Kingston Russell House

Kingston Russell House is a country house with formal gardens, dating to the late 17th century. It was originally built for John Michel III, and the west front was remodelled in the early 18th century, possibly by Francis Cartwright of Blandford, for John Michel IV. North and south wings were added in 1913 by Philip Tilden for George Gribble. A north-east wing was demolished in the late 19th century.

The house is constructed of Portland ashlar stone, with a balustraded stone parapet from the 18th century. It has lead roofs and stone stacks. The east front comprises two storeys and cellars, with the original house being 9 bays wide. It features large, two-light mullion windows with double transoms, all hollow-chamfered, with fixed lead lights and some opening metal casements. Bays 7 and 8 have inserted single-light windows. A moulded cornice runs over the ground and first-floor windows. The central doorway has a moulded stone architrave and large stone volute brackets with foliage feet, topped by a swan-necked open pediment with scroll terminals. The door is a 19th-century design with fielded panels at the bottom and glazed panels above. Fenestration is interrupted at the north end due to the demolition of the east wing.

The west front was remodelled into 7 bays, with the central three bays contained within a giant Ionic pilaster order, an entablature, and a pediment. It has round-headed sash windows, deeply set in the wall face, with stone cills on volute brackets. The outer sashes have glazing-bars, segmental heads with square stone architraves, stone cills, and bracketed details. The centre doorway has a moulded, eared architrave, a plain frieze and a pediment carried on scroll brackets. The doorway has ten fielded panels, and is accessed by eight stone steps with stone sides and fielded-panel corner piers. Ball finials are present.

20th-century extensions extend to the north and south ends of the house. These are one bay wide but three storeys high, under the same parapet level, and built of coursed dressed stone. The extensions feature sashes with glazing-bars in ascending order of window head shape – square-headed, segment-headed, and round-headed – with mullion-and-transom details on the end walls. A canted bay at the north end has a stone cap, and contains two storeys. The south end wall has a stone-framed doorway with a central volute bracket supporting a cornice.

The interior is a single-depth house with a rear corridor. The entrance hall was re-decorated in the style of William Kent in 1939 by Mrs Vestey, including a fireplace and overmantel with a moulded overmantel, a swan-necked open pediment, and an urn at the centre. The dining room has early 19th-century scenic Chinese wallpaper, installed in the 20th century. The rear corridor has slender reeded pilasters that transition into stucco fronds beneath the coving. 18th-century fielded panelling remains in the Drawing Room and upstairs bedrooms. Thomas Masterman Hardy was born here in 1759, and J L Motley, the American Ambassador, died here in 1877.