Queen Anne House, Portland

Queen Anne House in 2009.

Queen Anne House is an 18th-century detached house located within the village of Fortuneswell, on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. The house, together with its boundary wall and gate piers, has been a Grade II* listed building since May 1993.[1]

History

The house, dating back to the 18th-century, is an example of English domestic architecture. It was built by architect and quarry merchant Thomas Gilbert circa 1720, from Portland stone at a time when Sir Christopher Wren had initiated its use extensively in the re-building of London after the great fire.[2] The finest and most complete house of this period on the island, it was built from the much increased profits of the Portland stone industry at the time, largely from the London contract. Gilbert himself was the architect of a number of houses in the Portland area, but most notably for St George's Church, which was built between 1754 and 1766, within the hamlet of Reforne, near the villages of Easton and Weston. The church has since been regarded as one of the most impressive 18th-century churches in Dorset, and remains a Grade I listed building.[3][4]

Queen Anne House was purposely constructed as Gilbert's personal residence, although it did not gain its current name until long after his death. The house has been regarded as one of the best Dorset houses of its period.[5] Stuart Morris, a local historian, in his 2005 book Portland Then and Now, described the house as "impeccable".[6]

Today the house has been renovated and opened as a luxury bed and breakfast, awarded 4 Stars by AA.[7] The four bedrooms are individually decorated and named Oyster, Lotus, White and Garden, and the accommodation is tailored for couples in particular, including romantic weekend breaks and Wedding nights.[8]

Design

The two storey, detached house design incorporates some fragments of earlier work at its rear. Built of Portland stone, some squared and coursed, the roof is slate. The house has a basement and an attic. The interior features an entrance hall with a panelled coffered ceiling and dog-leg stairs with shaped open string to heavy moulded handrail on turned balusters. The corresponding room below the main ground floor room has wide ingle fireplace with large stone bressumer, cracked at centre, and remains of bread oven. A thick-walled section at the back is likely to be from an earlier structure. Around the house is a low boundary wall with plain weathered coping stepped across full width of frontage.[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "1203085 - The National Heritage List for England | English Heritage". List.english-heritage.org.uk. 1993-05-17. Retrieved 2013-12-07.
  2. ↑ "Queen Anne House Bed & Breakfast, Portland, Dorset". Queenannehouse.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-12-07.
  3. ↑ Pevsner, Nikolaus (1972). The Buildings of England, Dorset. Penguin Books. p. 341. ISBN 0-14-071044-2.
  4. ↑ "1203132 - The National Heritage List for England | English Heritage". List.english-heritage.org.uk. Retrieved 2013-12-07.
  5. ↑ Morris, Stuart (1985). Portland, an Illustrated History. Dorset: The Dovecote Press, Wimborne, Dorset. p. 41, 42. ISBN 0-946159-34-3.
  6. ↑ Morris, Stuart (2006). Portland Then and Now. Dovecote Press. pp. Photo 42 of Fortuneswell Chapter. ISBN 978-1904349488.
  7. ↑ "Queen Anne House B&B , 2/4 Fortuneswell, Portland, Dorset – Good, quality and luxury B&B / bed & breakfast". Britainsfinest.co.uk. 2013-06-29. Retrieved 2013-12-07.
  8. ↑ "Queen Anne House Bed & Breakfast, Portland, Dorset". Queenannehouse.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-12-07.

Coordinates: 50°33′31″N 2°26′24″W / 50.5586°N 2.4401°W