Witham Park (Witham House)

Earlier Houses: There were at least two houses on the site of the 1760s house, both of them incorporating elements of ruined monastic buildings. The second house (circa 1717; demolished circa 1764) may have been designed by William Talman or James Gibbs (drawings by both architects are extant, though Howard Colvin believed that it was the work of Gibbs). Also surviving are early 18th century proposals by Sir James Thornhill and George Clarke, though it's unlikely either of these architects' designs were executed.

House & Family History: What Alderman William Beckford purchased in 1762 was a mostly ruinated house of 1717 that contained sections of the first Carthusian monastery in England, founded in 1178 by Henry II as part of his penance for the murder of Thomas Becket. Likely based on the recommendation of his architect, Robert Adam, the Alderman decided to demolish most of the old house in 1764 (sections of it were kept as a romantic ruin/folly) when Adam's new Neoclassical style house began construction. The new house was never finished; construction stopped after the Alderman's death in 1770 and Witham Park was left to molder. By 1790 Adam's house had been demolished. Eileen Harris, one of the foremost Adam scholars, has stated that she believes that Adam designed a saloon at Witham that was very similar to Adam's famous library at Kenwood, including the apsidal ends and the columnar screens.
Architect: James Gibbs

Date of Birth: 1682
Date of Death: 1754
Nationality: English
Notes: Ditchley Park is considered Gibbs's most important country house. The architect is most noted for his famous design for the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London, a remarkably advanced design for its time, even when examined within the context of continental European design trends. John Wilton-Ely, writing in "The Triumph of the Baroque: Architecture in Europe 1600-1750": "In the history of ecclesiastical architecture, Gibbs's church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields was to prove one of the most influential designs throughout the English-speaking world of Protestant worship."

Date: Circa 1717
Designed: Remodeled earlier house (demolished circa 1764) for Sir William Wyndham

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Architect: Robert Adam

Date of Birth: 1728
Date of Death: 1792
Nationality: British
Notes: The prolific Robert Adam was the son of William Adam, Sr., and one of the four Adam brothers. Robert is noted for having "Never once built a great house from scratch," though he was the "it" architect of the 1760s and 70s, with an impressive and aristocratic client list a mile long. The Georgian House, Edinburgh, is considered by many to be Adam's urban masterpiece. Among his finest works are the Library of Kenwood House, London; Culzean Castle, Ayrshire; the Library of Mellerstain House, Scottish Borders; Syon House, London; and Newby Hall in Yorkshire.

Date: Circa 1762
Designed: New house for Alderman Beckford (never completed)

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Vitruvius Britannicus: V, pls. 38-42, 1771. C. II, pls. 91, 92, 1717.
Title: Genius of Robert Adam: His Interiors, The
Author: Harris, Eileen
Year Published: 2001
Reference: pg. 186
Publisher: New Haven: Yale University Press (London: Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art)
ISBN: 0300081294
Book Type: Hardback

Title: Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600-1840, A - HARDBACK
Author: Colvin, Howard
Year Published: 2008
Reference: pg. 424
Publisher: New Haven: Yale University Press
ISBN: 9780300125085
Book Type: Hardback

Title: William Beckford: Composing for Mozart
Author: Mowl, Timothy
Year Published: 1998
Publisher: London: John Murray
ISBN: 0719558298
Book Type: Hardback

Title: Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600-1840, A - SOFTBACK
Author: Colvin, Howard
Year Published: 1995
Reference: pgs. 58, 952
Publisher: New Haven: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300072074
Book Type: Softback
House Listed: Demolished

Park Listed: Destroyed
Past Seat / Home of: SEATED AT EARLIER HOUSES: Ralph Hopton, 16th century. Sir William Wyndham, 3rd Bt., early 18th century; Charles Wyndham, 2nd Earl of Egremont, 18th century; Wyndham family here from the 17th century until 1761. Alderman William Beckford, 1762-64. SEATED AT 1760s HOUSE: Alderman William Beckford, 1764-70.

Current Ownership Type: Demolished

Primary Current Ownership Use: Demolished
House Open to Public: No
Historic Houses Member: No

Witham Park (Witham House)

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