- Kingston Maurward House
Kingston Maurward House is a large Georgian
English country house set in a 750 acre (3 square km) estate inDorset situated in the Frome valley two miles east of Dorchester. The mansion was built byGeorge Pitt , cousin ofWilliam Pitt the Elder , between 1717 and 1720. The mansion was originally in red brick, but after derogatory comments from King George III, Pitt clad the house inPortland limestone . Much of the house is now used byKingston Maurward College , though some of it is used for private functions.Thomas Hardy lived nearby and later referred to Kingston Maurward House as "Knapwater House" in his novel "Desperate Remedies ".The grounds of Kingston Maurward, which are used for the land-based college, are open to the public and include the farm areas and extensive gardens. Both the house and grounds are owned by Dorset County Council. Also in the grounds is Kingston Maurward Manor House, built in 1590, an earlier mansion which was narrowly saved from demolition when the estate was acquired. Following refurbishment it is now a hotel.
ee also
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Kingston Maurward College External links
* [http://www.thedorsetpage.com/locations/Place/K060.htm The Dorset Page: Kingston Maurward]
* [http://www.gardenvisit.com/g/king3.htm Kingston Maurward Gardens - a Gardens Guide review]References
* Pitt-Rivers, Michael, 1968. "Dorset". London: Faber & Faber.
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