Sherborne House, Dorset

Sherborne House is a large house in the market town of Sherborne, Dorset, England. Designed by Benjamin Bastard, the former country house that has been converted into a school and has been designated by Historic England as a Grade 1 listed building.

The house dates back to 1570. The west wing of the house from this period is still standing. The main building was constructed in 1720 and owned by Henry Seymour Portman. It is three storeys high, and seven bays wide, and rendered in stone rubble and brick with a slate roof. It features a mural staircase designed by Sir James Thornhill, which depicts the Greek mythological characters Meleager, Atalanta and the hunt for the Calydonian Boar.

The actor manager William Charles Macready lived at Sherborne house between 1851 and 1860. Charles Dickens was a guest of Macready in 1854. It was bought by Dorset County Council in the 1930s, and became Lord Digbys School for Girls, a grammar school. In 1992, it was leased to an arts group.

Sherborne House was a subject for the BBC's "Restoration" programme, but failed to win its round. The council were also unsuccessful in obtaining a £3 million National Lottery grant that would help repair the roof, then in serious need of repair. By June 2006, it was shrouded in scaffolding. The Thornhill-designed mural was beginning to show signs of water damage.

The house was put up for sale the following year. In 2011, plans were announced to turn the home into a tourist attraction with an arts centre and restaurant.

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