Brympton d'Evercy

Brympton is a real estate that exists in the peripheral region of Yeovil in the county Somerset, England1 and was firstly purchased by the d'Evercy family in 1220.2 Today, the parkland of 33 acres includes a parish church, a Dower House, a Priest House, and a manor house – the Brympton house, which is acknowledged as a grade I listed building by the English Heritage.3 Admidst all the gardens and lakes on the parish, stands its oldest building, the Brympton House or Brympton d'Evercy, that has a long history of undergoing many renovations and enlargements that always came with the change of its owner. Brympton d'Evercy has belonged to many generations, but only to a few families so far: the d'Evercys, the Sydenhams, the Fanes, the Ponsonby-Fanes, the Westmorlands; and up to this day, it belongs the Glossops.4 With its constant changes, the Brympton house features not only different sections in the building (North wing, the great hall, kitchen wing, etc.) but it is also famous for its various architectural styles, especially the South and the West front, which why only these two are going to be mentioned at this point.

For example, the typical English Gothic style is especially visible when taking a look at the South facade (see figure 1 below): The Gothic architecture is identifiable firstly by the rectangular ground plan of this section of the building. Moreover, it's also recognizable by the large windows and the three buttresses (on the left, the middle, and the right) of the facade, and the front looks very symmetrical all in all. To name a different style: What looks like round and triangular gables over each window on the South facade is actually called pediment, a type of window roofing, and is a typical element from the Renaissance (15th – 16th century) and the Baroque era (the end of 16th – 17th century).5,6

Figure 1: The South front of Brympton d'Evercy.

https://martindabek.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/brympton-house-wedding-011.jpg (accessed February 28, 2020).

Furthermore, a different part of the building, the West facade, shows a beautiful Tudor design (1500 – 1560), another English medieval architectural style, that is particularly recognizable by its oriel window on the left side of the front (see figure 2). Another very typical Tudor-style element is the pointed arch, precisely called four-centered arch, above the entrance of the building.7

The different ornament above the arch is another ornamental gable from the Gothic era called wimperg8 that is decorated with crockets on both sides and ends in a finial on top. This serves simply as decoration.

Figure 2: Main entrance West front of Brympton d'Evercy.

https://i2.wp.com/lizbakerphotography.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/brympton-house-liz-baker-photography-27-of-33.jpg?w=1000&ssl=1 (accessed February 28, 2020)

The main entrance as well as the left site of the West front including the oriel window, have a decorative cornice in combination with crenels on top. The left part of the West front is moreover decorated with another decorative cornice with the same geometric elements, but also with a family crest of one of the owners in the past. Next to the main entrance are constellations of two large stone-mullioned windows that – together with the other windows on the first floor – make it possible for natural light to shine into the building (see figure 3). Although the West front looks generally massive, the amount of (big) windows gives it a lighter, almost fragile touch.

Figure 3: West front of Brympton d'Evercy.

https://omg.imgix.net/media/com_jbusinessdirectory/pictures/companies/365/brympton-house-weddings-somerset-wedding-venue-front.jpg (accessed February 28, 2020).

Today, Brympton d'Evercy still remains in private ownership and is therefore not open to the public. However, it is possible to book the manor house for weddings or other events.9 A venue map was created by the graphic design studio OSR Design who worked together with the owners of Brympton d'Evercy, and illustrated by Bex Stanley (see figure 4) to show the visitors what is awaiting them during their stay and what parts of the venue are worth to take a look at.











Figure 4: Venue map for Brympton d'Evercy House.

http://www.osrdesign.co.uk/venue-map-for-brympton-devercy-house/ (accessed February 13, 2020).

It is interesting to see how Wharton chose an English building for her story because this shows what architectural styles have influenced her. Back then in the 19th century, New York was shaped not only by Dutch but also English influences.10 Moreover, travelling to and living in Europe for six years, the different countries' geography, architecture, and customs “became her standard of culture”11 and it was not until she returned back to New York in 1872 that she realized “the ugliness of the city”.12

Edith Wharton was generally fascinated with art, architecture, and landscapes, and read a lot about art and art history which gave her a certain aesthetic sense. Identifying art with traditional European culture, she was not able to appreciate American art after her return to New York. Moreover, while she was praising Italian Baroque style and also French art and culture later, she was criticizing American art as aesthetically insensitive.13


______________________

1 A Vision of Britain, “Brymtpon Somerset”, http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/12497. Accessed February 13, 2020.

2 Historic England, “Brympton d'Evercy”, https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1000506. Accessed February 13, 2020.

3 Lancashire Life, “Brympton d'Evercy. The Historic Somerset Stately. Sarah Ford meets the new owners with a bright future”, https://web.archive.org/web/20110827143703/http://somerset.greatbritishlife.co.uk/article/brympton-devercy-the-historic-somerset-stately-sarah-ford-meets-the-new-owners-with-a-bright-future-2298/. Accessed December 20, 2019.

4 Anglotopia, “Great British Houses: Brympton d’Evercy – A Stunning Stately Home in Somerset”, https://www.anglotopia.net/british-history/great-british-houses-brympton-devercy/. Accessed February 7, 2020.

5 Greelane, “Die Nutzung des Pediment in Architektur”, https://www.greelane.com/geisteswissenschaften/bildende-kunst/what-is-a-pediment-177520/. Accessed February 13, 2020.

6 Thiemer, Hans. Das grosse Buch der Stile: Barock - Rokoko - Spätbarock. (Mannheim: Reinhard Welz Vermittler Verlag e.K., 2005. Print), 57.

7 HiSoUR, “Tudor-Architektur”, https://www.hisour.com/de/tudor-architecture-29795/. Accessed February 28, 2020).

8 Architektur Lexikon, “Wimperg”, ttps://www.architektur-lexikon.de/cms/lexikon/56-lexikon-w/287-wimperg.html. Accessed February 13, 2020.

9 Brympton House. Wedding & Events, http://brympton.house/. Accessed February 13, 2020.

10 Kornetta, Reiner. Das Korsett im Kopf. Ehe und Ökonomie in den Kurzgeschichten Edith Whartons.(Frankfurt am Main, New York: P. Lang, 1996. Print.), 55

11 Benstock, Shari. Edith Wharton: A Brief Biography. A Historical Guide to Edith Wharton. (edited by Carol J. Singley, Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2003, Print.), 21

12 Ibid.

13 Dwight, Eleanor. “Wharton and Art.” A Historical Guide to Edith Wharton, (edited by Carol J. Singley, Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2003, 181-210. Print.), 181 f.

Header image source: