Orchard Wyndham, Taunton
Somerset in Historic Houses UK

Orchard Wyndham has been home to the Wyndhams and their ancestors for over 700 years.

Its history is as complex as its architecture, as tricky to unravel. We know that the house was already built in part by 1287, but the history of the place likely goes back much further.

The last major additions were by Sir William Wyndham, Lord Chancellor to Queen Anne, who found a place in Swift’s “Gulliver’s Travels”. Sir William, a Jacobite, after his arrest and a spell in The Tower, was required by the new King to remain on his estates. And here, in the words of John Gay, he amused himself “with some real improvements and a great many visionary castles”.

The house has gone through past periods of neglect and rediscovery, each generation leaving its mark; and this cycle is responsible for the fascinatingly diverse architectural styles presented to the visitor today.