Dorset College Of Agriculture Kingston Maurward House

Kingston Maurward House is a country house, dating from around 1717 and originally built for George Pitt, though the architect is unknown. It was altered in 1794 for William Morton Pitt and underwent further alterations internally between 1910 and 1920. The house is now used as a college of agriculture.

The building is constructed of ashlar stone, which faces earlier brickwork, with roofs hidden behind parapets. Symmetrically placed, early 20th-century panelled ashlar stacks are present. The house has a double pile plan with a basement and three storeys, the top storey representing a remodelling of the original attic. The main front has a projecting central bay topped with a pediment. Four Corinthian pilasters run from the ground floor to the second floor of this bay, supporting an enriched entablature with scrolled brackets and cornice modillions. A single-storeyed, early 20th-century porch with a balustraded parapet capped with urns sits at the base of the central bay. Flanking the doorway are round-headed sashes with glazing bars in moulded surrounds, with a matching sash above the door. Below the porch, three segmental-headed sashes with glazing bars are found on the ground floor, with nine similar sashes on the first and second floors, the second-floor sashes being shorter. The three central sashes below the pediment are divided by flat pilasters. A 19th-century service range is located at the left end, featuring plastered walls, a slate roof, and sashes with glazing bars, along with 20th-century dormers in the attic. This service range encloses a courtyard that has been infilled with a 20th-century block.

Inside, the main hall extends through two storeys, and boasts an 18th-century enriched plaster ceiling. Ground-floor walls feature Corinthian pilasters, while those on the first floor have Composite pilasters, all supporting entablatures. Panelled doors are set in round-arched openings with solid tympana. Early 20th-century marble fireplaces with large console brackets and moulded mantels with swags, garlands and cherubs’ heads are present at each end of the hall. Stone steps lead from the porch to the hall. A project room behind the hall is decorated with painted detail on the walls and ceiling, featuring an enriched cornice and moulded-panelled ceiling. The main staircase, executed in an 18th-century style during the early 20th century, has a cut string and turned balusters. A library contains early 20th-century oak bookcases divided by Ionic pilasters supporting an entablature. Other rooms have enriched cornices and 18th- or early 19th-century marble fireplace surrounds, with two fireplaces on the first floor featuring painted tile insets in an Arts and Crafts style.