Pythouse

Pythouse, sometimes spelled Pyt House and pronounced pit-house, is a country house in southwest Wiltshire, in the west of England. It is about 2 1⁄2 miles (4.0 km) west of the village of Tisbury.

Pythouse
Location within Wiltshire
General information
Town or citynear Tisbury, Wiltshire
CountryEngland
Coordinates51.0563°N 2.1348°W / 51.0563; -2.1348

Described as a "fine classical house",[1] Pythouse is set in parkland with a ha-ha. With its Ionic portico, the front elevation probably inspired the design of Philipps House at nearby Dinton, which was begun a little later in 1813 and designed by Sir Jeffry Wyatville. Leigh Court in Somerset was later built to the plans used for Pythouse.[2]

The land of the existing building (likely already containing a house) was given to the Pyt family (pronounced pit) in around 1225 by the abbess of Shaftesbury.[3] The Pyts (later known as Bennett, as homage to the Benedictine Abbey of Shaftesbury), then lived continuously on the estate until around 1651. They were forced to sell in order to pay fines levied against them by Parliament following the Civil War, as the Bennetts had fought for the Royalists.

The house was then bought by the Grove family, who were close friends of the Pyts. They sold it to the Benett family, who were related to the original Bennetts by marriage, in around 1707.

The current Pythouse was built about 1725 (replacing an earlier Elizabethan house) and was rebuilt in 1805 by John Benett (1773–1852), the then-owner and amateur architect, who "Palladianized" the house with the help of architect Thomas Hopper. Rear service wings were added in 1891.

The house remained in the Benett family until the mid-1950s, when death duties forced its sale. The house was then owned for 46 years by the Country Houses Association, a charity which ran it as a retirement home.[4]

In 1966 the house was designated as Grade II* listed[1] and in 1990 the small chapel in the grounds, built around 1827 by John Benett, received the same designation.[5]

Pythouse (together with 95 acres (380,000 m2) of land) was sold again in 2004 for £7 million[6] and is once more a residential home.

Bibliography
  • John Eyre (2002). Pythouse and the Benetts. Country Houses Association.
  • Pevsner, Nikolaus; Cherry, Bridget (revision) (1975) [1963]. Wiltshire. The Buildings of England (2nd ed.). Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. pp. 356–357. ISBN 978-0-14-0710-26-7.
  • John Martin Robinson, 2005, "Pythouse, Wiltshire" Country Life 199:1, 36-41

References
  1. Historic England. "Pythouse (1318819)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  2. Evans, William (1997). "Leigh Court, Thomas Hopper and Pythouse". Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society (SANHS). 141: 115–123.
  3. "West Tisbury". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  4. "Pensioners may lose their home". This is Wiltshire. 18 December 2003. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  5. Historic England. "Chapel north of Pythouse, West Tisbury (1131162)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  6. Thornton, Philip (17 February 2005). "Sales are booming for a place in the country". The Independent. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
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