Athelhampton Hall

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Adlampston

In the civil parish of Athelhampton.
In the historic county of Dorset (Modern Authority of Dorset, 1974 county of Dorset).

Although a licence to "to enclose and fortify ... with walls of stone and lime, and to build towers within the said manor and crenellate the same." was issued to Sir William Martyn in 1495 it is clear this was entirely symbolic and no attempt was made to seriously fortify the new house. Substantial remains exist of the house, although the gatehouse (of 1550) has been demolished.

This site has been described as a;
Fortified Manor House.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Questionable.
Major remains.

A Royal licence to crenellate was granted in 1495 Nov 5.

This site is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 106190)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SY77079427

Modern Map from

Good for landscape form and features

Modern Map from

Good for general location

Air Photo from

1st edition OS Map from

Sources of information, references and further reading

PastScape number; 454831

Web site links
- http://www.athelhampton.co.uk/
Books
- Emery, Anthony, 2006, Greater Medieval Houses Vol3 (Cambridge) p487-90, 696
  Pevsner, N. and Newman J., 1972, Buildings of England: Dorset (London) p80-83
  RCHME, 1970, An inventory of historical monuments in the County of Dorset. Vol3: central p9-13
  Oswald, A., 1959, Country Houses of Dorset p65-8
Journal Articles
- Aslet, C., 1984 May, Country Life Vol175
Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
- Calendar of Patent Rolls (1495-1509) p43

Most of the sites or buildings recorded in this web site are NOT open to the public and permission to visit a site must always be sought from the landowner or tenant

The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of English Heritage and other individuals and organisations.

It is an offence to disturb a Scheduled Monument without consent. It is a destruction of everyone's heritage to remove archaeological evidence from any site without proper recording and reporting. Don't use metal detectors on historic sites without authorisation.

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*The listed building may not be the actual medieval building, but a building on the site of, or incorporating fragments of, the described site.

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This record last updated on Friday, April 6, 2007

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