Mountfield House is the iconic building which stands above Millenium Green and is the location of the offices of Bridport Town Council. The site of Mountfield formed part of the estate of William Downe, a textile merchant. In 1786 he purchased land stretching north from Rax Lane to Coneygar Hill. In 1789 he built Downe Hall, followed by Mountfield House in about 1812. He also built Grove House which was in existence by 1823, although the exact date of its construction is not known. Downe was also a wharfinger (a wharf-keeper) and the owned two at East Smithfield: the Dung Wharf and Downes Wharf. The wharfs became the preferred landing place for ships exporting goods from Bridport.

It was Downes’ intention that the various houses which he built should be occupied by members of his extended family. In his will he bequeathed Mountfield House to his daughter Elizabeth Atkins. On his death in 1810 he appeared to be a successful merchant but his executor Joseph Gundry discovered that Downes’ liabilities exceeded the value of his assets. Downes’ main source of income was from the warehouses, but the business had been adversely affected by the Napoleonic Wars early in the century. In the course of the administration of the estate the Court of Chancery declared that the estate was insolvent and ordered that the estate be administered for the benefit of the creditors. There followed years of litigation leading to a sale of the assets by auction in 1823.

The purchaser was Henry Templer. According to one source, Templer was a lawyer practising in Exeter. However, his career started with the East India Company’s Maritime Service. He acquired a number of ships which was the source of his considerable wealth.

Possibly members of the Templer family outside Mountfield.

The property remained in the ownership of the Templer family throughout remainder of the nineteenth century. During that period various improvements were carried out to the building including refacing, enlarging and paneling, and was occupied by various members of the Templer family.

The property was sold in 1915 to Lonsdale Holden and the Holden family owned the property until 1953 when it was sold by Andrew Holden by public auction. In the auction particulars the property was described as a “charming detached residence with two acres of sheltered gardens tennis court and two glasshouses and containing seven principal bedrooms bathrooms and dressing rooms” This description indicates that the buildings were still a private residence. In 1927 the property was shown in the deeds to be owned by Mrs Ellen Holden who was a County Magistrate. Presumably she lived there with her family.

Mountfield was occupied by troops including American soldiers and nurses during the Second World War and from the late forties by the Grove School for Girls. The school was still in occupation at the time of the auction.

The ownership of the purchaser was short lived because in 1954 the property was sold to the Bridport Rural District Council for £6000. The sale included the two acres referred to in the auction particulars which comprised the gardens to the east south and west of the house. The land to the west stretched to North Street, including the site of the magistrates court (now demolished) None of the land to the north was included; this land was retained at the time of the sale in 1823 as part of the estate of Downe Hall.

The Rural District Council occupied the building until the local government reorganisation in 1974 which resulted in the dissolution of the Rural District Council and the transfer to the Dorset District Council. The Council did not make full use of the building and by 1997 it was half empty and only partly in use. The District Council considered vacating the building which had become too expensive to run and inefficient to operate. Newly-built premises would be more appropriate because it could offer a better service to the public. An option of selling the building arose but discussions then took place with the Bridport Town Council. The idea of the two councils sharing the same building was appealing because it was thought that it would promote more cooperation between the two bodies. This resulted in the Town Council purchasing the building. There were however insufficient funds to acquire buy the surrounding gardens which were acquired by a new trust set up specifically for the  purpose and also to the land to the north of Mountfield- but that is another story.

The various services which the Town Council was providing at its premises in South Street together with its tenants were transferred to Mountfield. The District Council remained in occupation of part of the building as tenant of the Town Council to enable it to continue providing its services and since 2000 the building has been shared by the two councils and other organisations.

Brian Parker- Research Volunteer

There are more photographs of Mountfield to explore in our Flickr collection.

(adapted from an article original published in The Bridport Times)

All of the information included in this article is correct to the best of our knowledge. However, if you believe anything is incorrect, or would like to submit further information, then don’t hesitate to get in touch.