Somerley is a large Georgian Grade II* listed

English country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...

that is situated in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Ellingham and

Harbridge Harbridge is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Ellingham, Harbridge and Ibsley, in the New Forest district, in the county of Hampshire, England. It is located some four kilometres north of Ringwood and a similar dis ...

with Ibsley in the

New Forest district New Forest is a local government district in Hampshire, England. Its council is based in Lyndhurst, although the largest town is Totton. The district also includes the towns of Fordingbridge, Lymington, New Milton and Ringwood. The district ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It is 2 miles (3 km) west of the

New Forest National Park The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...

. The nearest town is Ringwood, which lies approximately 2.5 miles (4 km) south-east from the House, just east of the River Avon. Somerley House is perched overlooking the Estate. The River Avon meanders through this vast 7,000 acre Somerley Estate, providing a wildlife rich environment for a diverse range of habitats including; parkland, water meadows and woodland. The Estate features a walled garden and an ancient woodland. The house is the home of the seventh Earl of Normanton. It was designed by English architect

Samuel Wyatt Samuel Wyatt (8 September 1737 – 8 February 1807) was an English architect and engineer. A member of the Wyatt family, which included several notable 18th- and 19th-century English architects, his work was primarily in a neoclassical style. C ...

in 1792–1795, and the house became the property of Lord Normanton's family in 1825. In 1850 a 90ft picture gallery was added to house the family's paintings and collections; today this space is used for events. It is not open to the public although it is available for weddings, filming, and corporate and private event hire. The house was a

filming location A filming location is a place where some or all of a film or television series is produced, instead of or in addition to using sets constructed on a movie studio backlot or soundstage. In filmmaking, a location is any place where a film crew wi ...

for the 1983 TV adaptation of ''Mansfield Park'' and more recently portrayed

Highgrove House Highgrove House is the family residence of King Charles III and Queen Camilla. It lies southwest of Tetbury in Gloucestershire, England. Built in the late 18th century, Highgrove and its estate were owned by various families until it was pu ...

in the Netflix series, ''

The Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

''. In addition, Somerley served as a filming location for the first season of the TV show ''

Bridgerton ''Bridgerton'' is an American alternative history regency romance television series created by Chris Van Dusen for Netflix. Based on the book series Bridgerton (novel series), of the same name by Julia Quinn, it is Shondaland's first scripted ...

''. It also served as a filming location for the Amazon Prime Video original ''

Red, White & Royal Blue ''Red, White & Royal Blue'' is an LGBT literature, LGBT romance novel by American author Casey McQuiston, originally published on May 14, 2019, by St Martin's Griffin. It centers on the character of Alex Claremont-Diaz, a First Family of the Uni ...

''. Somerley Park is home to a golf club.

Notes

External links

Houses completed in 1795 Country houses in Hampshire Grade II* listed buildings in Hampshire {{Hampshire-struct-stub