Ralph Dutton, the 8th and last Lord Sherborne, inherited the estate of Hinton Ampner in 1935 and devoted the subsequent fifty years to improving and embellishing it. The large Victorian house was remodelled twice: first in 1936-9 and again in 1960. Hinton Ampner is thus a rarity – a small neo-Georgian manor in the Hampshire vernacular style, dating, in part at least, to the 1960s when Dutton carefully rebuilt his home and its collections after they were ravaged by fire. The quiet, dignified exterior gives no clue to the range and splendour of its interiors, which include salvaged features from the fire, such as a marble fireplace (originally from Robert Adam’s demolished Adelphi Terrace), and a plasterwork ceiling in the dining room (originally from a Robert Adam townhouse), the roundels of which were repainted by Elizabeth Biddulph. Hinton Ampner is situated in a magnificent 20th-century shrub garden with year-round interest.
A good collection of 17th and 18th century Italian paintings and Georgian furniture. Also the library of Ralph Dutton, later 2nd Baron Sherborne, replacement for a collection destroyed by fire (along with the house) in 1960. In a sense clearly assembled to look good on the shelves, with many finely-bound sets, the collection also includes some fine colour plate books.
