ABSTRACT
This chapter traces the long and eventful route towards the development of Tyntesfield, a spectacular country residency near Bristol, England, through an exploration of the private and public life of its founder, William Gibbs, based mainly on neglected archival material. The first step in Gibbs’s financial recovery involved the setting up of an agency business in Madrid to serve English manufacturers. The Spanish War of Independence, known in the English-speaking world as the Peninsular War brought much upheaval, but also provided a turning point towards a period of prosperity. William Branscombe kept the fort in Cadiz throughout the conflict, supporting the most vulnerable during the two-and-a-half-year French siege of the town. On 5 April 1821, William was visited in Seville by a group of merchants specialized on the Pacific trade, the so-called limenos sevillanos, who were anxiously seeking to convey their cargo through the constantly changing jurisdictions.
