LIFESTYLE

Anna Britten pokes around a National Trust gem.

So associated is it with middle-aged, middle-class England, it’s easy to overlook the fact that what the National Trust does is as close to a radical redistribution of wealth as you’ll find in this country.

Fifty years ago this month, the Trust took over the palatial Dyrham Park near Bath – over a kilometre squared of vast, green, undulating deer park with a baroque mansion and formal gardens nestling at its foot – giving to the hoi polloi of Somerset, Gloucestershire and Avon (and anyone else who came along) access to an idyll that would otherwise have remained unseen from all but the hotel chain/banking chief/aristo/property developer who’d have otherwise ended up with the deeds. That’s fifty years of the proletariat being able freely to picnic where they might once have been offed by an arrow through the head. Something to celebrate, no?

And that’s exactly what’s happening at Dyrham Park throughout June. The attraction, which anticipates 144,000 visitors this year, started shouting about its big anniversary early – Trust director general Dame Fiona Reynolds dropped by at the end of March saying “Dyrham Park holds a special place in the hearts of so many of its visitors, staff and volunteers” and planting a commemorative Robinia tree, as did other key figures in the property’s last half-century.

This month, the Orangery will be hosting four jolly fancy Afternoon Tea In The 60s events – featuring sandwiches, cakes, cream teas, champagne and smoked salmon canapés and 60s music – during the week commencing Mon 13 June. Explains visitor experience manager Katie Morgan: “The idea behind the 60s tea events was that the Orangery was the original tea room in the 60s. Right at the start, local ladies volunteered to make cakes and serve them in the Orangery and then gradually people were employed as the demand grew. Apparently, the speciality Orangery dish was a strawberry meringue cream tea. The Orangery was used right up until the 1980s. Therefore we decided, as a special event for the year, we could do 1961 teas with menus loosely based on the menu that 200 locally important people enjoyed in the Orangery at the deeds handover ceremony on 15 June 1961.” The teas cost £25 per person and must be pre-booked.

On Wed 15 June, the anniversary of the actual day of signing over the deeds, there will be an all-day, 60s-themed garden party with fancy dress, music and games. There will also be vintage car displays throughout the season and, in October, another 60s relic brought back to life, the Dyrham Hill Climb: a motor car sprint up the main drive from the house. In addition, the Trust has recreated an interactive 1960s office in the house, based on the office of the first administrator, John Kenworthy-Brown. It has 60s music playing, 60s outfits, old archives and letters on display.

Dyrham Park was built between 1691 and 1696, as the home of William Blathwayt, a civil servant and politician who survived the political upheaval of three monarchs. His rise to power was noted by the diarist John Evelyn who commended him as “very dexterous in business” and as one who had “raised himself by his industry from very moderate circumstances”. He became a Whig Member of Parliament for Bath in 1693, a post which he retained until 1710 when he retired to Dyrham. After his death in 1717 he was buried in the local churchyard.

One Colonel George Blathwayt inherited the house in 1840, buying off quarrelling relatives for the furniture and repairing the house with the help of a (then) huge £50,000 loan.  Many of the original ceilings were replaced and central heating and plumbing installed, along with a new kitchen. The Victorian country squire also updated the servants’ quarters. Just before the Second World War the house was let to Lady Islington, the widow of a statesman and MP, who redecorated Dyrham in keeping with the fashions of her day and was responsible for some dramatic changes. Having presided over Dyrham's wartime service as a day nursery for children, she left in 1946. In 1956, the house was acquired for the nation by the Ministry of Works, before being transferred to the National Trust and opened in 1961 after a period of renovation. This frequent changing of hands and styles means visitors today get a revealing glimpse into domestic fashions through history. The elegant garden is a more recent restoration, recreating the spirit of what had been lost.

Dyrham is proper lovely, whether you’re taking a quick stroll around the deer park (at this time of year you’ll probably see some new calves) or doing the full park/gardens/house experience. Venue has been a regular visitor for a decade: its offspring graduating from pram-bound observer of birdies to practising their first steps on the endless grass, to climbing the ancient trees. It’s visited the house twice, mentally earmarking the Orangery as the model for the extension it’ll build when its long-delayed ship comes in. It’s eaten more cake in the café and bought more discounted NT chocolate in the shop than it cares to remember. It even saw Will Young perform here once, although we won’t dwell on that. In short: finding Dyrham is a highlight of moving to the West Country and it remains a highlight of living here. Here’s to the next half-century.

Did you know?

• Dyrham Park has appeared in many films and television programmes, including ‘Remains of the Day’, ‘Bargain Hunt’, ‘Dracula’ and even an episode of the current series of ‘Doctor Who’. Says Katie Morgan: “All the backstage crew were pleasant and were considerate to the sensitive nature of the house. Matt Smith (the Doctor) tinkled about on the piano in between shoots and chatted to staff and volunteers, and the house team found the whole experience enjoyable.”

• The best-selling item in the tea-room is the cream tea.

• In 2000, a new and extended visitor route opened in the house, encompassing the servants' quarters for the first time.

• The collection at Dyrham includes one of the most historically significant collections of Dutch Delftware anywhere in the world. If you’re into that kind of thing.

• Jools Holland, Will Young, Julian Bream, Blondie and The Human League have all played outdoor gigs at Dyrham Park.

• Room guide Anne Bowring started volunteering at Dyrham Park a whopping 35 years ago.

• Visitors to the park can catch a glimpse of Fallow deer, which have roamed through the park since the 17th century.

• Nine full-time staff and around 80 volunteers take care of Dyrham’s vast park and gardens, as well as other NT properties in the area.

• The lime trees in the parkland were imported from Holland and planted before 1700.

• The route from car park to house takes two minutes by shuttle bus and 15, 30 or 45 minutes on foot, depending on your route. The longest offers a jaw-dropping view over the Severn valley and into Wales.

FFI: WWW.NATIONALTRUST.ORG.UK/DYRHAMPARK

Copyright Anna Britten 2011