the never changing face of politics

...another generally grey day but with none of yesterday's brighter spells made for very flat light and poor visibility. Before heading to Kimmeridge for our main walk, we drove up above Povington to enable me to photograph the large ball clay quarry that I have referred to a few times recently. Unfortunately, the poor light made it look even less interesting than usual - and it is not particularly interesting, even at the best of times! I can feel a bit of trespassing coming on when the time is right.

So far, I have mostly featured the Lawrence and Bond families. Back in December, I blipped the Clavell Tower. I mentioned on that occasion that the building I had intended to photograph was blighted by scaffolding. Today, most of the metalwork has gone and what remains is not so obtrusive as to detract from the beauty of the house.

This is Smedmore House, where the Clavell family was living when the cliff-edge folly was built. During Saxon times, the two principal landowners were Cerne Abbey and the Smedmore family. Henry Smedmore sold his land to the Wyot family in 1391. The Wyots were ancestors of the Clavells who, in turn, married into the family of the present owners, the Mansels, in 1830.

Cerne Abbey sold their land here, including the village of Kimmeridge, to John Clavell after the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539. The building that you see today was constructed in about 1620 but the Georgian bays were only added c1760. Like Creech Grange, this property is considerably larger than it appears from any one aspect and I will be blipping at least one more image of Smedmore.

Today, the only permanent resident is an administrator, who lives in a self-contained wing at the back of the house. Believe it or not, this property is available to rent! Options include butler, kitchen staff and chauffeur, and prices range from £500-£2,000 per day. It is popular for weddings, for which marquees can be pitched on the vast front lawns.

Many of the Clavells have been MPs, JPs and military men. John (returned MP for Corfe Castle 1584) and his brother William, were deeply implicated in the piracy that was rampant in the Isle of Purbeck during the 1580s - 'twas ever the same...