postscript, Country house - Life in the country house, Country house - Social structures, Country house - Old and new money, Country house - Changes in the country house lifestyle since 1830, Country house - The decline of the country house, Country house - The country house in recent years, Country house - Outside England, Country house - The Scottish country house, Country house - The Irish country house, Country house - Beyond the British Isles

Read more here: » Country house: Encyclopedia II - Country house - Life in the country house

Welsh country houses were perhaps only different from their English counterparts in minor ways, but Scottish, Irish, and Continental European country houses differed more substantially. Country house - The Scottish country house. Country house - The Irish country house. Country house - Beyond the British Isles. While almost all European countries possessed wealthy and powerful, landowning elites in past centuries, and probably all of them contain la ...

See also:

Country house, Country house - Defining the country house, Country house - Who built the houses and why, Country house - The architectural history of the country house, Country house - The first country houses: before 1500, Country house - The Tudor and Jacobean periods:1500–1630, Country house - The formal house:1630–1720, Country house - The classical ideal: 1730–1790, Country house - The Gothic Revival and 19th-century eclecticism, Country house - Twentieth century postscript, Country house - Life in the country house, Country house - Social structures, Country house - Old and new money, Country house - Changes in the country house lifestyle since 1830, Country house - The decline of the country house, Country house - The country house in recent years, Country house - Outside England, Country house - The Scottish country house, Country house - The Irish country house, Country house - Beyond the British Isles

Read more here: » Country house: Encyclopedia II - Country house - Outside England

At some point in recent decades—perhaps after the exhibition, The Destruction of the Country House, at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1974, or after the election of the Thatcher government in 1979 which led to reductions in taxes on the rich—the precipitous decline of the British country house, which many people, both sympathetic and hostile, had assumed would continue until there were very few survivors, none of them occupied as private residences, levelled off, and arguably it has now been reversed. The role of the country house has ...

See also:

Country house, Country house - Defining the country house, Country house - Who built the houses and why, Country house - The architectural history of the country house, Country house - The first country houses: before 1500, Country house - The Tudor and Jacobean periods:1500–1630, Country house - The formal house:1630–1720, Country house - The classical ideal: 1730–1790, Country house - The Gothic Revival and 19th-century eclecticism, Country house - Twentieth century postscript, Country house - Life in the country house, Country house - Social structures, Country house - Old and new money, Country house - Changes in the country house lifestyle since 1830, Country house - The decline of the country house, Country house - The country house in recent years, Country house - Outside England, Country house - The Scottish country house, Country house - The Irish country house, Country house - Beyond the British Isles

Read more here: » Country house: Encyclopedia II - Country house - The country house in recent years

William Gibbs was the son of Antony Gibbs. Antony, rather than bow to tradition and follow his father into medicine, instead went into business and international trade. The firm he founded was taken over by William and William's brother, George. They saw that the firm continued to thrive, including by making guano (a fertilizer made from birds' droppings) one the firm's chief products. It turned out to be a success and the firm made considerable profits, enabling Wil ...

See also:

Tyntesfield, Tyntesfield - History, Tyntesfield - The Gibbs Family, Tyntesfield - The Estate, Tyntesfield - House, Tyntesfield - Kitchen Garden, Tyntesfield - The Park

Read more here: » Tyntesfield: Encyclopedia II - Tyntesfield - The Gibbs Family