Kingston Lacy - History

History

Kingston Lacy takes its name from its ancient lords the Lacys, Earls of Lincoln, who held it together with Shapwick and Blandford. After the destruction of the family seat at Corfe Castle, a new site for a home was chosen on the Lacy estate by Sir John Bankes. However the house was eventually paid for and finished by his son Ralph Bankes. The original house was designed by Sir Roger Pratt and was built between 1663 and 1665, with interiors influenced by Inigo Jones, but executed by his heir John Webb. For many years, the house was believed entirely constructed by Jones, for it so resembled his work, until the plans of Webb were discovered. It is a grade I listed building.

Henry Bankes, the son of Ralph Bankes did some minor alterations in the 1820s, before he became an MP for the rotten borough of Corfe. Henry Bankes was a trustee for the British Museum and its parliamentary advocate and some of his collections, once part of the house now reside in the Museum. Pitt the Younger and the Duke of Wellington once stayed at the house when entertained by Henry Bankes.

The house was extensively remodelled by Sir Charles Barry, between 1835 and 1838. He faced the brick with stone, added a tall chimney to each corner, and lowered the ground level on one side, exposing the basement level and forming a new principal entrance. This work was carried out under the guide of William John Bankes, son of Henry Bankes.

William Bankes provided most of the antiquities that currently form part of the house's collections. He travelled extensively to the Middle East and the Orient, collecting the largest individual collection of Egyptian antiques in the world. Most notable is the large obelisk which he brought back and which now stands prominently in the grounds of the house. He also acquired in Genoa, Italy the portrait of Maria Di Antonio Serra, by Sir Peter Paul Rubens, painted on the occasion of her marriage to Duke Nicolo Pallavicini in 1606.

The last owner of the Lacy house, Henry John Ralph Bankes, was the seven times great-grandson of the original creator Sir Ralph Bankes. Upon his death in 1981 he bequeathed the Kingston Lacy estate (including 12 working farms and Corfe Castle) to the National Trust, its largest bequest to date.