News from Athelhampton House & Gardens.

Most visitors to the Little Library at Athelhampton House & Gardens these days haven’t heard of Percy F. Westerman, and don't know why so many of his books sit on the shelves in this room. A prolific writer of boys adventure stories through the first half of the 20th Century, Westerman averaged 3.6 books a year over the course of 50 years. He spent much of his life living in a houseboat in Wareham, not far from Athelhampton. Percy F. Westerman, from a British Pathe film His w

When you visit us, it's always worth looking closer at the small details. The outside roses at Athelhampton House & Gardens bloom beautifully through the summer, but inside the house, there are roses blooming all year round. Library Rose In the library, a small rose peeps down from the top of the panelling, almost hidden amongst the carvings covering the walls. King's Room Rose In the Kings Room, a gilded rose decorates part of the fireplace, this time with the more usual fiv

One of the pieces of furniture that we often get questions about at Athelhampton House & Gardens is the stone sink in the scullery, just beyond the kitchen. At first glance, this shallow block of stone is apparently pointless: how are you meant to fill it with water and use it for washing up?! The reality is that, while it is a sink, it wasn't originally intended to be anything like the kitchen sinks that we're used to today. Historically, it wouldn't have been used with a wa

If you've visited the shop at Athelhampton House & Gardens recently, or even just popped into our restaurant, you'll have noticed that we have some new things you can buy! Gyb wants his cattuccino Inspired by our favourite fluffy friend, we now have all manner of things themed around Gyb the Cat. From mugs, to cards, to jigsaw puzzles and colouring books, if you like cats (or if you like Gyb in particular) there's something for you! Athelhampton House & Gardens are open 7 day

Visiting places like Athelhampton House & Gardens or Max Gate can be a wonderful way of seeing how fashions and tastes in domestic spaces have evolved over time. On a recent visit to Max Gate, we spotted all sorts of late Victorian things that make a nice comparison to things you can see at Athelhampton, both older and more modern. Max Gate, home of author Thomas Hardy, regular visitor to Athelhampton House In the dining-rooms, we're both late-Victorian but with the services

In a blow for international visitors to Athelhampton, Brittany Ferries announced on Tuesday that it was going to sell Barfleur, the ferry which serves the Poole-Cherbourg route, closing the service in November. This isn't the first time she's been withdrawn from the Poole-Cherbourg route, and she was briefly acquired by LD Lines in 2012-2013 for their Dover-Calais route, but ultimately never ran that route before Brittany Ferries took her back again. This time, though, it see

A recent visit to Sherbourne Castle, another member of our Dorset Garden Trail, showed off the grounds beautifully. Sherbourne New Castle With its dramatic lake and naturalistic landscaping courtesy of Capability Brown, the grounds give an impression of simply having grown without any outside help or intervention. The natural calmness and harmony of the landscape Brown created belies the reality of the planning and the hard manual labour that had to go into creating the artif

When you go round Athelhampton House & Gardens, it's always worth looking up. Hidden details feature in almost every ceiling around the house, and the library is no exception. Alfred Carte de Lafontaine refurbished the room in 1893, stripping out the internal walls to create his "Long Gallery," where he could display his antiques. To complement these objects, many of them Tudor and Stuart in origin, he had the room decorated in a suitable style. The ceiling is heavily decorat

Fairly small and unnoticed, compared to the rainbow of the stained glass or the splendour of the roof, two Green Men sit above two doorways in the medieval Great Hall at Athelhampton House & Gardens. A Green Man in Athelhampton's Great Hall We're not sure how old these two particular "foliate faces" are: they may be contemporary with the rest of the 15th century screen they're attached too, or possibly they were added by Alfred Carte de Lafontaine, when he sourced the screen

The newly refurbished art gallery at Athelhampton is a space designed for local artists to exhibit their work, and these temporary exhibitions change regularly. Our new artist, who was installed yesterday, is Silvia Pineda. The Mexican born daughter of a jeweller and a sculptor, artistry runs in Silvia's blood. She's exhibited her paintings in our art gallery before, with her vibrant blend of colour and movement offering a lively contemporary contrast within Athelhampton's hi

In the current hot weather, a visit to Hardy's Cottage, surrounded by shady woodland, felt appropriate. Another visitor attraction local to Athelhampton, Hardy's Cottage has a very different history. Hardy's Cottage with its Cottage Garden A small cob and thatch building, Hardy was still living here when he wrote Far From the Madding Crowd, a novel that is essentially set in Puddletown and at Athelhampton, though both go by different names in the book. In his descriptions of

Looking back through the visitor guidebooks for Athelhampton that have been produced since the 1960s this morning has proved to be a fascinating way of seeing not just how knowledge advances over time, but also how tastes change! 60 years of guidebooks at Athelhampton Research into Athelhampton, the house, and the families who lived here is constantly ongoing: it's only in the last month that we discovered an extra family who briefly owned Athelhampton, meaning that we need t

For a while, there's been a bit of a gap in the shop at Athelhampton. To most new visitors, it probably isn't noticeable, but for returning visitors and to all our staff, it's been a bit of a hole. However, it's recently been filled again! Book and Bucket Cheeses, made in Dorset, in the shop at Athelhampton Our old fridge had broken, and so we were no longer able to offer the various speciality cheeses, drinks, meats, and other local produce that we had done for years. Howeve

The Lion's Mouth Garden at Athelhampton Like much of England, it has been incredibly hot at Athelhampton House & Gardens this May, and one of the warmest spots in our grounds has to be the Lion’s Mouth Garden. Sheltered by old walls and basking in sunshine for most of the day, it becomes a little Mediterranean corner of Dorset. Looking towards the Eucalyptus tree in the Lion's Mouth Garden at Athelhampton Here, heat loving plants thrive, from the silver blue leaves of the Blu

There is always something unique to discover in the shop at, one of Dorset’s most popular visitor attractions and historic houses. From the Anne of Athelhampton trilogy and colouring books, to mugs featuring Gyb the cat and collections of Thomas Hardy poetry, visitors can take home a special reminder of their day exploring one of England’s finest Tudor manor houses and gardens. Lots of products in the Athelhampton House & Gardens gift shop. The newest addition to the Athelham

The team at Athelhampton have spent this week getting ready for what is sure to be a busy May bank holiday weekend. The gardens are blooming in the sunshine, and we're generating so much power with our solar panels we're exporting plenty to the grid. Roses blooming at Athelhampton House So, we're now able to do a great deal for anyone who drives an electric vehicle! Solar panels powering the free EV charging at Athelhampton If you visit Athelhampton this weekend, when you go

Athelhampton House & Gardens is proud to offer one of the largest visitor EV charging facilities at a historic house in Dorset, with 10 electric vehicle charging points available in the visitor car park. Located near Dorchester in the heart of the South West, Athelhampton House & Gardens combines sustainable tourism with one of England’s finest Tudor houses and award-winning gardens. Whether you are exploring Dorset, travelling across the South West, or simply looking for rel

At Athelhampton House & Gardens, visitors can explore more than 20 historic rooms filled with original Tudor features. Among the most striking are the stained glass windows, which bring colour, craftsmanship and centuries of family history vividly to life. Glass is integral to Athelhampton's history, and not just because of the windows that can still be seen today. Stained glass in the oriel window at Athelhampton Stained glass manufacture in England dates back to at least th

Every historic house or stately home you visit is different, especially those that are part of the Historic Houses Association. Some Dorset houses, like Mapperton House and Sherborne Castle, let you go around as part of a guided tour, giving you personalised information and allowing you to ask questions of a guide as you go along. This is an amazing way of spotting small details, and aspects of a house that you might never otherwise have noticed, and is also a wonderful way o

Tucked beneath the eaves of the East Wing, a new perspective on Dorset’s historic buildings awaits. This season, John Lowe brings his work to the gallery at Athelhampton House, offering a thoughtful exploration of architecture across the county. A Dorset Story in Buildings John Lowe’s work is shaped by a long career as an architect and conservation specialist. His paintings and drawings go beyond surface detail, revealing how buildings were designed, used, and adapted over ti