Wilbury House

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]

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.

• 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

• old print of Wilbury House and Park