Canford Manor

Venue Type & Location

Private Residence

Site Name: Canford Manor
Location: near Wimbourne Minster
County: Dorset
Location Type: Town - near town at determined 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

A public school since 1923, originally for boys but now co-educational. Not open to the public.

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 Dates Titles
Blount, Charles 1563-1606 Knight , 8th Baron , Knight of the , 1st Earl of

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. Buildings of England. 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.