News from Athelhampton House & Gardens.

With visitor numbers picking up as we move from Winter into Spring, we're becoming increasingly busy. With cruises, tours, and independent travellers, the many international visitors at Athelhampton make up a significant proportion of our guests, exploring the house and gardens. While many are able to speak English in addition to their native tongue, there are certain nuances of language that make it worth everyone's while to have our visitor interpretation translated. Our sh

It's now 50 years since Athelhampton starred in Doctor Who. With Tom Baker as the Doctor and Elisabeth Sladen as his companion, this particular episode featured scientists in Antarctica, a crazed millionaire, and mysterious plants. Athelhampton played the home of reclusive, eccentric, plant-obsessed millionaire Harrison Chase, who has used violent henchmen to acquire the seed pod of a mysterious, malignant alien plant. The Doctor and Sarah Jane infiltrate his estate in an eff

Due to popular demand and increased visitor numbers, from the beginning of March, Athelhampton House has been opening an hour earlier than we were in the winter. Our new opening times at Athelhampton result in the house opening at 10 instead of 11, so you can wander around and explore inside as soon as you arrive, rather than meandering through the gardens first. Not only does this mean that you've got even more time to explore over 20 rooms open in the house, it also means w

Giving birth was one of the most dangerous things a woman could do in Medieval and Renaissance England: it was the leading cause of death for women, with as many as 1 in 40 women dying in childbirth. So what might a woman living in this Dorset Tudor Manor of Athelhampton do to try to stay safe at this time? Preparations for giving birth started early, with the lying-in period beginning up to six weeks before the prospective mother gave birth. The Marriage Chamber at Athelhamp

As you explore over 20 rooms at Athelhampton, there’s the chance to step into the world of one of England’s most enduring melodies, with the Greensleeves Project Exhibition. Associated with all manner of things, from Henry VIII to ice cream vans, there’s the chance at Athelhampton to discover the truth behind this evocative piece of Tudor music. The words and gifts of the rejected lover are brought to life here, with the exquisitely reconstructed Tudor clothing created by ski

At Athelhampton, the Marriage Chamber has been quietly enhanced. One of more than twenty rooms open to the public, it now welcomes an early seventeenth century Flemish tapestry, newly rehung after many years on the minstrels’ gallery in the Great Hall. The tapestry itself seems to show a pastoral setting, with a scene of a man returning from the hunt. The Tudor bedroom brings together layers of history. Rich Tudor panelling, A fifteenth century Italian Savonarola chair, an

An exciting day at Athelhampton… In the early morning, before the house stirred and long before our visitors arrived, the medieval Great Hall echoed with industry. Three orange clad figures appeared, and piece by piece, a modern metal structure was erected, in sharp contrast with the ancient beams sheltering the hall. After careful planning and the necessary permissions, we are beginning a project that gently reverses a change made some three hundred years ago, allowing the h

We wish a Merry Christmas to all our friends and visitors. The Christmas Tree in the Tudor Great Hall at Athelhampton House Dorset is cold, calm, and full of winter light, the kind that feels quietly enchanted. Not a white Christmas at Athelhampton, but a soft golden one, sunlight glimmering into the Great Hall beside the Christmas tree. Dorset's finest Tudor manor house will be open to welcome you again from the 27th

The great Tudor door at Athelhampton has watched centuries of light and weather pass across its threshold. It was with this Dorset Tudor house when it was first built, and continues to watch as the house has evolved over the years, with its fortunes rising and falling. Golden sunlight beaming through the front door of the Tudor Great Hall Today, after a day of hard rain, the clouds lifted and the low sun spilled into the hall, turning oak and stone to gold. A moment like this

As other country houses begin to hibernate for the winter, Athelhampton remains wide awake and full of life. Athelhampton is open all year round. This time of year is perfect for slowing down and taking in the little things… the texture of the old oak, the soft glow through stained glass, the gentle strike of a clock, a plate waiting on the dresser, the brushstrokes of paint on canvas. Come and explore, linger a little longer, and see Athelhampton in its quiet season beauty.

Visit Athelhampton this autumn, and you’ll see pears ripening in the gardens, and glowing too in the stained glass of the Great Hall. The pears appear in the arms of Elizabeth Kelway, who around 1530 married Robert Martyn of Athelhampton. Her family’s coat of arms shows four golden pears and a pair of grozing irons, the delicate tools once used by glaziers to shape stained glass. It bears a very strong resemblance to that of the Worshipful Company of Glaziers and Painters of

In Athelhampton’s Library, sunlight glows through this jewel of ancient stained glass. It’s a complicated shield, and often in tours, we talk about the shield next to this one instead! This shield belongs to the Zouche family of Harringworth, quartered with the arms of Cantilupe, Braose, and Clare — dynasties whose power stretched across medieval England. The Zouches were influential enough to give their name to Ashby de la Zouche in Leicestershire, where their castle once do

It's been a busy weekend at Athelhampton, as a new room opened to the public. The East Wing attic has been renovated over the last 6 months, and is now open as an art gallery. As well as art on display, the room has some fabulous views over the gardens that haven't been seen by our visitors in years! The gallery was opened by Simon Hoare MP, with Arthur Neal as our first artist exhibiting over 75 works. The team at Athelhampton faced many challenges completing this project on

The Silver Safe at Athelhampton has just reopened after a week of renovations. It is the smallest of the 20 historic rooms open to the public. Athelhampton was purchased in 1660 by Sir Robert Long, (treasurer to Queen Henrietta Maria) he was a wealthy landowner and had many estates in Dorset, London, Wiltshire and Yorkshire. In the 1750s his descendants spent time at all their various estates. This may have been when this room was added, enabling valuable silverware to be lo

Oddly not a photograph of Athelhampton to start this post. Instead an archive photograph of the Riley-Smith Hall in Tadcaster. I hear you asking why? Well, it’s complicated. In 1890 a Yorkshire solicitor’s daughter, Mary Bromet married Frank Riley-Smith who, with his brother, owned John Smith’s brewery in Tadcaster. Frank died in 1912, and left his considerable wealth and share of the brewery to his wife Mary, who would remarry a few years later. Mary and her new husband, Geo

Calmer weather at Athelhampton today, the snow, frost, rain and wind of the last week was replaced by a dull grey sky. Athelhampton's Tudor Great Hall The visitors to our Dorset historic house and gardens still explore outside, but at this time of year the manor house is the focal point for many. A candelabra in Athelhampton's Tudor Great Hall, crafted by a local Dorset blacksmith 539 years after William Martyn started building Athelhampton’s Tudor Great Hall it looks absolut

Snow at the centre of Athelhampton's historic kitchen garden Athelhampton enjoyed a snow day today! Snow in the Great Court at Athelhampton Even with difficult traveling conditions we welcomed visitors who explored the historic house and gardens near Dorchester, and enjoyed a hot lunch in our restaurant. Snow on the West Lawn at Athelhampton I wonder how many snow days there have been at Athelhampton has since it was constructed in 1485? Athelhampton at the end of the day Ath

A cold night and frosty morning at Athelhampton, but even with a chill in the air the house and gardens are looking stunning. Frosty lawns in Athelhampton's historic gardens Our modern air-source heating and the fire in the Tudor Great Hall are keeping the rooms of the house toasty and warm for our visitors today. Frost in Athelhampton's historic kitchen garden Athelhampton is a member of the Historic Houses and an RHS Partner Garden. Our historic gardens near Dorchester are

Athelhampton is a beautiful stately home - one of the finest country houses in Dorset - but it was hardly the place for royalty in the 16th Century. Royal progresses, where the monarch essentially went "on tour" around the country, were huge affairs, involving hundreds if not thousands of people. Athelhampton, while a big house by modern standards, wasn't ever big enough to host the royal court. Sir William Martyn, who built some of the earliest parts of Athelhampton, escorte