A 600-Year-Old English Manor Estate with 370 acres in Dorset
The Grade I-listed Bingham’s Melcombe estate includes a historic manor house, gardens restored by Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe, and approximately 370 acres of countryside.
Listed with Knight Frank for £8,750,000, Bingham’s Melcombe is a historic country estate near Dorchester, Dorset, England, set across approximately 370.6 acres (150 hectares) of farmland, woodland, and landscaped gardens.
The estate dates back to the 13th century, when Robert Bingham acquired the property through his marriage to Lucy Turberville. It remained in the Bingham family for more than 600 years, until 1895, during which time the manor was expanded and altered over successive generations.
The Grade I-listed house is arranged around a central courtyard, entered through a 14th-century gatehouse. Much of the present building dates to the 16th century, including an elaborate Renaissance oriel window decorated with carved stonework and the Bingham family coat of arms.
The property also has connections to the English Civil War. Colonel John Bingham, a Parliamentary officer, used the manor as the headquarters of local Parliamentary forces during the 17th century.
Today, the main residence contains nine bedrooms, six bathrooms, four reception rooms, and approximately 9,562 sq ft (888 sq m) of internal space. Its historic interiors retain original fireplaces, carved woodwork, decorative plaster ceilings, and 17th- and 18th-century panelling.
Gardens by Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe
The estate's formal gardens were restored beginning in 1949 by Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe, one of Britain's most influential landscape architects, following a commission from the property's then-owner, Sir Francis Hopwood, later Lord Southborough.
Jellicoe worked with the existing historic landscape, preserving its formal terraces, mature yew hedges, and enclosed lawns. His involvement continued periodically until 1979, with additional planting schemes developed by landscape architect Brenda Colvin.
The gardens, separately registered at Grade II*, include terraced lawns, clipped hedges, a walled kitchen garden, ornamental ponds, and a historic dovecote. Beyond the formal grounds, an avenue of lime trees leads toward Devil's Brook, crossed by an 18th-century stone bridge.
The Wider Estate
The approximately 370-acre property includes farmland, pasture, woodland, and parkland, together with several additional residences.
These include the four-bedroom Dower House, a Grade II-listed former rectory, and two three-bedroom cottages. The estate also contains historic stables, agricultural buildings, and other traditional outbuildings.
Bingham’s Melcombe is located approximately 11 miles (18 km) from Dorchester and 16 miles (26 km) from Sherborne, where direct rail services reach London Waterloo in approximately two hours and 15 minutes.
The property is marketed by Knight Frank with a guide price of £8,750,000.