Boveridge is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

, England about north of

Cranborne Cranborne is a village in Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the parish had a population of 779, remaining unchanged from 2001. Until 2019 the appropriate electoral ward was called 'Crane'. This ward included Wimborne St. Giles in the west a ...

, south-west of

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, and north-east of

Wimborne Minster Wimborne Minster (often referred to as Wimborne, ) is a market town in Dorset in South West England, and the name of the Church of England church in that town. It lies at the confluence of the River Stour and the River Allen, north of Pool ...

, Dorset.

Notable buildings

Boveridge House, a grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

was designed by William Evans of Wimborne and built some time after 1788 for Henry Brouncker. The

Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...

surveyor's Drawing (1807-1808) shows the house set in a strip of pleasure grounds and woodland extending from north-west to south-east. There had been a farm on the site of an older mansion. In 1920, Charles Wilfred Gordon and his wife, an enthusiastic amateur gardener, commissioned

Thomas Mawson Thomas Hayton Mawson (5 May 1861 – 14 November 1933), known as T. H. Mawson, was a British garden designer, landscape architect, and town planner. Personal life Mawson was born in Nether Wyresdale, Lancashire, and left school at age 12 ...

to provide plans for new formal gardens around the house.

Gertrude Jekyll Gertrude Jekyll ( ; 29 November 1843 – 8 December 1932) was a British Horticulture, horticulturist, garden designer, craftswoman, photographer, writer and artist. She created over 400 gardens in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United Sta ...

provided planting plans which were implemented in the 1920s.Parks and Gardens UK website, accessed 27 August 2011
The house is adjacent to the mid-19th century Boveridge Farm which is also Grade II listed is north-west of the house. In the 1890s the estate was sold to George Thursley and later sold again to Charles Gordon. It remained the property of the Gordon family until 1961 when it was bought by the Combe family of

Cobham Park Cobham Park is a former mansion and country estate in Cobham, Surrey, Cobham, Surrey, England. The main house was converted to apartments in the early 2000s, but the majority of the surrounding former parkland remains undeveloped. At its height ...

and then Viscount Cranborne, owner of nearby Cranborne Manor. The house and grounds were let to a special needs school and remain in school use. Renovation of the grounds took place from 1998. Boveridge House School, also known as The Philip Green Memorial School currently occupied the site which is not open to the public, other than on special occasions.Photo of building
Students were admitted from the age of 11 for boarders. The school could accommodate up to 44 boarding students both male and female, with moderate to severe learning difficulties and communication problems. Students could be admitted from any Local Education Authority or private source. Aurora Boveridge College, is currently an independent specialist day and residential further education college at Boveridge House. It supports young people who may have a diagnosis of Autism, anxiety, social and emotional or mental health needs. They admit students ages 16 - 25 in flexible placements. The college is a part of the larger Aurora Group. In the grounds, there is also a secondary 11-16 school The Beeches. The former St Aldhelm's Church was built in 1838 as a

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently, generally due to trav ...

to the Church of St Mary and St Bartholomew in Cranborne. It is now a private residence.

References

External links

Hamlets in Dorset {{Dorset-geo-stub