Kingston Lacy Revisited

On Sunday we met the Middle Smiths and one of the Canosa family members, Pricilla Queen of the Desert. I do suspect Bruno, the other half of the Canosa family, was relaxing at home with a chilled ale to keep him company.

Gary does not like Kingston Lacy, why I am not sure but this did spark an idea. We often go to Kingston Lacy and it was time to revisit why we enjoy the estate and the history that is all around you, where ever you go.

To start, Kingston Lacy was built in 1663 for Sir Ralph Bankes after Corfe Castle was destroyed during the English Civil War.

It was only later that the passions of William John Bankes changed and shaped the Kingston Lacy we see today. William John inherited Kingston Lacy in 1834. Generations of the Bankes family contributed to the estate, but it was William John who implemented some of the most fundamental changes. A little know fact did emerge from my research, the house was originally built using red bricks. William John clad the house with Chilmark stone, which is a fine-grained sandy limestone, as we see it today.

He was a traveller, collector and talented draughtsman with an eye for beauty. The great loss to us is that William John never realised his full vision for Kingston Lacy. In 1841 fled to Venice after he was charged for the second time with having an intermit relationship with another man, in those days that was the death penalty.

He was also an avid collector of art, he commissioned marble carvings and intricate, lavish furniture which he sent back to his brothers and sisters with instructions on what to do with them. He even found an obelisk in Egypt and had it sent back on Wellington’s gun carriage. This stands at the bottom of the main garden, surrounded by other smaller obelisks and ancient stones.

The house is a treasure trove of all he collected and you will also find paintings by the great masters hanging on the walls. It is said that the paintings in the house are more valuable than the entire estate. Rubens, Titian and Sebastiano are among the great Western artists whose works decorate the walls. But Kingston Lacy is much more than a house and art collection. It is a beautiful garden and a living landscape rich in wildlife and nature.

John Williams was never able to live at Kingston Lacy again, and in 1855 he died whilst still in exile.

It is rumoured that he risked his life to visit Kingston Lacy once before his death. In one of his letters home, he references a minute detail on one of the doors and asks for it to be fixed. For him to see such a small detail it could only have been seen in person. By all accounts, quite a flamboyant character.

Now, I ask, what is not too like? We go there often and like the beach which we frequent daily, this is a favourite walking area and allows us, more often than not, to enjoy a cream tea following our walk.

Snowdrops are abundant again, as I alluded to in my last blog. Not only are the snowdrops blanketing the grass but the odd Daffodil and purple crocus are coming through, I imagine the bluebells are not far behind.

The funny thing about snowdrops and when they appear is that I get that fuzzy feeling, yes I made it to see them again. I am on bonus time and loving it.