Parnham House

Parnham House

Parnham House in 2011
Type Stately home
Coordinates Coordinates: 50°47′56″N 2°44′34″W / 50.7987858°N 2.742879°W / 50.7987858; -2.742879
Built 1552 (original)
1810 (renovation)
Architect John Nash
Listed Building – Grade I
Official name: Parnham House
Designated 12 June 1953
Reference no. 1221178
Location of Parnham House in Dorset

Parnham House is a sixteenth-century Grade I listed house located about 1 mile (1.6 km) from Beaminster in Dorset, England.[1] Historic England describes the house as "exceptionally important".[2] In April 2017 the house was badly damaged by fire.

History

The original house on the site was built in the 1400s;[3] this was completely rebuilt in 1552 for Robert Strode and his wife Elizabeth Hody.[4] It is one of Dorset's oldest stately homes, and the 16th-century hall and kitchen wing still remain.[5] The house belonged to the local gentry family, the Strodes for over 200 years.[6] During the English Civil War, Sir John Strode's widow Lady Ann Strode was killed whilst trying to protect the house from Roundheads under the authority of Thomas Fairfax.[7][8] In 1810 the house was remodelled by John Nash. His renovations included winding staircases and stone mullioned windows.[6][7] After his death during the 1915 Second Battle of Ypres, William Barnard Rhodes-Moorhouse was buried in the grounds of Parnham House, his family home. Rhodes-Moorhouse was the first airman to receive the Victoria Cross.[9][10][11] In the 1920s, the house was used as a country club, and it was used by the American army during the Second World War.[4][8] After the War, the house was used as a country club and nursing home.[6] The house was purchased by John Makepeace in 1976, and he used the house for his School for Craftsmanship in Wood.[2] In 2001 Makepeace sold the house to an Austrian hedge fund manager.[2][6][4][5][8] The house became a Grade I listed building on the National Heritage List for England in 1953.[12] Its gardens were landscaped by Inigo Thomas,[1] and were Grade II* listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens in 1986.[13] In addition to the main house, the lodge, ice house, and kitchen garden walls are Grade II listed,[14][15][16] and the front courtyard, south terrace walls and gazebos, and stable block are listed Grade II*.[17][18] The house is used as the venue for the annual Eat Dorset Food Fair.[4][19]

April 2017 fire

In April 2017 the house was badly damaged by fire, the cause of which is currently undetermined. The entire interior and contents were lost. The fire is considered suspicious and police are investigating.[2][7][6][4]

Parnham House was used as the location of one episode and one special of The Goodies. The episode features a giant version of the character Dougal from The Magic Roundabout.[4][20]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Great Houses & Manors of Dorsetshire". Dorsetshire. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Police investigating after fire ravages Grade I-listed Dorset mansion". The Guardian. 15 April 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  3. ↑ "An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Dorset, Volume 1, West.". Her Majesty's Stationary Office. 1952. pp. 17–27. Retrieved 15 April 2017 – via British History Online.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Da Silva, Chantal (15 April 2017). "16th century stately home in Dorset gutted by ‘suspicious’ fire". The Independent. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  5. 1 2 "Stately home gutted by fire". ITV. 15 April 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Boult, Adam; Parker, Fiona (15 April 2017). "Huge fire at Grade I listed stately home in Dorset leaves 'just the walls standing'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 "Parnham House in Beaminster ravaged by 'suspicious' fire". BBC News. 15 April 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  8. 1 2 3 Moseley, Sophia (2009). "Parnham House, a family home again". Dorset Life. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  9. ↑ O'Connor, Michael (23 December 2008). Airfields and Airmen: Ypres: Ypres. Pen and Sword Books. pp. 91–92. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  10. ↑ CWGC entry
  11. ↑ "Rhodes-Moorhouse". The Times. 6 May 1915. p. 27. Retrieved 15 April 2017 – via Newspapers.com. (Subscription required (help)).
  12. ↑ Historic England, "Parnham House (1221178)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 15 April 2017
  13. ↑ Historic England, "Parnham House (1000722)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 15 April 2017
  14. ↑ Historic England, "Ice House, 100 yards, north north west of Parnham House (1221184)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 15 April 2017
  15. ↑ Historic England, "The Lodge, 300 meters south east of Parnham House (1221182)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 15 April 2017
  16. ↑ Historic England, "Kitchen garden walls north of Parnham House (1290612)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 15 April 2017
  17. ↑ Historic England, "Front courtyard and south terrace walls and gazebos, at Parnham (1221181)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 15 April 2017
  18. ↑ Historic England, "Stable block north of Parnham House (workshops and offices) (1221179)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 15 April 2017
  19. ↑ "Eat Dorset Food Fair". Eat Dorset Food Fair. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  20. ↑ "Dorset in the movies". BBC. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
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