Stepleton House is a 17th-century country house in the parish of
Iwerne Stepleton in Dorset, situated about north of
Blandford Forum
Blandford Forum ( ) is a market town in Dorset, England, on the River Stour, Dorset, River Stour, north-west of Poole. It had a population of 10,355 at the United Kingdom 2021 census, 2021 census.
The town is notable for its Georgian archit ...
, Dorset, England. It is a
Grade I 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 ...
.
Originally built around a courtyard, the house is now a six- by five-bay block with flanking pavilions. It is constructed of ashlar in two storeys plus basement and attics with a hipped stone slate roof. The main house dates from the 17th century and the pavilions from the 18th century. The six-bay frontage has a two-bay pedimented centrepiece. The house stands in a park through which runs the River Iwerne.
The grounds and the stable block are separately Grade II listed.
History
Stepleford House was built for Thomas Fownes in 1634 on land he had bought from
George Pitt of Stratfield Saye, Hampshire. It was sold by his descendant, also Thomas Fownes, in 1745 for £12,500 to
Julines Beckford, son of a rich Jamaican plantation owner. Beckford remodelled the house and developed the grounds, creating a lake by damming the River Iwerne. He was MP for Salisbury for 10 years and Sheriff of Dorset for 1749–50. On his death in 1764 the property passed to his only son
Peter Beckford, MP.
Beckford became the patron of the composer
Muzio Clementi
Muzio Filippo Vincenzo Francesco Saverio Clementi (23 January 1752 – 10 March 1832) was an Italian-British composer, virtuoso pianist, pedagogue, conductor (music), conductor, music publisher, editor, and piano manufacturer, who was mostly ac ...
, whom he discovered at the age of 14 in
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, and who lived with Beckford in Stepleton House from 1766–73.
Peter's grandson,
George Pitt-Rivers, 4th Baron Rivers
George Pitt-Rivers, 4th Baron Rivers (16 July 1810 – 28 April 1866), known as George Beckford until 1828, was a British peer and politician. He held a place as a Lord-in-waiting in several governments, migrating from the Tory to the Liberal Pa ...
, let the house to
Sir John Hadley D'Oyly, and Lord Rivers' last surviving daughter eventually sold the house in 1917 to Sir Randolph Baker. Since then it has passed through several ownerships and still remains in private hands.
References
External links
*{{ cite web , title=Iwerne Stepleton , url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/rchme/dorset/vol3/pp132-135 , publisher=British History Online
Country houses in Dorset
Grade I listed houses in Dorset