Eastbury Park was a country estate near
Tarrant Gunville in
Dorset
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...
, England. It contained a large mansion designed by
Sir John Vanbrugh
Sir John Vanbrugh (; 24 January 1664 (baptised) – 26 March 1726) was an English architect, dramatist and herald, perhaps best known as the designer of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. He wrote two argumentative and outspoken Restora ...
. The mansion has not survived, but its former
service wing has become a
country house known as Eastbury House, a Grade I
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
.
History
The house was designed by Vanbrugh for
George Dodington, who was Secretary to the
Treasurer of the Navy
The Treasurer of the Navy, originally called Treasurer of Marine Causes or Paymaster of the Navy, was a civilian officer of the Royal Navy, one of the principal commissioners of the Navy Board responsible for naval finance from 1524 to 1832. ...
.
Construction started in 1718 and was completed under the stewardship of Dodington's nephew,
George Dodington, 1st Baron Melcombe
George Bubb Dodington, 1st Baron Melcombe (1691 – 28 July 1762) was an English Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1715 to 1761.
Christened George Bubb, he was the eldest son of Jeremiah Bubb of Foy, Herefordshire and his wife ...
, in 1738 at a final cost £140,000: it had a large garden which was designed by
Charles Bridgeman
Charles Bridgeman (1690–1738) was an English garden designer who helped pioneer the naturalistic landscape style. Although he was a key figure in the transition of English garden design from the Anglo-Dutch formality of patterned parterres an ...
.
[ The house was inherited by ]Richard Grenville-Temple, 2nd Earl Temple
Richard Grenville-Temple, 2nd Earl Temple, (26 September 171112 September 1779) was a British politician. He is best known for his association with his brother-in-law William Pitt who he served with in government during Britain's participatio ...
in 1762, who had no use for it, and he had it demolished in 1782.[
The service wing, designed by Vanbrugh and built at the same time as the rest of the mansion, survived the demolition and became known as Eastbury House. It became a Grade I listed building in 1955. The parklands are Grade II* listed in the ]National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens
The Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England provides a listing and classification system for historic parks and gardens similar to that used for listed buildings. The register is managed by Historic England ...
.
References
{{coord, 50.9137, -2.0979, format=dms, type:landmark, display=title
Country houses in Dorset
Grade I listed buildings in Dorset
Houses completed in 1738
John Vanbrugh buildings
Grade II* listed parks and gardens in Dorset