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Edmondsham House and Gardens

Location

Dorset Map
Last Visited: 2013 View Google Map, Geocoding, Google Earth pushpin, what3words, etc.

In 1563 one Thomas Hussey bought Edmondsham Manor and it has been owned by his family ever since passing through the female line or to a nephew or niece a number of times.

He built the central part of Edmondsham House adding the porch and top story in 1589. Two outer wings in the Palladian style were added in the middle of the eighteenth century.

The current owner, Mrs Julia Smith, gives guided tours of the house on Bank Holiday Mondays and on Wednesdays in April and October (check the HHA site below for more details). Whilst the house is nice but unspectacular, it is the owner's sense of belonging to and being rooted in the place that makes the tour interesting.

The gardens on the other hand are glorious and well worth visiting even on days when the house is closed.

The Edmondsham Estate has in recent years created a number of new Permissive Paths and opened up many opportunities for walks in the area. A leaflet is available from the house.

External Links and References

  • External Links

    • Cranborne & Edmondsham Parish Council
      More on the house, the village and its pump.
      http://www.cranborne-edmondsham.org.uk/
    • Edmondsham House & Gardens
      Historic Houses Association handbook entry giving brief details of opening times etc.
      https://www.historichouses.org/house/edmondsham-house/visit/
    • Edmondsham
      The Edmondsham page on the Dorset Online Parish Clerk site.
      http://www.opcdorset.org/EdmondshamFiles/Edmondsham.htm

St Nicholas' Church, Edmondsham

Location

Dorset Map
Last Visited: 2013 View Google Map, Geocoding, Google Earth pushpin, what3words, etc.

Adjoining the house is St Nicholas' Church. Although founded back in the twelfth century, it was heavily restored in the nineteenth when the road was diverted to the south of the church. The original road ran along what is now the line of the private drive between the house and the church.

The south porch was added during this time, whilst the north door, next to the fifteenth century tower, was retained for use by the occupants of the big house.

The interior consists of the nave and a north aisle of roughly equal sizes. This always results in a slightly awkward space. Here it has been resolved by turning the pews at the east end of the aisle through 90 degrees to face the pulpit.

This, the over large pulpit and substantial font give the interior a very Victorian over stuffed feel.