Creech Grange
Encyclopedia
Creech Grange is an elegant country house, south of Wareham at the foot of the Purbeck Hills
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, near Wool, after Henry VIII had abolished the monasteries in 1539. Lawrence was the brother-in-law of Henry's Lord Chancellor.
Lawrence was an ancestor of the first American President, George Washington
, and the joint arms of the two families - the famous stars and stripes of Washington's signet ring and the American flag - appear in memorials at Steeple and Affpuddle.
Creech Grange was bought by Nathaniel Bond
in 1691, and the family still hold their Purbeck estates. It was Thomas Bond who in Stuart times laid out the famous London Street over fields of swamp and refuse tips and lost a fortune.
Only fragments remain of the original house built by Lawrence before his death in 1559, partly because it was damaged by fire by the Parliamentarians during the Civil War, and finally because in 1846 the entire front was taken down and rebuilt in the local Tudor style.
assumes dominance as the view moves north-easterly, its southern shore dominated by the deep green of Rempstone Forest. After the blur of the Poole/Bournemouth conurbation, the ruins of Corfe Castle
conclude the sweep as the eastern view disappears into the Purbeck Ridge.
, notified in 1977. The outbuildings are an important roosting site for Greater Horseshoe Bat
s.
Purbeck Hills
The Purbeck Hills and South Dorset Downs are a ridge of chalk downs in Dorset, England. The hills extend from the Dorset Downs west of Dorchester, where the River Frome begins to form a valley dividing them from the larger area of downland to the north. The ridge then runs east through the Isle...
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History
The house was built by Sir Oliver Lawrence, who acquired the land from the former Bindon AbbeyBindon Abbey
Bindon Abbey was a Cistercian monastery, of which only ruins remain, on the River Frome about half a mile east of Wool in the Purbeck District, Dorset, England.- History :...
, near Wool, after Henry VIII had abolished the monasteries in 1539. Lawrence was the brother-in-law of Henry's Lord Chancellor.
Lawrence was an ancestor of the first American President, George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
, and the joint arms of the two families - the famous stars and stripes of Washington's signet ring and the American flag - appear in memorials at Steeple and Affpuddle.
Creech Grange was bought by Nathaniel Bond
Nathaniel Bond
Nathaniel Bond, KS, , of Creech Grange in the Isle of Purbeck, Dorset, was an English lawyer and Member of Parliament....
in 1691, and the family still hold their Purbeck estates. It was Thomas Bond who in Stuart times laid out the famous London Street over fields of swamp and refuse tips and lost a fortune.
Only fragments remain of the original house built by Lawrence before his death in 1559, partly because it was damaged by fire by the Parliamentarians during the Civil War, and finally because in 1846 the entire front was taken down and rebuilt in the local Tudor style.
View
There are panoramic from nearby Creech Barrow. Though part of the Purbeck Hills, Creech Barrow stands out, detached. The church tower of Lady St Mary in the old town of Wareham stands proud. Poole HarbourPoole Harbour
Poole Harbour is a large natural harbour in Dorset, southern England, with the town of Poole on its shores. The harbour is a drowned valley formed at the end of the last ice age and is the estuary of several rivers, the largest being the Frome. The harbour has a long history of human settlement...
assumes dominance as the view moves north-easterly, its southern shore dominated by the deep green of Rempstone Forest. After the blur of the Poole/Bournemouth conurbation, the ruins of Corfe Castle
Corfe Castle
Corfe Castle is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset. It is the site of a ruined castle of the same name. The village and castle stand over a gap in the Purbeck Hills on the route between Wareham and Swanage. The village lies in the gap below the castle, and is some eight...
conclude the sweep as the eastern view disappears into the Purbeck Ridge.
SSSI
Part of the estate is a 0.1 hectare (0.247105163015276 acre) biological Site of Special Scientific InterestSite of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
, notified in 1977. The outbuildings are an important roosting site for Greater Horseshoe Bat
Greater Horseshoe Bat
The Greater Horseshoe Bat is a European bat of the Rhinolophus genus. Its distribution covers Europe, Africa, South Asia and Australia. It is the largest of the European Horseshoe Bats and is thus easily distinguished from other species...
s.