Kingston Lacy
Kingston Lacy
When Parliamentarian forces left Corfe Castle in ruins during the English Civil War, the Bankes family could have admitted defeat. Instead, they built something extraordinary. Kingston Lacy became their new seat – a defiant statement that the family would not merely survive but flourish magnificently.
The house reveals its treasures gradually. William John Bankes returned from his Grand Tour with an extraordinary art collection: paintings by Rubens, Titian, and Van Dyck; Egyptian artefacts; even fragments from the Parthenon. Walking through the gilded Spanish Room feels like touring a private museum.
Beyond the grand interiors, the estate unfolds across 8,500 acres of Dorset countryside with formal gardens, mature parkland, and a hidden Japanese garden.
Useful info:
Time needed at destination: Half-day (or combine with Corfe Castle for full day)
Average travel time: 30 minutes
Nathan and Laura's English tip:
Kingston Lacy and Corfe Castle tell two chapters of the same family saga. We craft this as a complete narrative arc: explore the romantic medieval ruins of Corfe, then witness what rose from those ashes at Kingston Lacy
