Dinton Castle (also known as Dinton Folly) is located just north of the village of Dinton, in Buckinghamshire and was built as an eyecatcher from the Dinton Hall estate, by Sir John Vanhattern in 1769. He used the castle to exhibit his collection of fossils, ammonites, embedded in the limestone walls. [1] The "sham castle" or folly is a Priority A site with the Heritage at Risk Register and has been a Grade II [2] Listed structure since 1951 when it was in a ruinous state. [3]
Dinton Castle at Oxford Road, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, UK HP17 8TX [4] is located beside a Saxon burial ground. Into the 20th century, various artifacts and skeletons had been found near the structure. [1] Local rumours suggested that the castle was haunted by the seventeenth century hermit John Bigg, who lived until his death in a cave on the property prior to the castle's build. [5] [6]
The castle may have been used as servants' quarters for Dinton Hall in the 1800s. At some point it also may have served as a temporary meeting place for a local non-conformist congregation. [7]
When Grade II Listed in 1951, the summary stated: "Octagonal plan with circular towers at east and west. 2 storeys, the towers carried up to 3 storeys". [3] In the late 20th century, the castle was added to the English Heritage at Risk Register and onto the council's Buildings at Risk Register. [1]
A BBC article indicated the property had been sold in 2012 with another source stating the purchaser was Brett O'Consnor. [6] At this time the castle was still a ruin. [8]
In 2009, the structure was stabilized, new lintels were installed, some windows and the entrance arch were repaired. [1]
In 2016, the property was purchased by a Spanish architect, Jaime (or Jimmy) Fernandez, and his English wife Mimi who had grown up near the castle. [9] [10] On 26 Jan 2017 planning permission was granted Fernandez by Aylesbury Vale District Council for the castle's renovation into a two-bedroom dwelling. [11]
The 2017-2018 restoration of Dinton Castle into a family home drew media interest. In September 2018 the process of the transformation of the building from a ruin was featured on Channel 4's Grand Designs programme and Grand Design published a series of photographs detailing the results produced by the renovations. [12] The restoration was also featured in an article in the Wall Street Journal. [13] The building was described as follows by Country Life in February 2020: [9]
Three quirky, octagonal floors rise from almost an acre of Waddesdon Estate countryside, which one can view in its fullest from the panoramic roof terrace. The building houses a sitting room, two en-suite bedrooms and a welcoming kitchen on the ground floor.
The renovation cost over £300,000, on top of the original £100,000 purchase price. [10] After the restoration, the castle was home to the Fernandez family, with their two children, for the next five years. [14]
The Fernandezes sold the castle in 2021 [15] citing their family had outgrown the property. [16] The new owner made Dinton Castle available on Airbnb in June 2022. [17]
Aylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery and the Waterside Theatre. It is located in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wycombe and Milton Keynes.
Haddenham is a village and civil parish in west Buckinghamshire, England. It is about 5 miles (8 km) south-west of Aylesbury and 4 miles (6 km) north-east of Thame in neighbouring Oxfordshire. At the 2011 Census, the population of the civil parish was 4,502.
Dinton is a village in Buckinghamshire, England, within the Buckinghamshire Council unitary authority area. It is in the south of the Aylesbury Vale on the ancient turnpike leading from Aylesbury to Thame. It is within the civil parish of Dinton with Ford and Upton. The village name is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means 'Dunna's estate'. In the Domesday Book of 1086 it was listed as Danitone.
Fleet Marston is a civil parish and deserted medieval village in the Aylesbury Vale district of Buckinghamshire, England, about 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of the centre of Aylesbury. The parish measures about 2.5 miles (4 km) north – south, but east – west it is nowhere more than about 3⁄4 mile (1.2 km) wide. It is bounded to the southeast by the River Thame, to the east by a stream that joins the Thame, and to the west by field boundaries. It has an area of 934 acres (378 ha).
Hartwell is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Stone with Bishopstone and Hartwell, in central Buckinghamshire, England. It is to the south of Aylesbury, by the village of Stone. In 1971 the civil parish had a population of 102. On 1 April 1986 the parish was abolished and merged with Stone to form "Stone with Bishopstone and Hartwell".
Mentmore Towers, historically known simply as "Mentmore", is a 19th-century English country house built between 1852 and 1854 for the Rothschild family in the village of Mentmore in Buckinghamshire. Sir Joseph Paxton and his son-in-law, George Henry Stokes, designed the building in the 19th-century revival of late 16th and early 17th-century Elizabethan and Jacobean styles called Jacobethan. The house was designed for the banker and collector of fine art Baron Mayer de Rothschild as a country home, and as a display case for his collection of fine art. The mansion has been described as one of the greatest houses of the Victorian era. Mentmore was inherited by Hannah Primrose, Countess of Rosebery, née Rothschild, and owned by her descendants, the Earls of Rosebery.
Stone is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Stone with Bishopstone and Hartwell, in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located southwest of the town of Aylesbury, on the A418 road that links Aylesbury to Thame. Stone with Bishopstone and Hartwell is a civil parish within Buckinghamshire district and also incorporates the nearby settlements of Bishopstone and Hartwell.
Hadlow Castle was an 18th-century country house in Hadlow, Kent, England, built in the fashionable Strawberry Hill 'Gothic' style. The house was gradually enlarged and extended during the 19th century and finally demolished in the 20th, apart from a prospect tower and ancillary buildings. The surviving Grade I Listed Hadlow Tower, locally known as May's Folly, was restored in 2013.
Aylesbury was a rural district in the administrative county of Buckinghamshire, England from 1894 to 1974. It was named after but did not include Aylesbury, which was a separate municipal borough.
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Detmar Jellings Blow was a British architect of the early 20th century, who designed principally in the arts and crafts style. His clients belonged chiefly to the British aristocracy, and later he became estates manager to the Duke of Westminster.
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Betchworth Castle is a mostly crumbled ruin of a fortified medieval stone house with some tall, two-storey corners strengthened in the 18th century, in the north of the semi-rural parish of Brockham. It is built on a sandstone spur overlooking the western bank of the River Mole in Surrey in England.
Dropmore Park is a private estate located along Dropmore Road, north of Burnham, Buckinghamshire, England, about 220 acres (89 ha) in size. The park with its buildings, including Dropmore House, have Grade I listed building status. Dropmore House is one of the most important buildings in south Buckinghamshire.
Seton Castle or Seton Hall is an 18th-century Georgian castle-style house in East Lothian, Scotland. The house was Robert Adam's final project in Scotland.
Pencoed Castle is a ruined Tudor mansion, largely dating from the 16th century, in the parish of Llanmartin, now within the city of Newport, south Wales. It is located about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) east of Llanmartin village, and 0.5 miles (0.80 km) south-east of Llandevaud, at the end of a farm lane.
The PACE Centre is a UK-registered charity and special school based in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, UK. It helps children and young people with motor disorders, such as cerebral palsy.
Buckinghamshire Council is the local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Buckinghamshire in England. It is a unitary authority, performing both county and district-level functions. It was created on 1 April 2020, replacing the previous Buckinghamshire County Council and the councils of the four abolished districts of Aylesbury Vale, Chiltern, South Bucks, and Wycombe. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includes Milton Keynes.