Dogmersfield Park
| Dogmersfield Park | |
| Hampshire | |
|---|---|
 Dogmersfield Park | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SU77135160 |
| Location: | 51°15’30"N, -0°53’46"W |
| History | |
| Built 1748 | |
| For: | Ellis St John; Sir Paulet St John |
| Country house | |
| Information | |
| Condition: | Converted to a hotel |
Dogmersfield Park or Dogmersfield House is a Grade I listed Georgian country house, now being used as a hotel, in Dogmersfield, a small village in Hampshire.
The land was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Doccemere feld".[1]
Construction of the present building began in 1748 when a 3-storey rectangular block was built in brick in the Georgian style. Additional wings were added in the late 18th century and in the Victorian era to form a three-sided square enclosing a courtyard. The square was later completed with the addition of a modern chapel.[2]
History
In the Middle Ages, the manor of Dogmersfield belonged to the Bishops of Bath and Wells, who built a palace there in the 13th century, probably on the site of the present house. King Henry VI was a frequent visitor and this is where King Henry VII bought his eldest son Prince Arthur to meet his future wife, Katherine of Aragon, for the first time.[3]
The manor was acquired in 1539 by Henry VIII and in 1547 granted to Thomas, Lord Wriothesley, who built a house and dovecote there. During the 17th century it passed through a number of hands until being possessed by Ellis St John.
It was Ellis St John who started to build the present house in 1748, but he died the same year. His son and heir Sir Paulet St John, 1st Baronet completed the task, later extending both the house and the estate. During the ownership of his son Sir Henry St John-Mildmay, 3rd Baronet, the Basingstoke Canal was built through the grounds (1790-92). Following the death of the 6th Baronet, much of the parkland was sold.
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The 7th Baronet died childless in 1929 and the remaining estate was sold to Claud Ronald Anson and later became the Reeds School (1933), then a College of the De La Salle Brothers (1956) and then the Daneshill School (1973). The building was severely damaged by fire in 1981 and was purchased, renovated and extended for use as office accommodation by the American computer company Amdahl Corporation. [4] They sold the property in 1996 to the software company Systems Union who in turn put it up for sale in 2000.
Since spring 2005, after completion of a major renovation, the manor, on 500 acres, has operated as the Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire.[5][6]
References
- ↑ "Four Seasons Hampshire". Architectural Digest. 31 October 2006. https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/hotels-hampshire-article-112006.
- ↑ National Heritage List 1092357: Dogmersfield Park (House) (Grade I listing)
- ↑ A History of the County of Hampshire - Volume 4 pp 72-74: Parishes: Dogmersfield (Victoria County History)
- ↑ "DOGMERSFIELD HOUSE:HOUSE". BBC. https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/domesday/dblock/GB-476000-150000/page/15. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
- ↑ Architectural Digest: Hotels
- ↑ Four Seasons Hotel: History