Crichel House
Encyclopedia
Moor Crichel
Moor Crichel is a village and civil parish in East Dorset, England situated on Cranborne Chase five miles east of Blandford Forum. The village has a population of 181 ....
in Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is surrounded by 400 acres (1.6 km²) of parkland, which includes a crescent-shaped lake covering 50 acres (202,343 m²).
The original Tudor
Tudor style architecture
The Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period and even beyond, for conservative college patrons...
house, owned by the Napier
Clan Napier
Clan Napier is a Scottish clan originally from lands around Loch Lomond, but with presence in Stirlingshire, Edinburgh, Aberdeenshire and Kincardineshire.-Origins of the Clan:There is some debate about the origin of the name Napier...
family, was largely destroyed in an accidental fire in 1742. John Bastard of Blandford
Bastard brothers
John and William Bastard were British surveyor-architects, and civic dignitaries of the town of Blandford Forum in Dorset. John and William generally worked together and are known as the "Bastard brothers"...
and Francis Cartwright rebuilt Crichel for Sir William Napier after the fire, and when Humphrey Sturt
Humphrey Sturt
Humphrey Sturt was a British architect. He designed the Horton Tower in Horton, Dorset, built 1750. He was the Lord of Horton Manor and was five times returned to parliament as the MP for the county of Dorset 1745-86...
inherited the estate in 1765 he extensively remodelled the house. The Bastard family collaborated to enlarge the shell of Crichel in 1771-73; the new interiors were designed by James Wyatt
James Wyatt
James Wyatt RA , was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the neoclassical style, who far outdid Adam in his work in the neo-Gothic style.-Early classical career:...
(1772–80), with painted decor by Biagio Rebecca
Biagio Rebecca
Biagio Rebecca was an Italian painter, active mainly as a fresco decorator in England. Born in Rome, his apprenticeship is unknown. In England, he was known for neoclassical scenes from mythology, often collaborating with Robert Adam for example at Harewood House and at Kedleston Hall. He also...
, chimneypieces by John Devall, and furniture by John Linnell
John Linnell
John Sidney Linnell is an American musician, is known primarily as one half of Brooklyn, New York alternative rock duo They Might Be Giants...
(1778–79) and Ince and Mayhew
Ince and Mayhew
Ince and Mayhew were a partnership of furniture designers, upholsterers and cabinetmakers, founded and run by William Ince and John Mayhew in London, England, from 1759 to 1803; Mayhew continued alone in business until 1809. Their premises were listed in London directories in Broad Street, Soho,...
(1768–78).
Further construction in the 19th century included an entrance designed by Thomas Hopper in 1831, and alterations by William Burn
William Burn
William Burn was a Scottish architect, pioneer of the Scottish Baronial style.He was born in Edinburgh, the son of architect Robert Burn, and educated at the Royal High School. After training with the architect of the British Museum, Sir Robert Smirke, he returned to Edinburgh in 1812...
,. A wing on the north side of the house was demolished in the 20th century, when many country houses were reduced in size.
Ownership
The house and estate remains in the possession of the Alington/Sturt/Marten family, who have owned it for three hundred years.The Crichel Estate is notable for the Crichel Down Affair
Crichel Down affair
The Crichel Down affair was a British political scandal of 1954, with a subsequent effect and notoriety. The Crichel Down Rules are guidelines applying to compulsory purchase drawn up in the light of the affair.-The Crichel Down land:...
, where the owners took on the Government and won the right to buy back land bought by compulsory purchase.
Relocation of Moor Crichel
The remodelling by Humphrey Sturt involved moving the village of Moor CrichelMoor Crichel
Moor Crichel is a village and civil parish in East Dorset, England situated on Cranborne Chase five miles east of Blandford Forum. The village has a population of 181 ....
a mile to the south and many of the villagers were moved to Witchampton
Witchampton
Witchampton is a village in East Dorset, England, situated on the River Allen north of Wimborne Minster. The village has a population of 377 ....
. This was so that the parkland could be landscaped and the original site of Moor Crichel
Moor Crichel
Moor Crichel is a village and civil parish in East Dorset, England situated on Cranborne Chase five miles east of Blandford Forum. The village has a population of 181 ....
is now submerged beneath the lake. Humphrey Sturt
Humphrey Sturt
Humphrey Sturt was a British architect. He designed the Horton Tower in Horton, Dorset, built 1750. He was the Lord of Horton Manor and was five times returned to parliament as the MP for the county of Dorset 1745-86...
stopped short of moving St Mary's Church, which remains today.
However, this is an urban myth.
Notable residents
Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales, the only child of the loveless marriage between George IVGeorge IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
and Caroline of Brunswick
Caroline of Brunswick
Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was the Queen consort of King George IV of the United Kingdom from 29 January 1820 until her death...
, made Crichel House her home for a time.