Dorset Seaside Manor on the Jurassic Coast
March 20, 2013Elegant, exclusive C18th Country House for rent
Smedmore House, the Dorset Seaside Manor, is available for rent for all kinds of event – holidays, weekends, house parties, weddings and civil ceremonies. A beautiful and historic Georgian house, it also makes a wonderful exclusive use venue for corporate events, dinners, meetings, presentations and as a film location. Surrounded by rolling countryside and spectacular sea views, privately owned Smedmore House offers a level of tranquillity and privacy hard to find elsewhere.
The main house sleeps 16 in 8 double bedrooms. It has the marvellously warm and relaxed atmosphere of a well-loved family home. For extra guests, there is also the newly refurbished Garden Wing with another 3 double rooms. Overall 22 people can be accommodated. Additionally from late 2023, the Penthouse Flat will offer a wonderful additional loft-style en suite bedroom and bathroom on the top floor with sweeping views over the surrounding countryside. This is planned as a very special Bridal Suite.
“The most beautiful house we have ever stayed in” Nov 2021
Two acres of walled flower gardens, orchards, and a Mediterranean garden surround this Dorset seaside escape. There is an extensive lawn to the front of the house, with a pretty pond bordered by a wild flower meadow. Two avenues lined with stone urns and more wild flowers lead off from here through the woods with extensive views to Kimmeridge Bay and to Weymouth and Portland beyond. At the bottom of the avenues is a path through fields, past sphinxes, urns and obelisks, down to Kimmeridge Bay.
“Stylish, charming and soulful, Smedmore House is perfect in itself but was also the perfect venue for our event” Oct 2017
Kimmeridge Bay
Kimmeridge Bay is famous for all types of water sports but especially canoeing, surfing, and wind-surfing. The water is particularly clear and very good for snorkelling because there is no sand.
The surrounding cliffs and shale ledges provide a great hunting ground for fossils. Examples of these can be seen in the Etches Collection Museum in Kimmeridge village.
Clavell’s Tower, a local landmark and the inspiration for P.D.James’s murder story, The Black Tower (1975), overlooks Kimmeridge Bay. In 2006, the Tower was dismantled and moved back from the cliff edge which had eroded badly. It’s been totally restored and is now the Landmark Trust’s most popular rental property. The bay was once a haunt of smugglers, and scene of their battles with coast guards. Just around the headland, the next bay is called Brandy Bay, as so much brandy was smuggled there.