 While the estate remains in private hands , the National Trust owns the house and gardens , the park , the village of West Wycombe , and the hill on which the Dashwood mausoleum sits . The hill was the first part of the property given to the Trust by Sir John Dashwood in 1925 . The village was bought by the Royal Society of Arts from Sir John in 1929 and given to the Trust five years later . The grounds are open to the public in the afternoon only from April to August annually , and the house is open from June to August . 
