06 Historic Houses Gardens Dorset
**Historic Houses and Gardens of Dorset: From Medieval Manors to
Subtropical Paradise**
*Dorset’s gentle climate and wealthy landowning history have left the
county rich in historic houses and remarkable gardens. From medieval
manor houses to Victorian estates, from formal Italianate gardens to
subtropical plantings, Dorset offers house and garden visits for every
taste.*
The Great Houses
Kingston Lacy
When Corfe Castle was destroyed during the Civil War, the Bankes family
built this elegant mansion near Wimborne Minster as their new home.
Designed to resemble an Italian palace, Kingston Lacy houses one of the
finest private art collections in Britain, including works by Rubens,
Velázquez, and Titian.
The interiors are spectacular: the Spanish Room, lined with gilded
leather, contains one of the most remarkable baroque schemes in any
English country house. William John Bankes, the eccentric traveller who
assembled the collection, never saw his completed work—he died in
exile, having fled England to avoid prosecution for homosexuality.
The 8,500-acre estate includes parkland, ancient woodland, and the Iron
Age hillfort of Badbury Rings. The restored Japanese Garden and
Victorian fernery add botanical interest, and the estate’s working
farms produce flour milled in the National Trust’s White Mill nearby.
Athelhampton House
Nestled in the Piddle Valley near Puddletown, Athelhampton is one of the
finest surviving examples of medieval and Tudor domestic architecture in
England. The great hall, with its magnificent hammerbeam roof, dates
from the 1490s and remains the heart of this still-lived-in family home.
The gardens are considered among the finest formal gardens in Britain. A
series of walled enclosures, each with its own character, include the
Corona—a circular garden of pyramidal yews—and the Great Court,
dominated by the extraordinary topiary. The River Piddle flows through
the grounds, adding sound and movement to the formal geometry.
Sherborne Castle
Not to be confused with the ruined Old Castle nearby, Sherborne Castle
was built by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1594 when he found the medieval
fortress uncomfortable. The building was extended in the 17th century
and has been home to the Digby family since 1617.
The castle sits amid gardens landscaped by Capability Brown, with views
across a beautiful lake to the ruins of the Old Castle. The interiors
contain fine collections of paintings, porcelain, and furniture, and the
family’s long history provides fascinating stories of royalist loyalty
and near-ruin.
Remarkable Gardens
Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens
Sheltered in a valley behind Chesil Beach, these extraordinary gardens
grow plants from every Mediterranean-climate region of the world. The
first Countess of Ilchester established the garden in 1765 as a kitchen
garden for nearby Abbotsbury Castle, but successive generations
transformed it into a botanical paradise.
Camellias, magnolias, and rhododendrons provide spring colour; the
walled garden glows with tender exotics; and tree ferns and palms create
an almost tropical atmosphere in sheltered corners. The microclimate is
remarkably mild—the garden has survived all but the most severe frosts
since its establishment.
Mapperton Gardens
Described by Country Life as ‘the nation’s finest manor house,’
Mapperton sits at the head of a hidden valley near Beaminster. The
terraced gardens descend through Italianate formal gardens, past
orangeries and summerhouses, to wild gardens in the valley below.
The gardens featured prominently in the 2015 film adaptation of Far from
the Madding Crowd, and it’s easy to see why. The combination of
topiary, borders, and borrowed views of the surrounding countryside
creates a setting of exceptional beauty. The house itself is privately
occupied but occasionally opens for tours.
Minterne Magna
The Churchill family planted the bones of this woodland garden in the
18th century, but the rhododendrons, maples, and rare shrubs that make
it special came later. The garden cascades down a hillside above a chain
of small lakes, with paths winding through exotic plantings.
Spring brings a spectacular display of rhododendrons and azaleas, while
autumn colours from the Japanese maples are equally impressive. This is
a garden for plantspeople—less formal than Mapperton, more intimate
than Abbotsbury, but with a genuine wild beauty.
National Trust Properties
Hardy’s Cottage and Max Gate
These two modest properties offer insights into the life of Dorset’s
most famous writer. Hardy’s Cottage at Higher Bockhampton, where he was
born, is a simple cob and thatch dwelling; Max Gate, which Hardy
designed himself, is a Victorian villa on the edge of Dorchester. Both
have gardens that reflect Hardy’s love of the Dorset landscape.
Clouds Hill
This tiny cottage near Wareham was the refuge of T.E.
Lawrence—Lawrence of Arabia—in the last years of his life. Lawrence
bought the cottage in 1923 and furnished it to his own austere taste.
The interiors remain exactly as he left them, offering an intimate
glimpse into the private life of this complex and controversial figure.
Planning Your Visits
Most Dorset houses and gardens open from spring to autumn, with reduced
hours in winter. Kingston Lacy and the Hardy properties are National
Trust and open year-round. Check opening times and book timed tickets
where required, especially for popular properties in summer.
Allow half a day for major properties like Kingston Lacy or Sherborne
Castle, including time for the gardens and estate. Smaller gardens like
Minterne can be enjoyed in an hour or two. Combine nearby properties for
efficient touring—Kingston Lacy and Badbury Rings, for example, or
Athelhampton and Hardy’s Cottage.
Gardens are at their best from April through June for spring flowers,
and again in autumn for colour. But even in winter, the bones of great
gardens reveal themselves, and houses are often quieter and more
atmospheric in the low season.