Somerley is a large Georgian Grade II* listed

English country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

that is situated in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

of Ellingham and

Harbridge Harbridge is a small village located some four kilometres north of Ringwood and a similar distance south of Fordingbridge, in southwest Hampshire, England. It is in the civil parish of Ellingham, Harbridge and Ibsley. Overview The village of H ...

with Ibsley in the

New Forest district New Forest is a local government district in Hampshire, England. Its council is based in Lyndhurst. The district covers most of the New Forest National Park, from which it takes its name. The district was created on 1 April 1974, under the Loca ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is 2 miles (3 km) west of the

New Forest National Park The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...

. The nearest town is Ringwood, which lies approximately 2.5 miles (4 km) south-east from the House, just east of the River Avon. Somerley House is perched overlooking the Estate. The River Avon meanders through this vast 7,000 acre Somerley Estate, providing a wildlife rich environment for a diverse range of habitats including; parkland, water meadows and woodland. The Estate features a walled garden and an ancient woodland. The house is the home of the seventh

Earl of Normanton Earl of Normanton is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1806 for Charles Agar, 1st Viscount Somerton, Archbishop of Dublin. He had already been created Baron Somerton, of Somerton in the County of Kilkenny, in 1795 and Visco ...

. It was designed by English architect

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

in 1792–1795, and the house became the property of Lord Normanton's family in 1825. In 1850 a 90ft picture gallery was added to house the family's paintings and collections; today this space is used for events. It is not open to the public although it is available for weddings, filming, and corporate and private event hire. The house was a

filming location A filming location is a place where some or all of a film or television series is produced, in addition to or instead of using sets constructed on a movie studio backlot or soundstage. In filmmaking, a location is any place where a film crew wil ...

for the 1983 TV adaptation of Mansfield Park and more recently portrayed

Highgrove House Highgrove House is the family residence of King Charles III and Queen Camilla. It lies southwest of Tetbury in Gloucestershire, England. Built in the late 18th century, Highgrove and its estate were owned by various families until it was pu ...

in the Netflix series, ''

The Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

''. In addition, Somerley has featured in the first season of the TV show ''

Bridgerton ''Bridgerton'' is an American historical- romance streaming television series created by Chris Van Dusen for Netflix. Based on the book series by Julia Quinn, it is Shondaland's first scripted show for Netflix. It revolves around the epony ...

'' Somerley Park is home to a golf club.

Notes

External links

Houses completed in 1795 Country houses in Hampshire Grade II* listed buildings in Hampshire {{Hampshire-struct-stub