 Sir Francis Dashwood built West Wycombe to entertain , and there has been much speculation on the kind of entertainment he provided for his guests . Judged against the sexual morals of the late 18th century , Dashwood and his clique were regarded as promiscuous ; while it is likely that the contemporary reports of the bacchanalian orgies over which Dashwood presided in the Hellfire caves above West Wycombe were exaggerated , free love and heavy drinking did take place there . Dashwood often had himself depicted in portraits in fancy dress ( in one , dressed as the pope toasting a female Herme ) , and it is his love of fancy dress which seems to have pervaded through to his parties at West Wycombe Park . Following the dedication of the West portico as a bacchanalian temple in 1771 , Dashwood and his friends dressed in skins adorned with vine leaves and went to party by the lake for " Paeans and libations " . On another occasion , during a mock sea battle on the canal , the captain of the snow , " attacking " a battery constructed on the bank , was struck by the wadding of a gun and suffered an internal injury . Dashwood seems to have mellowed in his later years and devoted his life to charitable works . He died in 1781 , bequeathing West Wycombe to his half @-@ brother Sir John Dashwood @-@ King , 3rd Baronet . 
