Kingston Lacy

Kingston Lacy is a stately home and estate near Wimborne Minster in Dorset, England, now owned by the National Trust.

Related Topics:
Stately home - Wimborne Minster - Dorset - England - National Trust

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It was from the seventeenth to the late twentieth centuries the family seat of the Bankes family who had previously resided nearby at Corfe Castle until its destruction in the English Civil War. They owned some 8,000 acres of the spectacular surrounding Dorset countryside and coastline.

Related Topics:
Corfe Castle - English Civil War

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The house was designed by Sir Roger Pratt for Ralph Bankes and was built between 1663 and 1665, with interiors designed by Inigo Jones but executed by his heir John Webb. The house was extensively remodelled by Sir Charles Barry, between 1835 and 1838. He faced the brick with stone, added a tall chimney to each corner and lowered the ground level on one side, exposing the basement level and forming a new principal entrance.

Related Topics:
Roger Pratt - Ralph Bankes - 1663 - 1665 - Inigo Jones - John Webb - Charles Barry - 1835 - 1838

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On display in the house is an important collection of fine art and antiquities built up by many generations of the Bankes family. One of the rooms, the Spanish room (by reason of the Murillo paintings which hang there), has walls hung with gilded leather. The Bankes family also collected Egyptian artefacts, including an obelisk which stands in the grounds.

Related Topics:
Murillo - Egypt - Obelisk

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Within the estate is Badbury Rings, an iron age hill fort, and the Roman Road from Dorchester to Old Sarum.

Related Topics:
Badbury Rings - Iron age - Hill fort - Roman Road - Dorchester - Old Sarum

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The house and gardens are open to the public and in 2002 received 139,342 visitors.

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