Sherborne House, Dorset

Sherborne House was built c.1720 for Henry Seymour Portman as a halfway house between his properties in Somerset (Orchard Portman) and Dorset (Bryanston). John Hutchins in his 'History of Dorset' reported that the house was designed by 'Mr Bastard of Sherborne' (Benjamin Bastard), but given the date of its building, it was more likely that the Bastard company of Blandford Forum only provided the internal joinery. Michael Hill in the Dorset edition of The Buildings of England suggests that Sir James Thornhill may have been the architect. The House, which incorporates an earlier 16th century north wing, is three storeys high and seven bays wide and rendered in stone rubble and brick with a…