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 Mompesson House - Cathedral Close, Salisbury, UK
N 51° 04.002 W 001° 47.906
30U E 584191 N 5657928
The Grade I listed Mompesson House, built in 1701 and now owned by the National Trust, stands on the northern edge of Cathedral Close close to Salisbury cathedral.
Waymark Code: WM137YK
Location: Southern England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 10/07/2020
Views: 2
Wikipedia
has an article about Mompesson House that tells us:
Mompesson House is an 18th-century house located in
the Cathedral Close, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. The house is
Grade I listed. and has been in the ownership of the National
Trust since 1975.
The building was constructed for Sir Thomas Mompesson, MP for
the constituency of Salisbury in 1679, 1695 and 1701. The site
was purchased at the end of the 17th century and the house
reflects the classic Queen Anne style of that period with
Chilmark stone facing. To the right of the main house stands the
brick-built service building which was constructed on the site
of the old Eagle Inn that closed in 1625. Thomas's son Charles
completed the building in 1701; his initials and date can be
seen on the heads of the water downpipes.
After Charles' death in 1714, his brother-in-law Charles
Longueville moved into the house with his widowed sister,
Elizabeth. Charles added the plasterwork, staircase and the
brick wing. From them the house passed via Charles' natural son,
John Clark, to Mrs Hayter. Next the house was occupied by the
Portman sisters, the last of whom died at a great age in 1846.
The Townsend family occupied the house from 1846 to 1939, and
the flamboyant artist Miss Barbara Townsend, mentioned in Edith
Olivier's book Four Victorian Ladies of Wiltshire, lived there
for the whole of her 96 years. The Bishop of Salisbury, Neville
Lovett, lived there from 1942 to 1946.
In 1952 the freehold was purchased from the Church Commissioners
by the architect, Denis Martineau, who bequeathed it to the
National Trust on his death in 1975, a condition of the sale.
The overthrow, iron railings, gates and iron lamps at the front
of the building are Grade I listed separately from the house.
The house is used to display the Turnbull collection of English
18th-century drinking glasses bequeathed to the Trust in 1970.
It also houses the Bessemer-Wright collection of ceramics,
bequeathed by Mrs Adam Smith.
Mompesson House was used as a location for the 1995 film
adaptation of Sense and Sensibility. |
The house is Grade
I listed with the entry at the Historic England website advising:
Built for Sir Thomas Mompesson 1704 date on east
lead rain water heads. 2 storey and attic. Ashlar stone on
projecting plinth. Raised lst floor string. Moulded and
bracketed cornice, broken forward over 1st floor central window.
Hipped old tile roof. 3 dormers with moulded wood cornice and
small paned sashes. 7 windows on 1st floor the central window
with raised architrave surround, moulded cill on raised apron
and supporting side scrolls with carved enrichment. 6 windows on
ground floor and central 8 panel door, egg-and-tongue enrichment
round panels, in moulded and enriched wood frame, with bold
stone bolection surround, moulded cornice and broken curved
pediment, with central cartouche and carved supporting swags,
all supported on carved scroll brackets. The windows flanking
central bay are 2 panes wide, remainder 3 panes.
Exceptionally fine interior of contemporary panelling, staircase
and enriched plaster ceilings. Later service wing to right hand
2 storey, brick with moulded stone cornice, and brick parapet
with recessed panels over windows and moulded stone coping. 5
windows on 1st floor, 4 windows on ground floor and 8-panel door
to right hand in wood Doric doorcase, pilasters triglyph frieze
and modillioned cornice and pediment. This block terminated at
right hand with slightly projecting bay with similar cornice
broken over and carried in pediment. 3-centred arched entry with
chamfered stone surround and triple key block and lodged doors,
with panelled door head. Semi-circular 3-light window in
tympanum. |
The address of property, including Postcode.:
Mompesson House
Cathedral Close
Salisbury
SP1 2EL
United Kingdom
The charges to visitors and opening hours.:
Temporarily closed due to Covid-19.
Web page: [Web Link]
References:
https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1355808
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/mompesson-house
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mompesson_House
National Trust member: no
Parking place (optional): Not Listed
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