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"A remarkable modern masterpiece, which played host to some of the most creative individuals of its time"
This extraordinary Grade II*-listed modern masterpiece, set in 25 acres of gardens and ancient woodland, was designed by Peter Harland in 1935 as a home for the leading British composer Sir Arthur Bliss. Rooted in its peaceful setting, the house was designed for family life, for creating and communing, and as a retreat for self-reflection. The music room where Bliss created some of his most revered works, Grade II*-listed in its own right, is set deep in the ancient woodland; itself a scheduled monument. A four-bedroom guest cottage and its gardens lie due west of the main house. While retaining an overwhelming sense of quiet and seclusion, this remarkable home lies some seven miles south of Bruton and two miles from Stourhead, within easy reach of the open countryside and Somerset’s many cultural highlights. For more information, please see the History section below.
Coombe Street
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History
Sir Arthur Bliss (1891-1975) had lived largely in London since the mid-1920s and by the early 1930s he had decided to look for a rural retreat where he could spend his summers composing. Failing to find anything he liked, he asked architect and friend, Peter Harland to design him a modernist house. The foundations were laid in 1934 and the house completed by 1935.
The Blisses stayed every summer until 1939 when they found themselves trapped in America at the outbreak of World War II, during which time the house was used as a small private school – this may explain the number of coat pegs in the downstairs cloakrooms. After the war, the Blisses moved their permanent base here.
While its radical design, unusual setting and association with a leading British composer are more than enough to give the house significant historical interest, it also attracted many visitors of major importance within twentieth-century cultural life.
Two early visitors were the painters Edward Wadsworth (1889-1949) and Paul Nash (1889-1946) both of whom actually painted at the site. Two other key visitors were Dame Ninette de Valois (1898-2001) and Robert Helpmann (1909-1986), respectively choreographer of, and leading dancer in, his one-act ballet, Checkmate, first performed in Paris in June 1937. One of Bliss’s most highly regarded works, Checkmate was probably one of the first compositions produced in Harland’s music room.
Other figures from the musical world to visit included the composers Gerald Finzi (1901-1956), who lived relatively nearby in Wiltshire, Howard Ferguson (1908-1999), who owed much to Bliss’s encouragement and Sir Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958), who had taught Bliss during his year at the Royal College of Music.
Trudy Bliss (1904-2008) was a fascinating woman in her own right. Born Gertrude Hoffmann in the United States, she was only 21 when she married Bliss. She had a great gift for friendship and was probably the reason why, in the words of one obituary, ‘their home in Somerset was a magnet for thinkers and artists’.
Bliss was knighted in 1950 and in 1953 was made Master of the Queen’s Music and composed some music for Elizabeth’s Coronation. The family made a return to London in 1955 and sold the house to Sir Henry and Lady Potter who lived there until 1977. Henry was a British colonial administrator who served mainly in Kenya and Zanzibar. Lady Potter had quite an influence on the gardens, introducing a number of unusual shrubs and small trees.
Martin and Barbara Douglas, both architects, moved in 1977, the third and last owners of the home. Passionately committed to the ethos of the house and its setting, they remained custodians for over 45 years, ensuring a sympathetic approach and exceptional care was given to the architecture and the gardens.
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