
Dinmore Manor House is a
large rural house in a well-wooded, hilly part of
Herefordshire
Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...
in the least populous parish of the county,
Dinmore. It was substantially rebuilt in late 16th century, altered around 1830 and extended around the year 1928. The main house is 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 ...
. The outlying chapel is mostly medieval and is grade II* listed.
Ownership and renovations

The Manor was owned by former
Carphone Warehouse
Carphone Warehouse is a mobile phone retailer based in London, United Kingdom. In August 2014 the company became a subsidiary of Currys plc (previously named "Dixons Carphone"), which was formed by the merger of its former parent Carphone Wareh ...
Director Martin Dawes, according to a June 2018 news item discussing the intended sale of the property. Dawes had acquired the Manor property in 1999 from the estate of Charles Ian Murray, a descendant of the former owner Richard Hollins Murray had who acquired the property in 1927.
In addition to the Manor House, the wider estate includes other residential properties, a magnificent shoot, an outstanding cattle breeding facility and a world class equestrian complex. A 2008 report stated that the Estate was closed to the public apart from occasional shoot days. The Estate also has a successful cattle breeding operation which specialises in pedigree
Limousin cattle
The Limousin () is a French breed of beef cattle from the Limousin (region), Limousin and Manche regions of France. It was formerly used mainly as a draught animal, but in modern times is reared for beef. A herd-book was established in France ...
, owned by Paul Dawes and managed by Richard Bartle as of May 2020.

A May 2019 report on the intended sale of the estate indicated that the property included the manor house and 19 restored houses and cottages that were let to tenants on a short-term basis. A major restoration of the manor was completed after 1999. Another report, in 2018, provided more specifics about the work completed by Hollins Murray in the 1920s and 1930s:
espent a considerable sum on the house, including several ‘Gothic’ additions, and restored the 13th century chapel of the Knight Hospitallers of Jerusalem, as well as the cloisters leading from the chapel to the manor. (Murray was an Officer of the Order of St. John Jerusalem). The gardens were also re-landscaped with the creation of a new rock garden ... regularly opened to the public fter the restoration
Garden and woodland
At above sea level, centred two-thirds up a many-miles long stepped east slope, the site has viewpoints over the abrupt north–south vale of the
Lugg to the
Malvern Hills
The Malvern Hills are in the English counties of Worcestershire, Herefordshire and a small area of northern Gloucestershire, dominating the surrounding countryside and the towns and villages of the district of Malvern. The highest summit af ...
. The garden has a 1,200-year-old
Yew
Yew is a common name given to various species of trees.
It is most prominently given to any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus '' Taxus'':
* European yew or common yew (''Taxus baccata'')
* Pacific yew or western yew ('' Taxus ...
. The compact formal garden is not listed. It mainly comprises a rock garden, a group of
Acers and a water garden.
Chapel
The chapel to
Saint John of Jerusalem remains on the site. Erected in the early part of the 12th century and formerly attached to the Commandery, it was rebuilt in 1370 in the
Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norma ...
and
Decorated architectural styles. A rectangular building, it consists of a chancel, a nave, a north porch and a western tower with spire. It was thoroughly restored in 1886 by Rev. Harris Fleming St John MA, chaplain (1878–1903), and filled with painted windows executed by himself. Stated to have had the privilege of
sanctuary
A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...
, it sits 50 people. The chapel has been Grade II listed since 1985 as "late C12 with subsequent alterations, restored 1886".
In May 2019, Sotheby's sold an "English chamber organ by Samuel Green, London, 1786", indicating that it had been removed from the Dinmore Manor chapel.
Rooms
The building was developed from 1189 and was. Commandery of the Order of At John of Jerusalem. Indeed no other than Sir Thomas Dowcra was Commander here at one time.
]. The house (excluding its narrow rear extension) was mostly rebuilt in late 16th century, altered around 1830 and extended around the year 1928. The main house is 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 ...
The house's music room is a hall projection with a
vaulted ceiling
In architecture, a vault (French ''voûte'', from Italian ''volta'') is a self-supporting arched form, usually of stone or brick, serving to cover a space with a ceiling or roof. As in building an arch, a temporary support is needed while ring ...
and a
Victorian
Victorian or Victorians may refer to:
19th century
* Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign
** Victorian architecture
** Victorian house
** Victorian decorative arts
** Victorian fashion
** Victorian literatur ...
Aeolian Pipe Organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...
that was moved to Dinmore from a home in Manchester.
The house overlooks the garden and lawn, and
cloisters
A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a warm southe ...
flank it to the right. The back wall of the cloisters features
stained glass window
Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...
s; coloured light streams onto the columns most late afternoons.

The music room and the cloisters with stained glass windows are part of an expansion of the manor that was completed in 1936 by Richard Hollins Murray; the extension became Grade II listed in 1967.
In 1950
British Railways
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commis ...
named a new
GWR 7800 'Manor' Class steam locomotive,
No.7820, after the manor. It is now preserved and operates on the
Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway
The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway (GWR, GWSR or Gloucs-Warks Steam Railway) is a volunteer-run heritage railway which runs along the Gloucestershire/Worcestershire border of the Cotswolds in England.
The GWSR has restored and reo ...
.
Racehorses
Martin Dawes turned the modest pasture and arable fields into what had been described as "a world-class stud facility for show-jumping horses"
DINMORE MANOR HOUSE
/ref> and retained much of its woodland. For this, he may have spent around £14 to £15 million.
References
External links
Dinmore Manor stud
{{coord, 52.1487, N, 2.753, W, display=title
Country houses in Herefordshire
Preceptories of the Knights Hospitaller in England
Norman architecture in England
English Gothic architecture in Herefordshire
Horse farms in the United Kingdom