| St Giles House | |
|---|---|
 Home of the Earls of Shaftesbury since 1651 | |
 | |
| Former names | Ashley House |
| General information | |
| Type | Residence |
| Architectural style | Renaissance |
| Address | The Estate Office Wimborne, Dorset BH21 5NA |
| Town or city | Wimborne St Giles |
| Country | England |
| Current tenants | Estate offices Ashley-Cooper family |
| Construction started | 1651 |
| Owner | The 12th Earl of Shaftesbury |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | style influenced by Inigo Jones |
| Other designers | Henry Flitcroft (interiors) |
| Website | |
| Official website | |
St Giles House is located at Wimborne St Giles in East Dorset in England, just south of Cranborne Chase. It is the ancestral seat of the Ashley-Cooper family, which is headed by the Earl of Shaftesbury. The estate covers over 5,500 acres (22 km2).[1]
Built in 1651, the Grade I listed house stands in a vast park through which the River Allen flows, feeding a seven-acre lake as it winds its way towards the small parish village of Wimborne St Giles.[2] The 17th-century house is a low, quadrangular building. Although the name of the architect is not known, the influence of Inigo Jones is obvious in the Renaissance north and east fronts with their Classical façades. The original plan of the house called for a square courtyard, to which was added two large ground floor rooms, with additional rooms on the second and third floors. The house was once completely crenellated along the edge of the parapet (or shorter walls), however most of these fortifications were removed in the 19th century. The east front, with its seven bays, remains much the same today.[3]
The surrounding estate park of 400 acres features a serpentine lake, garden ornaments, a notable grotto and a 1000-yard avenue of beech. The park is Grade II* listed in the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.[4]
- ^ Mosley, Charles editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage [Genealogical Books] Ltd, 2003), volume 3, page 3576. ISBN 978-0-9711966-2-9
- ^ Historic England. "ST GILES HOUSE (1120129)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
- ^ Cattell, J; Barson, S (2003). "ST GILES'S HOUSE, WIMBORNE, ST GILES, DORSET. Historic England Research Report 127/2003". research.historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Historic England. "St Giles' House (1000723)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 February 2016.