Venue Type & Location
Overview
SE of Wimborne Minster, on the River Stour
Only the kitchen wing ('John of Gaunt's kitchen') survives from the original house.
Current Status
History of the Venue
c 1424, John of Gaunt's kitchen, the oldest (and only surviving) part of the original manor house. The E wall is earlier; part of the original manor house (demolished 1765). The origin of the name is obscure. Canford Manor was owned by John of Gaunt, but there is little evidence of his making more than brief visits there.
1546 surveyors for the king reported the stonework and leading in very poor state: in their words 'the penny that nowe is spared will shortly cost a pounde.'
1611 the estate purchased by the Webb family, who built the house demolished in 1825. They owned the property until 1797
1765 Sir John Webb demolished much of the early buildings, leaving only the kitchen
1825-36 Edward Blore rebuilt the house for Lord de Mauley
1846 purchased by Sir John Guest, who engaged Sir Charles Barry to enlarge and convert it into a mansion (its present form)
Patrons who owned this venue
| Name | Date | Titles |
|---|---|---|
| Blount, Charles | 1563-1606 | Knight |
| Blount, Charles | 1563-1606 | Baron Mountjoy |
| Blount, Charles | 1563-1606 | Earl of Devonshire |
| Blount, Charles | 1563-1606 | Knight of the Garter |
Bibliographic Sources
- Coker, John. Coker's Survey of Dorsetshire. Sherborne: Dorset Publishing, 1980
- Hairsine, Robert C. 'A bowke consernyng Canfforde.'. Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society 108 (1986): 45--52.
- Hutchins, John. The History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset. 1773. 4 vols. Westminster: J.B. Nichols & Sons, 1861--73
- Newman, John and Nikolaus Pevsner. Dorset. Harmondsworth, Midd: Penguin, 1972
- Perkins, Thomas. Memorials of Old Dorset. London: Bemrose & Sons, 1907
- Rathbone, Michael. Canford School 1923-1983. Wimborne, Dors: Canford School, 1983
- Royal Commission on Historical Monuments England. An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Dorset. 5 vols. London: Royal Commission on Historical Monuments, 1952
- Sydenham, John. The History of the Town and County of Poole. London: Whittaker & Co., 1839