Marston Bigot Park encompasses approximately and includes Marston House, Marston Pond and the remains of the medieval shrunken village of Lower Marston. It is in the village of

Marston Bigot Marston Bigot is a small village in the civil parish of Trudoxhill, near Nunney and south of Frome in Somerset, England. History Marston Bigot was listed as "Mersitone-tora" in the Domesday Book, which gave the name of the then Saxon landowner ...

within the English county of

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, England. The house is a Grade II*

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

Several deserted medieval settlements are located within the park. The earliest description of Marston House is contained in a letter from

Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork (13 October 1566 – 15 September 1643), also known as the Great Earl of Cork, was an English politician who served as Lord Treasurer of the Kingdom of Ireland. Lord Cork was an important figure in the continuing ...

, in 1641, when he purchased the Manor from Sir John Hippisley. In 1714, Marston was inherited by Charles Boyle, 4th Earl of Orrery, who rebuilt it. The house later passed to

John Boyle, 5th Earl of Cork John Boyle, 5th Earl of Cork and 5th Earl of Orrery, FRS (13 January 1707 – 16 November 1762) was a writer and a friend of Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope and Samuel Johnson. The only son of Charles Boyle, 4th Earl of Orrery, and his wife Lady ...

, and successive generations, who each left their mark on the house and grounds, including

Edmund Boyle, 7th Earl of Cork Edmund Boyle, 7th Earl of Cork and 7th Earl of Orrery (21 November 1742 – 30 May 1798) was an Irish peer and Somerset landowner. Family A younger son of the 5th Earl of Cork and Margaret Hamilton, he succeeded to his half-brother's titles on 17 ...

who added Marston Pond, a boathouse, and three gate lodges. However, late in the 19th century the house fell into disrepair and it was sold in 1905 to the Bonham-Christie family. The

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

used Marston House and its grounds during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and John and Angela Yeoman of Foster Yeoman Ltd finally rescued the property from dereliction in 1984, using it as the company headquarters. Foster Yeoman put the house on the market in 2012 at a price of £6 million. The house was purchased by Timothy Sanderson, Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of Sanderson Asset Management.

Architecture

It is built of squared and coursed

Doulting Doulting is a village and civil parish east of Shepton Mallet, on the A361, in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. History The parish of Doulting was part of the Whitstone Hundred. The parish includes the village of Bodden, which wa ...

stone with a slate roof and

balustraded A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its con ...

parapet, located on a long terrace with stone urns. The house is long but generally only deep, therefore presenting a massive facade when viewed from the park. In the three-storey central block of this front are four Ionic columns, which were built by Sir

Jeffry Wyattville Sir Jeffry Wyatville (3 August 1766 – 18 February 1840) was an English architect and garden designer. Born Jeffry Wyatt into an established dynasty of architects, in 1824 he was allowed by King George IV to change his surname to Wyatvill ...

around 1817, with two-storey wings on either side, which were added in 1776 by

Samuel Wyatt Samuel Wyatt (8 September 1737, Weeford, Staffs. – London, 8 February 1807) was an England, English architect and engineer. A member of the Wyatt family, which included several notable 18th- and 19th-century English architects, his work was prima ...

Gardens

The garden at Marston House is listed Grade II in the

Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England 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 ...

Stephen Switzer Stephen Switzer (1682–1745) was an English gardener, garden designer and writer on garden subjects, often credited as an early exponent of the English landscape garden. He is most notable for his views of the transition between the large garden ...

laid out the

gardens A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

between 1724 and 1745. They cover an approximately rectangular area of approximately . They include a rustic, rectangular-shaped, above-ground

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

grotto dating from 1743, north-east of the house near the Frome road, which was built by James Scott. Much of the 18th century lay out is now hidden by a lake which was created in the 1820s and 1830s, as part of a restyling in the style of Capability Brown, with advice from

William Sawrey Gilpin William Sawrey Gilpin (4 October 1762 – 4 April 1843) was an English artist and drawing master, and in later life a landscape designer. Biography Gilpin was born at Scaleby Castle, Cumbria on 4 October 1762, the son of the animal painter Saw ...

. The lake is now used for private fishing. The farm includes a herd of 60

Hereford cattle The Hereford is a British breed of beef cattle originally from Herefordshire in the West Midlands of England. It has spread to many countries – there are more than five million purebred Hereford cattle in over fifty nations worldwide. The bre ...

References

{{reflist Gardens in Somerset Country houses in Somerset Grade II* listed buildings in Mendip District Grade II* listed houses in Somerset Grade II listed parks and gardens in Somerset