Kingston Lacy History

In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Kingston Lacy like this: KINGSTON-LACY, a manor in Wimborne-Minster parish, Dorset; 2 miles NW of Wimborne. It contains the hamlets of Abbotstreet, Badbury, Barford, Barnesley, Cowgrove, Pamphill, and Stone. Pop., 752. An urn, with Roman coins, was found at Pamphill in 1736. Kingston Hall is the seat of the Bankes family; was built in 1663 by Sir Ralph Bankes, and restored by Barry; contains a rich collection of pictures, numerous other works of art, and the key and seal of Corfe Castle, so remarkably defended by Lady Bankes; and has, in its park, an Egyptian obelisk, brought hither from Philæ, and refounded in 1827 by the Duke of Wellington.
(sourced from visionofbritain.org)

Who Owned the house and what happened within this time?
Sir John Bankes, MP and Lord Chief Justice, bought the Isle of Purbeck, Corfe Castle and the Kingston Lacy estate in 1635-6. During the Civil War, Sir John’s wife defended the castle for the King, but was defeated in 1646, and Corfe Castle was destroyed by the Parliamentarians.
In 1663, Sir John’s son, Sir Ralph Bankes, commissioned the architect Roger Pratt to design a new family seat on the Kingston Lacy estate. The building and furnishing of Kingston House put Sir Ralph seriously into debt and his son was obliged to lease it to the 1st Duke of Ormonde to save money. In 1693, the family was able to return to Kingston Hall and it remained the residence of the Bankes family until 1981 when it was given to the National Trust, as part of a huge bequest which included Corfe Castle and much of the surrounding land.

Georgian connection
Kingston Lacy was owned by the Bankes family throughout the Georgian and Regency periods.

Henry Bankes (1698-1776) inherited from his brother John in 1772 and, although already in his seventies, he reorganised the estate with great determination.

Henry Bankes the Younger (1757-1834) was a Tory MP and a trustee of the British Museum. He was married to Frances Woodley, a renowned beauty. His alterations to Kingston House included the creation of a ballroom.

William John Bankes (1785-1855) was a friend of Lord Byron and travelled extensively. He was an early Egyptologist and his acquisitions included the Philae obelisk. His modifications to Kingston House included the creation of the Spanish room to house his collection of Spanish paintings and a grand marble staircase. He was forced into exile in 1841 due to accusations of homosexuality.
George Bankes (1787-1856) managed the family estates in his brother William’s absence. His widowed sister, Anne, Lady Falmouth, lived at Kingston Lacy from 1841 whilst he lived on the family’s Corfe estate. George was married to Georgina Charlotte Nugent, reputedly the illegitimate daughter of Ernest, Duke of Cumberland, by Lady Nugent. He was Tory MP for Cambridge and opposed Catholic emancipation and the reform bill. He was mayor of Corfe three times and wrote The Story of Corfe Castle and of Many who have Lived There (1853).

How did the National Trust come to own Kingston Lacy? (National trust.org.uk)

In 1923, at the tender age of 21, Ralph Bankes inherited the Kingston Lacy estate from his mother, Henrietta.

His coming of age was celebrated in typical fashion, with a lavish garden party on the lawns at Kingston Lacy on 14 July 1923. In 1935, Ralph married Hilary Strickland-Constable, from an old Yorkshire family.  They had two children: John born in 1937 and Mary in 1940.

During the Second World War (1939-45) Ralph served in the Royal Navy and was posted to Portsmouth. By 1942 the whole family were living with him in rented accommodation in Fareham.

The decline of Kingston Lacy

In 1966, Hilary lost her long battle with Multiple Sclerosis and died. Ralph, much like his father, was to display a somewhat solitary streak and after 1945, Kingston Lacy subsided into tranquil decay. It became one of the most private houses in England and its treasures were rarely seen, until the whole estate was bequeathed to the National Trust in 1981 upon the death of Ralph Bankes.