Kingston Lacy, a country house and estate…

Kingston Lacy, a country house and estate near Wimborne Minster, Dorset, takes its name from its ancient lords, the Lacys, Earls of Lincoln, who hold it together with Shapwick and Blandford.

After the destruction of the family seat at Corfe Castle in the English Civil War, a new site for a home had been chosen on the Lacy Estate by Sir John Bankes, attorney General and Chief Justice to King Charles I.

His son Ralph Bankes, a servant of the restored Charles II and a knighted member of the Privy Chamber, eventually pays for and finishes the house.

Designed by Sir Roger Pratt and built between 1663 and 1665, the original house is based on Clarendon House, built for the Lord Chancellor, which Bankes had visited several times.

Kingston Lacy features interiors influenced by Inigo Jones, but executed by his heir John Webb.