I often use historical sources to help me develop the locations and setting for my books. Join me on a visit to the real Montacute House, the dragon Estate Anne Wentworth called upon in Here There Be Dragons.

 Just as in the book, the real Montacute House is located in South Somerset, not far from the border with Dorset. Built in 1601 (according to the date found on a stone in a door case), Montacute House is one of the most impressive Tudor mansions in England. An E-shaped Elizabethan mansion built of Ham Hill stone, it survives almost unchanged to this day.

‘Montacute’ comes from the Latin word for ‘pointed hill’ A motte-and-bailey castle was built on the hill by the Normans. Somewhat later, the estate was granted to the French abbey of Cluny, which established a priory at Montacute in 1102. Henry VIII’s dissolution of the priory in 1539 led to the destruction of most of the monastic structures.

The land was sold to the Phelips family, who had been living in the area since 1460. Starting as yeomen farmers, they worked their way up the social ladder. Eventually Edward Phelips inherited the land and built Montacute House on it.

Edward Phelips was a lawyer who served in Parliament. He was knighted in 1602, served as Speaker of the House, Master of the Rolls, Chancellor to Henry, Prince of Wales, and served as opening prosecutor of the Guy Fawkes trials.

Montacute stood as a statement of Sir Edward Phelips’ power and influence. Montacute stood as a statement of Sir Edward Phelips’ power and influence. Built on a very grand scale, the exterior includes turrets, obelisks, shell niches, and pavilions. The east front boasts mullioned windows so large that they give the impression that the whole façade is made of glass. Statues of the Nine Worthies, biblical, classical and medieval figures, which include Julius Caesar and King Arthur, judge all those who approach the east front. In 1787, the house acquitted a second front when another Edward Phelips, descendant of Sir Edward Phelips, installed the ornamental façade of Clifton Maybank house as the west front.

These are rooms that Lady Wentworth might have encountered on her visit.

The house and estate passed through multiple generations of the Phelips family, until it finally ended up in the hands of Sir William Phelips (1823-1889), known as the ‘Gambling Squire’ for his addiction to gambling. He lost most of the family fortune and was forced to sell the family silver to fund his daughter’s London season. His son, another William Phelips, let Montacute to tenants in 1911. In 1931, the property came into the hands of the National Trust.

Now restored, the house and grounds at Montacute have been the location for several film and television projects, including the 1995 Jane Austen Sense and Sensibility adaptation. The site also inspired the settings for Wallace and Gromit film, The Curse of the Were-Rabbit and the short below, ‘A Jubilee Bunt-a-thon’. (If you have’t seen them, I highly recommend All the Wallace and Gromit films!)

References

History of Montacute House. National Trust. Accessed April 1, 2023. https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/somerset/montacute-house/history-of-montacute-house

Johnson, Ben. Montacue House. Historic UK. Accessed April 1, 2023. https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryMagazine/DestinationsUK/Montacute-House/

Powys, Llewelyn. An Old English House. The Atlantic. April, 1935. Accessed March 20, 2023. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1935/04/an-old-english-house/652864/

Ross, David. Montacute House. Britain Express. Accessed March 20, 2023. https://www.britainexpress.com/attractions.htm?attraction=296