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Dorneywood

Introduction

Dorneywood has an 18th-century house with a 1930s style cottage garden and a parkland estate. The house is an official residence for a Secretary of State or Minister of the Crown and is not open to the public. The gardens are open for four days a year with entry by written appointment only.

Dorneywood was the upland farm belonging to Dorney Court, which lies on the edge of scenic Dorney village. The oldest parts of Dorney Court (left) are early Tudor dating back to about 1500.

Since 1624 the Grade 1 listed house Dorney Court has belonged to the Palmer family and it continues to be their private home.

Visitor Access, Directions & Contacts

Telephone

0844 800 1895

Website

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk

Access contact details

The gardens are open for four days a year with entry by written appointment only. Please see: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/dorneywood-garden/opening-times/

Directions

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/dorneywood-garden/how-to-get-here/

Owners

The National Trust

Heelis, Kemble Drive, Swindon

Other Websites

History

There appears to have been a house on the Dorneywood site since the sixteenth century. The current house is later, probably Georgian, and was occupied by a succession of tenants – though the Palmers farmed the land for a period in the 1830s.

Following the departure of the last of the tenants in the 1890s, Charles Palmer took back the management of Dorneywood, at some point converted and extended the Georgian farmhouse into a ‘gentleman’s residence.

In the early 1900s Paget Toynbee, an expert on the works of Dante, occupied Dorneywood. In 1910 a fire destroyed part of the Dorneywood house.

Period

Early 20th Century (1901-1932)

Features & Designations

Designations

  • The National Heritage List for England: Listed Building

  • Grade: I

Features

  • Herbaceous Border
  • Pond
  • Kitchen Garden
  • Rose Garden
  • House (featured building)
  • Description: The 18th-century house was re-built in 1910.
  • Earliest Date:
  • Latest Date:
Key Information

Type

Garden

Purpose

Ornamental

Principal Building

Domestic / Residential

Period

Early 20th Century (1901-1932)

Survival

Extant

Hectares

80

Open to the public

Yes

Civil Parish

Burnham

References

References