A Short History of the Athelhampton Guidebook
- Juliet Braidwood
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
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!
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 to update all sorts of things (more on that in a future post!). As time goes on, it's ever easier to access sources and share information, meaning that new discoveries can be made, even about things that happened 500 years ago!
We now know, though it was an easy thing to get mixed up with, that Sir William Martyn who built Athelhampton, and Sir William Martyn who was the Lord Mayor of London were, in fact, two different men, though some of the early guidebooks conflated the two - a mistake that has been being made since at least Victorian times.
Even without advances in research, though, the guidebooks are a fascinating insight into more recent history, and the expectations the public have of historic houses (and vice versa). In earlier years, the guidebooks are incredibly text heavy, and use specialist language, assuming that visitors have enough of a background when it comes to historic houses and the history of furniture and suchlike to know names like Pugin, Millais, or Countess Waldegrave. A large part of the guidebooks also assume knowledge and understanding of other historic houses, even in a time when access to such knowledge was far more difficult - you couldn't just google the things you didn't understand!
The focus is heavily on the furniture contained in the house, with much of the guidebook essentially being a list of furniture, makers, dates, and locations. This gives more information for visitors about what they're seeing around them, but there's very little context, and a great deal of knowledge is assumed. Black and white photos of the rooms are valuable for seeing how the house and its furnishings have evolved over the years.
With advances in printing technology, and with colour printing becoming cheaper, the first guidebook with coloured pictures on every page was printed in 2002. The text remained much the same, however, though some of the lists of furniture were taken out of the main body of text and given their own little sections.
By 2011, the guidebook began to look far more modern, and while much of the text remained the same, it began to take on a more narrative quality, with slightly more personal stories being told about former inhabitants of the house, and the way in which rooms were used.
With Giles Keating buying the house in 2019, the guidebook for Athelhampton had a complete overhaul, being rewritten entirely, with new information being added. More emphasis was given to the house itself, and how it has been adapted and altered over the years. Further context was given too, both when it came to the use of the rooms, and the people who used to live at Athelhampton. As research has continued, the newest guidebook written in 2025 was further updated, with new photos added as well.
These guidebooks are available from Athelhampton House and Garden's shop online, and in person when you come to visit us. Abridged guidebooks are also available in a range of languages: French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Dutch. We're open every day of the week throughout the year, save a few days at Christmas.
