Photograph of Twyford House, Twyford
Taken about 1865
The village of Twyford lies about three miles south of Winchester. Twyford House dates from the early 1700s although the triple bow window on the west side is later Georgian. A notable eighteenth century owner was Dr Jonathan Shipley, Dean of Winchester Cathedral in the 1760s. He was an outspoken supporter of America's bid for independence and a close friend of Benjamin Franklin. This key figure in the American Revolution wrote some of his autobiography while a guest of Dr Shipley at Twyford.
About the time of this photograph a Mrs L Dampier lived here. In the foreground gardeners are at work. Descriptions of the house make several references to features of the gardens which ran down to the River Itchen, including an alcove room at the end of the terrace, a bowling green, an ancient mulberry tree, beech, ilex, horse chestnuts and yew.
The photograph was taken by Winchester photographer William Savage (1817-87) and is found in an album entitled 'Hampshire Views of Churches, Country Houses ad Public Buildings'.
