Kingston Lacy
Near Wimborne Minister, in the southern England county of Dorset, lies the Italianate mansion Kingston Lacy. Surrounded by a huge 8,500 acre estate, this recently restored masterpiece was once owned by the 19th century political rake-in-exile William Bankes, and in many ways is a relic of his ‘Grand Tour’.
Kingston Lacy was originally built after the Bankes family lost their family seat at nearby Corfe Castle during the 17th century English Civil War. In the 19th century William Bankes, who had fled the country owing to a scandalous lifestyle, allowed his sister, Lady Falmouth, to remodel the house. She employed Sir Charles Barry, the architect famous for Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, to redesign it in the palazzo style. Bankes enjoyed the house in exile by correspondence, visiting it just once before he died.
The mansion then fell into disrepair until in 1981 it was rescued by the National Trust, who restored it to its former glory and continue to maintain it. Highlights include the Carrera marble staircase,the collection of 17th century masters, the Egyptian treasures ‘acquired’ by Bankes on his travels (including a full sized obelisk), and the Japanese gardens with red Devon cattle grazing in the background.