Warmwell House

Warmwell House is a Jacobean Manor (built between 1618-1620), deep in the heart of Thomas Hardy country, in Dorset. It’s great for special parties of family and friends, or for elegant country weddings.  

The house sleeps sixteen guests in eight generous bedrooms (plenty of space for the odd child to be in with their parents). If you need extra room, there is a gate house (called White’s Cottage), and two darling shepherds’ huts. The estate can sleep 24 adults in total. 

Main House

Six of the bedrooms in the main house have king size beds, and two can be separated to twins. Five of the rooms have an adjacent or en-suite bathroom. The remaining two bedrooms are on the second floor, and each have their own adjacent bathroom.  

Also upstairs is the elegant drawing room, with beautiful views across the gardens. 

Downstairs, there is a grand and dramatic panelled dining room,  a room for wearing velvet and silk and enjoying the very best kind of feasting (the house has a fabulous chef, should you require).  The acre-long table easily seats 24 guests, or you can arrange to have extra round tables added, seating up to 45 without elbow-wars. There is both a traditional country kitchen, and a catering kitchen. 

There is a gallery for music and whiling away a few happy hours, and a morning room for the Sunday papers, and a sitting room for relaxation of the deepest order. 

Outside, the house is cossetted in a lovely wrap of gardens and lawns. There is an outdoor pool, tennis court and croquet lawn, as well as a devilish maze, in which to stash your teenagers. As well as lawns and informal wild-flower meadows, there is a shaded pleached-lime garden, a traditional kitchen garden and a sunken Georgian garden, upon which to behave with decorum (or play leap-frog). 

The Warmwell Estate covers around a thousand acres of ancient woodland and protected farmland. Guests are welcome to use the footpaths, and go deer and wild pony spotting. 

Edmund’s Choice of Extraordinary Feature

“Oh, I do love a Jacobean manor, and this one really is a gem. Not at all dark and looming with suits of armour – Warmwell is light and welcoming, wearing its history with the glorious insouciance of the truly loved.” 

White’s Cottage

White’s Cottage (so named after the old gatekeeper’s family), sleeps 4 guests in two bedrooms (one double, one twin) and one bathroom. There’s a downstairs loo, kitchen, dining room and sitting room. There’s a generous fenced-in garden, with terrace and seating. 

The Shepherd’s Huts

There are two shepherd’s huts, each in its own woodland glade with an open fire and Adirondack chairs. They each sleep two in a double bed, and have a separate bathroom hut. One of the huts has a separate kitchen, and the other has a tiny kitchen in the main space. They are the most perfect places to stay to suss out the estate for future parties, or to return to lovely memories. 

About the Location

The house is in south Dorset, above Weymouth, which is its nearest town. Weymouth has a mainline train service, and the house is about 15 minutes’ taxi drive from the station. 

Things To Do

The house is about three miles from the  South Coast path and beautiful beaches (Durdle Door is not too far away). Corfe Castle and Lulworth Cove are also within reach, and there are several tourist-type attractions, such as Monkey World. 

Weddings

The house holds a civil licence, and couples can be married either in the dining room (which seats up to 60), or outside in the sunken garden (beneath a marquee, should you wish). The estate’s little country church, the Holy Trinity, is at the bottom of the drive, and dates from the 13th Century.