The Estate
Before the Bathursts, the Lydney estate was owned by the Wintours. Sir John Wintour was a prominent support of King Charles. The family home at the time, near the edge of current Lydney, was lost in the Civil War. Though a replacement house was built afterwards at the Lydney Park Taurus Crafts site, much of the estate lands were lost. The remaining estate was sold to Benjamin Bathurst in 1723/24. In the 1870s, the Bathurst family built a new house, uphill and in the centre of the deer park. In the First World War, Captain Bathurst became Lord Bledisloe for his work on securing food supplies. In 1935, he became Viscount Bledisloe for his services as Governor-General of New Zealand. Rupert Bathurst is the fourth Viscount.
