House opening 2018
The whole house is now open via timed entry tickets. Please book your ticket online, in advance, and bring a printed or mobile version with you. Alternatvely phone 0344 249 1895. There may be limited availability on the day, issued on a first come first served basis.
There is a storage facility for bags and pushchairs before you enter the house. This is located near the shop and detailed on your welcome map from Visitor Reception. Please leave your bags, loose items in the lockers and pushchairs in the spaces provided.
On rare occasions it may be necessary to close rooms within the house for conservation purposes. If there is something in particular you wish to see during your visit we advise you to phone ahead to ensure that it will be available at the time of your trip.
From the end of October to the beginning of March the 4 rooms in the upper two floors of the house will be closed for conservation purposes.
House entry tickets FAQ
Entry to the house, from March till October, is by timed entry tickets and we've pulled together some of the most frequently asked questions about how they work.
Outstanding collection of paintings
Kingston Lacy is home to one of the finest private collections of paintings in Britain with works by Rubens Van Dyck, Tintoretto, Titian and Brueghel. See the entrance hall and saloon with fresh eyes as we recreate the rooms as William John Bankes had imagined.
Treasures from ancient Egypt
Step back thousands of years and discover the largest private display of Egyptian relics in the UK. Look out for bronze cats, cockerels, scarab beetles and 25 ‘stelae’ (tomb inscriptions) from Deir el-Medina – all mementoes from William John Bankes’ incredible journey through Egypt in 1818.
A virtual tour
Don’t miss our interactive digital tour of Kingston Lacy in the Egyptian Room. Take control of the camera to explore all the nooks and crannies of the house and see what each room has to offer.
A taste of Italy
With its marble floors and vaulted ceiling, stepping into the Loggia is like being whisked away to a flamboyant Italian palace. Gaze out over the parterre and up through the Cedar avenue or admire the statues of King Charles 1st and the family’s ancestor ‘Brave Dame Mary’ Bankes who fiercely defended Corfe Castle against a roundhead siege.
Restored to new
Spot the keys to Corfe Castle over the mantlepiece, the old home of the Bankes family, destroyed in the flames of war. Look up for the beautiful ceiling fresco, now restored to pride of place after a 20 year absence, thanks to generous public donations - the first time a detached fresco has ever been restored.
A tented bedroom
Upstairs you can see one of the last surviving ‘tent rooms’ in Europe, painted to resemble the military campaign tents that Napoleon lived in as he waged his wars across Europe.
