The pavilion on the left (extant) and the house on the right (demolished) from a circa 1900 postcard
The canal and pavilion
Westbury's gardens were very likely based on those of Flaxley Abbey
Flaxley's gardens very likely influenced the design of those at Westbury Court
Earlier Houses: An Elizabethan manor house (the first house) was demolished in the 1740s by Maynard Colchester II, who replaced it with a Palladian style mansion (the second house), which was demolished in 1805 and replaced by the third house, which was itself demolished in 1953. An elder care home today stands on the site of the third and last house.
Garden & Outbuildings: In the late 17th and early 18th centuries Maynard Colchester I and his nephew, Maynard Colchester II, built Westbury into an important Dutch style garden, whose focal point was the 450-foot-long canal, which terminates with a Dutch style brick pavilion, or folly. The Westbury garden was probably influenced by Catherina Bovery (the London-born daughter of an Amsterdam merchant), who had built a Dutch style garden at her neighboring estate of Flaxley Abbey (see "Images" section). The formal Westbury water garden (laid out 1696-1705 by Maynard Colchester I), containing canals and yew hedges, is one of the earliest of its kind in England and the only restored Dutch water garden in the country (most formal gardens of this type were swept away in the 18th century under the influence of Capability Brown's naturalistic landscape designs). In 1967 Westbury was rescued from dereliction by the National Trust, who restored it in 1971 (the trust's first garden restoration) using, as their guide, a 1707 bird's-eye view engraving by Johannes Kip of the garden at its peak (see "Images" section).
Architect: Michael Sidnell
Date: 1742-45
Title: Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600-1840, A - HARDBACK
Author: Colvin, Howard
Year Published: 2008
Reference: pg. 924
Publisher: New Haven: Yale University Press
ISBN: 9780300125085
Book Type: Hardback
House Listed: Demolished
Park Listed: Grade II*
Past Seat / Home of: SEATED AT FIRST HOUSE: Sir Duncombe Colchester, until 1694; Maynard Colchester I, 1694-1715; Maynard Colchester II, 1715-43. SEATED AT SECOND HOUSE: Maynard Colchester II, 1743-56. SEATED AT THIRD HOUSE: Maynard Willoughby Colchester-Wemyss, until 1930; Colchester-Wemyss family here until 1960.
Current Ownership Type: The National Trust
Primary Current Ownership Use: Visitor Attraction
House Open to Public: Grounds Only
Phone: 01452-760-461
Fax: 01452-760-461
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk
Historic Houses Member: No