Westonbirt House - Robert Stayner Holford and Mary Anne Holford

Robert Stayner Holford and Mary Anne Holford

Robert was born in 1808 to George Peter Holford and Anne Holford who was the daughter of Reverend Averell Daniell of Lifford, County Donegal, Ireland. He was the only male born to this couple but he had three sisters. George Peter Holford was a lawyer and a Member of Parliament. He also wrote books which usually related to religion and Christianity. He inherited a mansion at Westonbirt from his father. This house was the original manor which had been erected in the reign of Elizabeth or the early part of the time of James I. This house was demolished by George in 1818 and a new house built in 1823.

In 1829 at the age of 21, Robert graduated from Oriel College at Oxford University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree. In the same year the Arboretum on the Westonbirt Estate commenced and Robert played a significant role in this project. In 1838 he inherited his uncle's fortune of over one million pounds. In the following year his father died and he became the owner of Westonbirt House. He was a keen lover of art and literature and his enormous wealth now allowed him to indulge this interest. He began collecting paintings and books for what was to become the famous "Holdford Collection". To accommodate this collection he built Dorchester House in Park Lane, London between 1851 and 1853 and employed Lewis Vulliamy as the architect.

During this time he became a Magistrate for Gloucester and Wilts and in 1843 was the High Sheriff for Wilts. In December 1854 he was first elected as the Member for Gloucestershire East. In August 1854 Robert at the age of 46 married Mary Anne Lindsay who was the 25 year old daughter of Lieutenant-General James Lindsay.

Over the next five years the Holfords had three daughters - Margaret, Evelyn and Alice. It was not until 1860 that George Holford was born who was to become heir to the family fortune.

Between 1863 and 1870 Robert built the present Westonbirt house. It was reputed to be one of the most expensive houses constructed in the Victorian era.

Robert continued his work as a Member of Parliament until 1872 when he retired. He continued to collect plants for the garden at Westonbirt House and also for the Arboretum. George also developed an interest in gardens and plants and assisted his father with this work.

After Robert's retirement, the couple spent time at both Westonbirt and Dorchester House. In 1875 Charles Gayard, a French diplomat visited Westonbirt and gave an account of his experience as follows.

This morning I have lost no time. Sometimes Mrs Holford, sometimes Evy, took me about the house, which surpasses in magnificence any that you know. There is a hall, a sort of conservatory three stories high, something like the great apartments of Louis XIV. The most original room in the house is the one painted by Mrs Holford, in a bizarre fanciful style, something between Delacroix landscape and Rouen pottery.

After luncheon my friends took me on a pony chaise, across the beauties of the park to the keeper's lodge. I saw conservatories without end, then a lake, a bit of a wild, heaps of rocks that it seems have been newly brought there. And the lake too is a thing of yesterday. The pheasants were so thick we fairly trod on them. At last we reached the Head-keepers's lodge, and saw a pack of thirty spaniels with legs short enough to make the rabbits dance for joy.

The garden at Westonbirt House and the Arboretum continued to expand and in 1886 an extensive article was written about it in a notable publication called "The Garden". It said that "Mr Holford's aim has been to create variety without confusion, informality and picturesqueness without losing sight of that polish in the vicinity of the mansion which must always be regarded as in accordance with correct taste.".

In February 1992 Robert died at Dorchester House.