When Christopher Bethell-Codrington decided to replace the family's Elizabethan manor at Dodington, he turned to James Wyatt, the most fashionable architect in late Georgian England. Wyatt had already designed Broadway Tower on the Cotswold escarpment and was known for his ability to work in both Gothic and classical styles. For Dodington, begun in 1798 and completed around 1816, he chose the Roman classical manner, producing what many consider his finest house.
Built from honey-coloured Bath stone beneath a slate roof, each of the four facades is deliberately different. The south front displays seven bays separated by Corinthian pilasters; from the north-west corner, a curving conservatory sweeps round to connect the house to the estate church, which Wyatt also rebuilt. Inside, the decorative plasterwork was executed by Francis Bernasconi, one of the leading craftsmen of the period.
“What makes Dodington's construction unusual is its pace.”
What makes Dodington's construction unusual is its pace. Bethell-Codrington refused to borrow money, insisting that the house be built 'piece by piece, as estate income allowed'. That income came primarily from the family's sugar plantations in Antigua and Barbados — the Codringtons had been major Caribbean landowners since the 1670s. The result was an eighteen-year building programme — Wyatt himself died in a carriage accident in 1813 and the work was completed after his death —, but one that left the estate unencumbered by debt. Dodington was also among the first country houses in England to install gas lighting, achieved by constructing a dedicated gas house on the estate in 1828. The house remained in the Codrington family until 1980 and is now privately owned. It is Grade I listed.
