On July 31, 1891, The British Architect recorded the sale of the Athelhampton estate, near Dorchester, which it claimed as a ‘chief seat of the Saxon kings, especially King Athelstan’. It reported that there had been ‘prolonged negotiations’ over the purchase, but that the property and the manor house upon it had at last ‘found an appreciative buyer in Mr de Lafontaine… Antiquarians will be glad to learn that this rich example of pure Tudor work will be preserved as one of England’s ancient homes’.
As this published note implies, this ‘ancient home’ already enjoyed unusual celebrity. It had been depicted in two plates of Joseph Nash’s popular The Mansions of England in the Olden Time (1839–42), pictured in J. Pouncy’s Dorsetshire Photographically Illustrated (1857) and even engraved for The Illustrated London News (1884). It had also been repeatedly visited by national and local antiquarian societies including the Royal Archaeological Institute, whose unfortunate members in 1868 ‘inspected numerous objects of interest in the house… but being pressed for time [were] unable to partake of luncheon’.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Tales as old as time
By appointing writers-in-residence to landscape locations, the National Trust is hoping to spark in us a new engagement with our ancient surroundings, finds Richard Smyth
Do the active farmer test
Farming is a profession, not a lifestyle choice’ and, therefore, the Budget is unfair
Night Thoughts by Howard Hodgkin
Charlotte Mullins comments on Moght Thoughts
SOS: save our wild salmon
Jane Wheatley examines the dire situation facing the king of fish
Into the deep
Beneath the crystal-clear, alien world of water lie the great piscean survivors of the Ice Age. The Lake District is a fish-spotter's paradise, reports John Lewis-Stempel
It's alive!
Living, burping and bubbling fermented masses of flour, yeast and water that spawn countless loaves—Emma Hughes charts the rise and rise) of sourdough starters
There's orange gold in them thar fields
A kitchen staple that is easily taken for granted, the carrot is actually an incredibly tricky customer to cultivate that could reduce a grown man to tears, says Sarah Todd
True blues
I HAVE been planting English bluebells. They grow in their millions in the beechwoods that surround us—but not in our own garden. They are, however, a protected species. The law is clear and uncompromising: ‘It is illegal to dig up bluebells or their bulbs from the wild, or to trade or sell wild bluebell bulbs and seeds.’ I have, therefore, had to buy them from a respectable bulb-merchant.
Oh so hip
Stay the hand that itches to deadhead spent roses and you can enjoy their glittering fruits instead, writes John Hoyland
A best kept secret
Oft-forgotten Rutland, England's smallest county, is a 'Notswold' haven deserving of more attention, finds Nicola Venning
