Dinton Park & Philipps House: National Trust owned, a beautiful place to walk and possibly one of Wiltshire’s best kept secrets.
Like something from a work of historical fiction, Philipps House is a Neo-Grecian beauty overlooking rolling parkland complete with woodlands and an ornamental lake.
Philipps House
A country house of dreams, Philipps House had me spinning into daydreams of rural life in a big house. I’m imagining long walks and weekend house parties.
Until 1916 the old place was known as Dinton House, country pile and family home to the Wyndham family. Falling on hard times, they sold the estate to one Bertram Erasmus Philipps, who promptly renamed the house after himself.
Bertram and his wife opened up their home, regularly hosting social events and parties for children from the local village school. In 1936 the couple moved into another property they owned and leased Philipps House to the YWCA.
By the mid 1940’s the world was changing and the estate was handed over to the National Trust. The house became a creative hub, home to artists studios and living quarters. A full refurbishment followed and the house was leased to a family who opened it occasionally to the public.
Sadly the arrangement didn’t last and the house has been closed to the public since 2023. If you have a a couple of million going spare, there is a 125-year-lease on the place up for purchase. If not, you can still get a glimpse of the interior here.
Dinton Park
The parkland surrounding the house is open to all, a beautiful place to walk and reconnect with nature.
The once formal lawns of Philipps House are separated from the wilder grounds by a deer proof fence known as a ha-ha. The design allows for unbroken views across the land whilst keeping the pesky deer out. Clever stuff.
Beyond that there is over 200 acres of classical English parkland, home to ancient trees including some sweet chestnut trees estimated to be over 250 years old.
No fancy garden grounds would be complete without a water feature, Dinton Park no exception. In the early 19th century, an ornamental lake was dug out from an existing pond and the surrounding land planted with oak, beech and yew trees.
The lake is small and keeper of a little island. Cue my imagining Summer weekends, rowing out to the island with a picnic in a wicker hamper. Preferably from good old Fortnum & Mason. Delightful.
Rowing boats and picnic day dreams aside, the lake was dredged and restored in the 1990s. It remains a popular spot for walking and fishing, as well as being home to a family of ducks.
Dinton Park & Philips House: The Practical Stuff.
The estate is located 9 miles from Salisbury in the Wiltshire countryside, find directions here.
The house is closed but can be viewed from the outside. Dinton Park is open dawn to dusk year round and is free to visit.
Dogs are welcome across the estate, but the land is used for grazing and there is a lot of wildlife including deer. Lead walks advised.
There are no facilities of any kind. Water for the dog, flask for yourself. If you think you’ll need it, bring it.
If you enjoyed this post you might also like to read about my visits to some other National Trust properties including The London Pub Shouldn’t Miss and Sandham Memorial Chapel.
Helen x
You are quite the advocate for Wiltshire, a county I barely know. I need to change this, and soon!
That’s a lovely comment, thank you! It’s been a fabulous place to call home for a few years and I’m definitely a little sad to be moving on. I hope you do make it to Wiltshire, I think you’d enjoy it very much.
It’s firmly on the list!
Lovely place and house
It’s a beautiful place all round, thank you for taking the tine to read and comment. Appreciate it 😊
Poor house does look rather sad, such a shame. I looked at the article and the interiors are lovely. I assume NT can’t afford to restore it.
It’s a beautiful house but I can’t imagine the cost of restoring it to museum style standard! I know the National Trust do holiday properties and it would make a lovely little hotel.
Extraordinary how many of these ‘landed gentry’ properties still exist, but unless Elton John, or someone of that ilk, buys them they don’t stand much chance. Too many stairs to wash and polish for me.
They are relics of a different world, aren’t they? They’d have to earn their keep and that sounds like too much work for me!
Me too 🤗🩵
Such a shame that the house is not taken care off. The estate looks great for a day out.
It’s a beautiful place and the house being closed makes it feel a bit wild and abandoned. But I hope the house finds a tenant soon, it needs a family to give it a heartbeat 💗
It is a shame that the NT can’t reopen the interiors, even just a little of it. I like Allan Bank near Grasmere as it is partially unrestored and still open to the public as a creative space etc. And unlike most trust places, you can take your dog indoors and around the house.
Love the idea of an NT house the dogs can get into ( although I can see why they usually can’t!) I’d love a look in the house, definitely think it could be put to use.
The grounds are stunning and so is the Wolf. He looks so handsome. I was looking at him, rather than the rather sad house!
Thanks June, I think he’d quite fancy himself as Lord of the Manor. The house has an air of waiting, for a family or for a purpose. Hopefully it can be opened at some point 🤞
Beautiful estate! I love living in the countryside it feels so idyllic and cozy! There’s something almost fairy-like about these these old estates!
The house looks lovely, what a shame it’s currently closed to the public.
It is a shame. It has an air of waiting about it, hopefully it will open at some point.
I hadn’t heard of Dinton Park Helen but will remember to try and make a stop there next time I’m in Wiltshire as even if you can’t go inside the house, it’s parkland setting looks lovely.
It’s a lovely place to wander and definitely worth a visit. It feels very wild but actually isn’t so far from Salisbury city centre!
Are there any Sequoia Trees planted there? It would be lovely to encounter one. I know there are some in Wiltshire. Thanks for the helpful post.