A Regency History guide to Athelhampton House in Dorset

Regency Places

21 Sept

Where is Athelhampton?

Athelhampton is a Tudor manor house situated near Dorchester in Dorset.

You can read an updated blog about Athelhampton here.

A history of Athelhampton

The story of Athelhampton starts in 1485 when Sir William Martyn was granted the right to enclose his estate and deer park and build a stone manor with towers and crenellations—the battlements that give a castle its characteristic shape. The result was the Great Hall with a solar on one side, providing living accommodation, and a buttery on the other. Subsequent owners added the west wing and a gatehouse and extended the house to the rear.

View of Athelhampton House from the White Garden (2015)

About 100 years after the Great Hall was built, one of Sir William’s descendants, Nicholas Martyn, died without male heirs. He left the estate to his four daughters in equal shares and the house was split into separate dwellings. Sir Ralph Bankes of Corfe Castle acquired three of these shares by marriage and other means, but sold them to Sir Robert Long, 1st Baronet, to help finance his expensive new house at Kingston Lacy.

This three-quarter share was subsequently inherited by Catherine Tylney-Long, who married the Duke of Wellington’s nephew, William Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley, 4th Earl of Mornington, in 1812. The Duke’s nephew only had a life interest in his wife’s property and so the house passed to her son William, 5th Earl of Mornington, on her death in 1825.

He subsequently sold Athelhampton to George Wood who acquired the fourth share, reuniting the house once more. By now, the property was very run down, having been used by tenant farmers for many years. The gatehouse was demolished around 1862 and the Norman church was replaced by a new church before passing to a new owner, Alfred Cart de Lafontaine in 1891.

De Lafontaine laid out formal gardens and restored the house but sold it on when he ran out of money. Eventually, the house was bought by the Cooke family who sold it in 2019.

The house was visited often by the author Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) and was once lived in by the Russian cubist artist Marevna—Marie Vorobieff—whose paintings are on display in a gallery in the house.

The Gardens, Athelhampton House, Dorset (2016)

A change of ownership

Athelhampton House changed ownership in 2019. It still belongs to Historic Houses and is open to visitors, but its contents were sold at auction and I don't know how much of what I saw in 2016 is still the same as I haven't been back yet.

You can read about the auction here.

Highlights from a tour of Athelhampton House in 2016

There were a number of items on display which are of particular interest to the Georgian historian. Some rooms are only viewable from the doorway.

Front door, Athelhampton House, Dorset (2015)

Great Hall

The Great Hall dates back to the late 15th century and includes some original heraldic glass. On the balcony, there is a George III mahogany organ.

King’s Ante Room

This little passage way includes some prints of Carlton House and a lovely portrait of George III’s fifth daughter, Princess Sophia.

Wine Cellar

Just inside the entrance to the wine cellar is a Coade stone torchère. This was part of a set of ten candlestick stands made by Coade and Sealy of Lambeth in 1810 for George, Prince of Wales, at Carlton House. Coade and Sealy was the artificial stone manufactory run by Eleanor Coade, one of the women featured in Rachel’s book, What Regency Women Did For Us. At this time, Eleanor had taken her cousin John Sealy into partnership, hence the name, Coade and Sealy.

Read more about Coade stone here.

Coade stone torchere in the Wine Cellar, Athelhampton House, Dorset (2015)

Great Chamber

Library (now used as a billiard room)

This is one of the rooms that you can only view from the doorway. At the far end of the room is a Georgian globe which apparently shows the voyages of Captain Cook, but I couldn’t get close enough to see!

The Library, Athelhampton House, Dorset (2015)

King’s Room

Green Parlour

Dressing Room

There is a small collection of vintage clothing on display, including a Georgian dress and a Regency costume, though sadly, not easy to see from the doorway.

Georgian dress in the Dressing Room, Athelhampton House, Dorset (2015)

Regency dress in Dressing Room, Athelhampton House, Dorset (2015)

Yellow Bedroom Closet

Yellow Bedroom

State Bedroom

The Gardens

Although the formal gardens have no claim to Georgian origins as they were laid out in the 1890s, they are beautiful and well worth a visit. There are also other gardens formed later including The Canal and a bridge over the River Piddle leading to a short riverside walk. There is also a toll house within the grounds, beyond the Lime Walk.

Bridge over the River Piddle, Athelhampton House, Dorset (2015)

The Great Court

The Corona

The Canal

The Dovecote

The dovecote was built in the early 16th century at the same time as the west wing.

Toll House

There is a more up to date blog about Athelhampton House here.

Rachel Knowles writes faith-based Regency romance and historical non-fiction. She has been sharing her research on this blog since 2011. Rachel lives in the beautiful Georgian seaside town of Weymouth, Dorset, on the south coast of England, with her husband, Andrew, who co-writes this blog.

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Sources used include:

Cooke, Patrick, Athelhampton House & Gardens (Dorchester, 2010)

Coade stoneDorsetPrincess SophiaRegency History guidehistoric houses

Rachel Knowles

Rachel Knowles loves happy endings, Jane Austen and all things Regency. She writes faith-based Regency romance and regularly gives talks on the Regency period, based on her extensive research.