Smedmore House is a country house near Kimmeridge, Dorset, in England. It was originally built by Sir William Clavell around 1620, partially rebuilt by Edward Clavell around 1700, and greatly augmented by George Clavell around 1760. [1] It is a Grade II* listed building. [2] It is not normally open to the public, although there are regular open days and the House can be rented or hired for functions. [3]
The manor of Smedmore, near Kimmeridge, had historically belonged to the Smedmore family, however they sold it to William Wyot in 1392. Around 1426 it passed into the Clavell family with the marriage of William's granddaughter Joanna to John Clavell. The Clavells also inherited the manor of Barneston, near Church Knowle, from Joanna's cousin John de Stoke, and it was Barneston that was to be their main residence for the next 200 years. [4]
John Clavell's descendant Sir William Clavell (1568–1644) earned his knighthood fighting in Ireland for Elizabeth I against the Earl of Tyrone. [4] On his return to England he engaged in various projects to exploit the oil shale found in the cliffs near Kimmeridge. [5] Initially he attempted the production of alum, but this infringed a monopoly granted by James I, and his works were confiscated. He then set up works for the production of glass and salt, using the shale as fuel. The chief disadvantage of burning shale was the smell - one of Clavell's neighbours compared it to a "close stool". [5] In order to be closer to — but upwind of — these works Sir William set about building a new house at Smedmore. However, along with the losses incurred from his alum works, this proved to be ruinously expensive and he ran up debts of some £20,000. He was therefore forced to sell much of the land he had inherited, including Barneston. [4]
Sir William married Mabel Roper, a great-granddaughter of Sir Thomas More, but the marriage proved childless. His heir was therefore his nephew John Clavell, who had gained notoriety as a highwayman but fame as a poet. Sir William therefore effectively disinherited all of his immediate family, and left Smedmore House to a distant cousin, Roger Clavell of Langcotes, near Winfrith Newburgh. [4]
Roger died in 1686, having outlived all his sons. Smedmore therefore passed to his grandson, Edward Clavell (1675–1738). He had been born in Cossimbazar in Bengal, where his father, Walter Clavell (1639–1677), had been a merchant for the East India Company. [4] Edward partially rebuilt the house, [1] and was succeeded by his sons: firstly Edward (1721–1744) and then George (1725–1774). [4] George made considerable alterations to the house, including building the current frontage. [1] On his death, it passed to his nephews, the sons of his sister Margaret and her husband William Richards: firstly George Richards (1755–1817) and then Rev. John Richards (1759–1833). Each of these adopted the name of Clavell upon inheriting Smedmore House. [4]
John Clavell-Richards, who had previously been the rector of Church Knowle, is chiefly remembered for building the Clavell Tower, a folly on the cliff-top near Kimmeridge which was relocated and restored in 2008. [6] After his death there was a court case that invalidated his alleged will. Instead a deal between his surviving Heirs-in-Law ensured that Smedmore House remained in the family, under the ownership of his niece, Louisa Pleydell (1790–1863), and her husband, Lieutenant Colonel John Mansel (1776–1863). [7] It has remained in the Mansel family ever since, the present owner being the historian Philip Mansel [6] — a direct descendant of the William Wyot who bought Smedmore over 600 years ago.
Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset, 1st Earl of Huntingdon, 7th Baron Ferrers of Groby, was an English nobleman, courtier and the eldest son of Elizabeth Woodville and her first husband Sir John Grey of Groby. Her second marriage to King Edward IV made her Queen of England, thus elevating Grey's status at court and in the realm as the stepson of the King. Through his mother's endeavours, he made two materially advantageous marriages to wealthy heiresses, the King's niece Anne Holland and the King’s cousin, Cecily Bonville, 7th Baroness Harington. By the latter, he had 14 children.
Kimmeridge is a small village and civil parish on the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula on the English Channel coast in Dorset, England. It is situated about 4.5 miles (7.2 km) south of Wareham and 7 miles (11 km) west of Swanage. In 2013 the estimated population of the civil parish was 90.
The Isle of Purbeck is a peninsula in Dorset, England. It is bordered by water on three sides: the English Channel to the south and east, where steep cliffs fall to the sea; and by the marshy lands of the River Frome and Poole Harbour to the north. Its western boundary is less well defined, with some medieval sources placing it at Flower's Barrow above Worbarrow Bay. John Hutchins, author of The History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset, defined Purbeck's western boundary as the Luckford Lake steam, which runs south from the Frome. According to writer and broadcaster Ralph Wightman, Purbeck "is only an island if you accept the barren heaths between Arish Mell and Wareham as cutting off this corner of Dorset as effectively as the sea." The most southerly point is St Alban's Head.
Swyre Head is the highest point of the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The hill Swyre Head lies about 2 kilometres (1 mi) southwest of the village Kingston, about 5 kilometres (3 mi) south of Corfe Castle and 8 kilometres (5 mi) west of Swanage.
Hen Cliff is part of the Jurassic Coast near Kimmeridge in the Isle of Purbeck, Dorset, England.
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The High Sheriff of Dorset is an ancient high sheriff title which has been in existence for over one thousand years. Until 1567 the Sheriff of Somerset was also the Sheriff of Dorset.
Clavell Tower, also known as Clavell Folly or the Kimmeridge Tower, is a Grade II listed Tuscan style tower built in 1830. It lies on the Jurassic Coast, on the top of Hen Cliff just east of Kimmeridge Bay in the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, England. It is now a Landmark Trust property and in August 2006 was moved 25 metres (82 ft) back from the crumbling cliff edge.
William Morgan was a Welsh landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons of England between 1659 and 1680.
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Philip Mansel is a historian of courts and cities, and the author of a number of books about the history of France and the Ottoman Empire. He was born in London in 1951 and educated at Eton College, Balliol College, Oxford, and obtained a doctorate at University College London in 1978. He has lived in Paris, Istanbul and Beirut and now lives in London.
Sir Courtenay Cecil Mansel, 13th Baronet was a Welsh landowner and farmer, barrister and Liberal Party politician who later joined the Conservatives.
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Henry Walter (1785–1859) was an English cleric and antiquary.
John Clavell Mansel-Pleydell (1817–1902), originally John Clavell Mansel, was a Dorset antiquary, known for contributions to geology, botany, and ornithology.
Soughton Hall is a Grade II* listed country house hotel in Sychdyn, Flintshire, Wales. Notable guests that have stayed include Luciano Pavarotti, Michael Jackson and King Juan Carlos I of Spain. William John Bankes inherited Soughton Hall in the 1815.
John Churchill (1657–1709) of Colliton House and Fordington, Dorchester, Dorset, was an English lawyer and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons briefly from 1708 to 1709.
Kimmeridge Ledges is a set of Kimmeridge clay ledges stretching out in to the sea on the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula on the English Channel coast in Dorset, England.They are located to the southeast of Kimmeridge Bay and south of the villages of Kimmeridge, on the Smedmore Estate.
Mortons House Hotel in Corfe Castle in Dorset, is a building of historical significance and is Grade II* listed on the National Heritage List for England. It was built in 1590 and was the home of several notable families over the next four centuries; it is now a hotel.
The Mansel family, also known throughout history as Mansell and Maunsell, is a British noble family.
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