Tracy Park

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Tracy Park is an estate near Wick in South Gloucestershire, about 5 miles from the city of Bath. The house sits in roughly 240 acres of parkland and is a Grade II listed building. Its core is a 17th‑century house, but a grand classical front was added around 1800. The nearby entry gate piers are also Grade II listed.

The estate’s history goes back to at least 1246, when it was owned by John de Tracye. Over the centuries it passed through various families, including the Lords of the Manor of Doynton. In 1595 William Wintor bought Tracy Park and likely built the early house, known in the 17th century as Well House. By the 18th century the estate covered about 200 acres, and in 1774 Bristol pewterer Robert Bush bought it for about £6,250. His son Robert rebuilt the house around 1800, giving it the present classical façade.

In 1820 General Sir William Gabriel Davy bought Tracy Park for about £12,800. His son, Rev. Charles Raikes Davy, inherited in 1856 and began a major rebuilding programme in 1858–1871. Bath architect John Elkington Gill is thought to have worked on the project. The western façade was kept but the central bays were given a large Doric porch. A new three‑storey service wing in a Tudor Gothic style was added, linked by a belvedere. Davy also built the estate walls and many outbuildings. The north‑west entrance gate piers are Grade II listed and feature Davy heraldry.

The house was updated again in the rear with Tudor Gothic styling, while some older parts may date back to the 16th–17th centuries. A 19th‑century belvedere tower on the west side links the main house to the service wing, and the porch carries symbols associated with Freemasonry and the Knights Templar, a reflection of Davy’s interest in Masonry. The estate also contains other features such as a large 19th‑century farmhouse and stables built between 1849 and 1860.

Over time the estate’s size changed: 120 acres in 1820, 67 acres by 1839, with later 19th‑century expansions. Tracy Park became a private home again when the Clark family acquired it in 1926. In 1973 the house stopped being a private residence and became a golf and country club hotel, later changing hands a few times. It was owned by TP Resorts in 2005, then by the Knipe family from 2010, and as of 2024 a private buyer was reported to have purchased the estate, with the golf club scheduled to cease operating.