Kingston Lacy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kingston Lacy is a country house and estate near Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England, now owned by the National Trust. From the 17th to the late 20th centuries it was the family seat of the Bankes family, who had previously resided nearby at Corfe Castle until its destruction in the English Civil War after its incumbent owners, Sir John Bankes and Dame Mary joined the side of Charles I. They owned some 8,000 acres (4 km²) of the surrounding Dorset countryside and coastline.

[edit] History

Kingston Lacy takes its name from its ancient lords the Lacys, Earls of Lincoln, who held it together with Shapwick and Blandford.

After the destruction of the family seat at Corfe, a new site was chosen on the Lacy Estate and finally paid for by Ralph Bankes, the son of Sir John Bankes. The original house was designed by Sir Roger Pratt for Ralph Bankes and was built between 1663 and 1665, with interiors influenced by Inigo Jones but executed by his heir John Webb. For many years, the house was believed entirely constructed by Inigo Jones, for it so resembled his work, until the plans of Webb were discovered. It is a grade I listed building.^[1]

The grandson of 'civil war' Ralph Bankes, Henry, did some minor alterations in the 1820s, before he became an MP for Corfe and an influential Tory. As a very important trustee for the British Museum and its parliamentary advocate, some items once part of the house now reside in the Museum. Pitt the Younger and the Duke of Wellington once stayed at the house when entertained by Henry Bankes. 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. This work was carried out under the guide of William John Bankes, son of Henry Bankes.

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 (named by reason of the Murillo paintings which hang there), has walls hung with gilded leather. It was recently restored at a cost of several hundred thousand pounds over a 5 year period. Other important collections include paintings of the family stretching back over 400 years. Other artworks include works by Rubens, Van Dyck, Titian and Breughel. Aside from the Spanish Room, the library is the most atmospheric of rooms, upon the wall of which are hung the huge keys of the destroyed Corfe Castle, handed back to Mary Bankes after her defence of Corfe castle during the civil war. The state bedroom is extremely ornate and has featured such important guests as Kaiser Wilhelm II who stayed with the family for a week in 1907. The main staircase is beautifully carved from stone and features three huge statues who look out onto the gardens from their seats. These depict Sir John Bankes and Lady Bankes, the defenders of Corfe Castle, and their king Charles I, in one of his greatest likenesses.

William Bankes provided most of the antiquities that currently form part of the house's collections. He travelled extensively to the Middle East and the Orient, collecting the largest individual collection of Egyptian antiques in the world. Most notable is the large obelisk which he brought back and which now stands prominently in the grounds of the house. The last owner of the Lacy house, Henry John Ralph Bankes, was the seven times great-grandson of the original creator Sir Ralph Bankes. Upon his death he bequeathed the Kingston Lacy estate and Corfe Castle to the National Trust, one of its largest donations to date.

Within the estate are Badbury Rings (an Iron Age hill fort) and the Roman road from Dorchester to Old Sarum. Architecturally there are several huge stone gates which stand at entrances to the Lacy estate. The house and gardens are open to the public and in 2002 received 139,342 visitors.

[edit] External links

• Kingston Lacy information at the National Trust
• Kingston Lacy Garden - information on garden history,

[edit] References

• Pitt-Rivers, Michael, 1968. Dorset. London: Faber & Faber.
• Dorset County Council, Visitor Numbers at Selected Attractions 1998 to 2002

• Kingston Lacy Guide by the National Trust, Anthony Mitchell. ISBN 1-84359-042-5