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The Old Manor House at Kingston Maurward

This perfect E plan Elizabethan manor house is within the grounds of Kingston Maurward Park. It was built towards the end of the C16 probably by Christopher Grey. By 1698 it had become a simple farmhouse, and by 1866 some 200 years later, a home for poor widows, before eventually falling into neglect. In more recent times it was purchased by Dorset County Council to be used for Council housing, but by the late 1950s it had become derelict, and amazingly, plans to demolish this grade I listed building were approved by the County Council. Fortunately it was taken over at the eleventh hour by a Mr. Rohan Sturdy who leased the property from the Council, and who during the 1960s went on to undertake its complete restoration. A grateful Council granted him the freehold as a token of their appreciation. Today the house remains in private hands.