Moonfleet Manor Hotel Explained

Moonfleet Manor
Coordinates:50.6238°N -2.5422°W
Location:Fleet, Dorset, England
Designation1:Grade II listed building
Designation1 Offname:Moonfleet Manor Hotel, Fleet
Designation1 Date:26 January 1956
Designation1 Number:1152114

Moonfleet Manor Hotel is a hotel and former manor house in Fleet, Dorset, England. With 17th century origins, much of the house dates to the 18th and 19th centuries. It is a Grade II listed building, as is its former stable block and coach house.

The manor was featured in the 1898 novel Moonfleet by J. Meade Falkner.

History

Moonfleet Manor Hotel was originally known as Fleet House. The oldest parts of the house to survive, believed to be the south wing and parts of the east and west wings, have been dated to the early 17th century.[1] The house was mentioned in Coker's Survey of Dorsetshire, written by Thomas Gerard in the 1620s, as the seat of Maximilian Mohun.[2] It is believed that Mohun had the house built.[3]

The house was remodelled during the 18th century and again in 1880 before undergoing a restoration in 1896.[1] At the time, the manor had grounds of approximately 136 acres.[4] The house became occupied by the Gould family during the 18th century. It remained under their ownership until it was sold to the George family in 1896.[5]

After the war, the manor became the Moonfleet Hotel, which opened in August 1946.[6] The four-star hotel underwent a £1 million refurbishment after it was purchased by the current owners, Nigel Chapman and Nicholas Dickinson, in 1997.[7]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Fleet . british-history.ac.uk . 14 October 2022.
  2. Book: Gerard, Thomas . Coker's Survey of Dorsetshire . 1732 . Dorset Publishing Company . 0-902129-20-1 . 32 . second . Google Books . 14 October 2022.
  3. Book: Hutchins, John . The History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset: Volume 1 . 1774 . 545 . Internet Archive . 14 October 2022.
  4. Book: Kelly's Directory of Dorsetshire . Kelly's Directories Ltd. . 1903 . 87.
  5. News: News . Clifton Society . 30 January 1896 . 14 October 2022 . . subscription.
  6. News: Hotels . The Western Daily Press and Bristol Mirror . 30 July 1946 . 14 October 2022 . . subscription.
  7. Web site: Moonfleet Manor: Our Hotel . moonfleetmanorhotel.co.uk . 14 October 2022.