Now, this post’s title is Wilton House, Wiltshire, which might get you all excited if you’re thinking “Wow! Wouldn’t it be nice to see some pictures from inside Wilton House in Wiltshire!?” and, indeed, we did get to look around inside Wilton House on this visit in April, 2022, but Wilton House is one of those places that steadfastly refuses to accept that houses don’t have souls that can be captured on photographic plates, or still relies on a business model of selling postcards in this century, or something. Whatever the reason, you’re not allowed to take photos inside Wilton House, and so, despite the title, this post will contain only photographs of the extensive grounds and garden area around Wilton House. You will have to use your imagination for what’s inside the house itself. What is in the mysterious Room Of Puzzlement? What sordid activities took place in the Lascivious Ballroom? And why would anyone put a Sex Dungeon there!? All these questions will be answered in your mind.
Wilton House, home to the Earl and Countess of Pembroke, is not far from Salisbury, where we were staying for the weekend, and we headed there straight after our visit to similarly nearby Old Sarum that you’ve already read about. We’d visited Wilton House many years before, and while our memories weren’t photographic – like the images inside the house aren’t (I’m sorry, I’ll stop mentioning it, I swear) – we were pretty sure that the grounds hadn’t really changed in the intervening decade or so. For us, then, this was mostly a case of walking around, taking some pictures, admiring the lawns and trees and architecture, getting some fresh air. You’ll have to get your own fresh air, but the pictures I’m happy to share with you now.
First up was the Water Garden, which wasn’t listed as an oriental water garden on the simple site map we had on us but the small pagoda garden sculpture and the little red bridges certainly implied an aesthetic from the Far East. It was surprisingly difficult to get any decent photos here thanks to a horribly bright sun through some hazy clouds and trying to avoid pictures with kids in them. Kids: ruining things since the time of the dinosaurs, probably.
We remembered the Whispering Seat from our visit to Wilton House previously and, as you are obliged to do, we tried whispering to each other from opposite ends of the curved, stone furniture. That worked fine, but the view you would normally be afforded of the main building on the estate was somewhat spoiled by the activities for children that had been set up in the grounds. Kids: still ruining things even though the dinosaurs are all now chickens, probably.
We waited for a few people to vacate the area of the Loggia in the gardens. In case you’re not aware, a loggia is a covered gallery with one exposed wall and while they’re typically found in buildings – and typically on upper levels because that’s where you tend to get views you’d like to gaze out upon – this one was in the grounds of Wilton House set in a way to look upon the Egyptian Column.
The Corinthian-style column was originally in the Temple of Venus Genetrix in Rome, is made of white Egyptian granite (hence the name), and dates from around the third century CE. It was purchased in the seventeenth century and moved to its present location early in the nineteenth century. The statue of Venus on the top was added after purchase and dates to the late Renaissance period.
From the column we strolled along the path that runs by the River Nadder, taking us past the Victorian Boathouse and towards the likely most-photographed structure on the grounds of Wilton House.
Partly based on a design rejected for the Rialto Bridge in Venice, the Palladian Bridge at Wilton House was built in 1736. The Palladian style was already being used for the south front face of the main building attributed to Inigo Jones. There’s no public access to the bridge but in this case you can forgive that because the best appreciation of its geometric symmetry comes from not being on the thing.
The remainder of the photos here will be from passing the side of Wilton House before heading in, and from the north entrance area to Wilton House with its statue of Marcus Aurelius on a horse above the arch, the formal gardens, and the fountain.
Obviously, I’d have loved to have taken some photos from inside Wilton House – especially the Sex Dungeon and the Hallway of Burnt Clowns – but I do understand that this is still a lived-in home and not a public building preserved for the likes of common oiks such as me. The grounds are lovely, though, and you could easily pass a few hours on a nice day with a slow bimble.
In the next and final post from this Salisbury Weekender travelogue series I’ll conclude this last day in Wiltshire with some pubs and thoughts about Salisbury as a place to have a few days’ break.