Down in Hampshire at The Vyne with the Sandys and the Chutes

THREE MILES NORTH of Basingstoke, there is a magnificent stately home, The Vyne, which is now owned by the National Trust. Set in fine grounds alongside a long, thin lake, this edifice is a wonderful mixture of architectural styles and features.

The present house began its life as a Tudor mansion built between 1500 and 1510 for William Sandys, 1st Baron Sandys, Lord Chamberlain to King Henry VIII. It remained a possession of the Sandys family for most of the time from when it was constructed until 1653, when it was sold to Chaloner Chute (died 1659), who was a lawyer and the Speaker of the House of Commons during the Commonwealth. Because he felt that the Vyne was too big for his requirements, he had much, but not all, of the Tudor mansion demolished. Fortunately, several of the beautiful rooms with elaborate wood panelling were saved, along with the Tudor chapel.

The rest of what remained of the original building was converted to a version of the Palladian Style. This included adding a neo-classical portico to the north side of the hose, facing the lake. In the eighteenth century, one of Chaloner’s descendants, John Chute, influenced by his friend Horace Walpole, redesigned the interior of the chapel, adding trompe l’oeil features and also installed a very spectacular staircase in the house. The staircase is in the neo-classical style. It must have impressed those who visited the Chutes, and it still dazzles the visitor today. Although there are many fine artefacts to be seen in the house, this staircase was, for me, the ‘star of the show’.

When John Chute died childless, The Vyne was inherited by his cousin Thomas Lobb, who then changed his surname to Chute. After that, few changes were made to the house. The house remained in the Chute family until 1958 when Charles Chute bequeathed the estate to the National Trust.