Kingston Lacy

Nestled in the Dorset countryside is the fabulous country house, Kingston Lacy.

The house has quite a history, but to talk about it properly you have to start with the history of nearby Corfe Castle.

Corfe Castle was built by William the Conqueror in the 11th century and major changes were made to the structure in the 12th and 13th century. It left the crown's control when Elizabeth I sold it to Sir Christopher Hatton. In 1635 it was purchased by Sir John Bankes who was its owner during the English Civil War. Now, Bankes was a royalist, and was Attorney General to King Charles I. While he was away in Oxford with the king, the castle was left in the capable hands of his wife, Dame Mary Bankes.

She was living there with her five children when the Parliamentarians tried, unsuccessfully, to infiltrate the Castle's garrison. The Parliamentarians gave orders that anyone joining the garrison would have their house burned and that no supplies were to reach the castle. Initially defended by just five people, Lady Bankes was able to get food through and swell the garrison to 80. The Parliamentarian forces, who numbered between 500 and 600, began a more thorough siege which lasted for six weeks until Lady Bankes was relieved by Royalist forces. The castle finally fell to the Parliamentarians when one of the garrison colluded with the commander of the the Parliamentarians. Lady Bankes and the garrison were allowed to leave, but Corfe Castle was destroyed. When the monarchy was restored Ralph Bankes, son of John Bankes, chose to build a new dwelling rather than restore Corfe Castle, though all the land around Corfe Castle still belonged to the Bankes.

The new dwelling, Kingston Lacy, was built between 1663 and 1665 by Ralph Bankes, son of Sir John Bankes. Fast forward to the 1830s when William John Bankes commissioned his friend Charles Barry to remodel the house. He encased the red brick in Chilmark stone, added a tall chimney at each corner and lowered the ground level. Bankes, who was an explorer and adventurer, collected most of the house's antiquities. In 1841, after being caught in a homosexual scandal that could have resulted in a trial and his execution, William fled the country for Italy. His art collection was left at Kingston Lacy, where his notes and drawings remained for many years. In William's absence the estate was managed by his brother, George, and William's vision for the house was completed while he was in absentia. Historians believe that he was able to visit in disguise upon occasion, because his correspondence from Italy often criticized the execution of his plans for parts of the house and collection. Many of the rooms were later redesigned.

Kingston Lacy has a lovely, if somewhat modest, exterior, relatively speaking. The house is dressed for Christmas as though a Christmas ball is to be held there.

Throughout the house are signs that are meant to be parts of letters written by one of the servants to her mother, talking about the preparations being made and the event itself.

Each room is lovely, though the lighting is very low, for preservation purposes. The docents in the rooms, though, are always happy to illuminate various pieces of interest with their torches (flashlights).

Each room seemed even grander than the last.

There are glorious carved panels by Grinling Gibbons, Britain's most celebrated wood carver, whose works adorn such places as Windsor Castle and St. Paul's Cathedral.

A painting from 1505 by Sebastiano del Piombo depicts King Salomon preparing to rule between two women claiming to be the mother of a child.

The artist reworked the painting three times and over time the painting has faded, revealing earlier versions underneath.

There are two Italian wedding chests which are absolutely astounding in their detail. Sadly, you can see evidence of wood worm, but that prompted quite an interesting discussion with one of the room guides about techniques used to eradicate woodworm.

The next room we visited, the Spanish Room, was absolutely astonishing.

Its walls are hung with gilded leather.

These leather walls were recently restored, to the tune of several hundred thousand dollars.

Portrait of Cardinal Camillo Missimi by Diego Velazquez (1650):

Portrait of Maffeo Barberini (later Pope Urban VIII) by Caravaggio (1598):

The ballroom, hung with sheer curtains for Christmas, was an art-filled delight.

Portrait of Marchesa Maria Serra Pallavicino by Peter Paul Reubens, (1606):

I only wish you could see it in person. The sheen of the silk and the detail of the lace were incredible.

Portrait of Nicolo Zen by Titian (1560-5):

Portrait of Marchesa Maria Grimaldi by Peter Paul Reubens (1607): (Yes, same Grimaldi family that still rules Monaco.)

The man attending the Marchesa is "an ugly dwarf." Apparently, it was fashionable to employ dwarves, the uglier the better, to serve beautiful members of the aristocracy. This was supposed to make the women seem even more beautiful.

The master bedroom, with its wonderful ceiling.

On the way out we were treated to the "Downton Abbey" below stairs scene, set with food that might have been enjoyed during the holidays And the row of bells directing the servants to rooms in which they were needed.

Exiting the house we were lured by the gift shop

where we found an interesting cider made from pears and Katy apples.

As we waited for our Uber, I enjoyed the whimsical signage.

A very cold but highly enjoyable day out was had by all.