Lainston House
| Lainston House | |
| Hampshire | |
|---|---|
 Lainston House seen from the east | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SU44253167 |
| Location: | 51°4’58"N, 1°22’11"W |
| Village: | Sparsholt |
| History | |
| Address: | Woodman Lane |
| Information | |
| Condition: | Converted to a hotel |
| Owned by: | Exclusive Hotels |
Lainston House is a 17th-century country house hotel near Sparsholt in Hampshire. It is a Grade II* listed building.[1]
History
Sir Christopher Wren may have started work on the site in 1683 by building on the grounds of an earlier mediæval dwelling. It became known as the home of King Charles II and his mistress Louise de Keroualle before he died in 1685.[2]
In August 1744 Elizabeth Chudleigh and Augustus Hervey (later 3rd Earl of Bristol) were secretly married in Lainston House's private chapel, which marriage was destined to cause a society scandal. Their secret union did not last and Elizabeth went on to marry Evelyn Pierrepont, 2nd Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull, at which the Earl of Oxford took action to prove he was the lady's lawful husband. The bigamy charge proven against Elizabeth dogged her until her death in 1788.[3][4]
Lainston House's tree-lined grounds also contain the longest line of limes in Britain (nine-tenths of a mile), some of which were planted in 1716. The trees were planted in the grounds after the influence of gardener and diarist Sir John Evelyn.[5]
Lainston House and its parkland was sold off from private ownership in the 1980s, and currently operates as a luxury 5-star hotel.
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Lainston House) |
- Lainston House: Exclusive Hotels
References
- ↑ National Heritage List 1095761: Lainston House (Grade II* listing)
- ↑ "History of the Hotel". https://www.exclusive.co.uk/lainston-house/the-hotel/history/. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
- ↑ "History of the Hotel". https://www.exclusive.co.uk/lainston-house/the-hotel/history/. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
- ↑ "Chudleigh, Elizabeth, Countess of Bristol". http://www.tim.ukpub.net/Bigamy/Chudleigh.html. Retrieved 18 January 2010.
- ↑ "History of the Hotel". https://www.exclusive.co.uk/lainston-house/the-hotel/history/. Retrieved 16 May 2016.