[5] Construction began in 1859 to the designs of the architect John Chessell Buckler and was completed by Edward Boardman in 1878.

He was the son of the Reverend Robert Churchman Longe (1761–1841),[7] who had inherited Dunston Hall from a distant relative in 1797.

The couple had three sons but unfortunately Maria died three years after their marriage and Robert was obliged to raise his children alone.

[9] Robert died in 1874 and his son Fortescue Walter Kellett Longe (1844-1934) inherited the property.

One of the most notable tenants was Lt.-Col. Sir Edmund Broughton Knowles Lacon,[10] 4th Baronet (184–1899),[11] who used the house as a country residence from about 1883 until 1893.

After he left in 1893 Geoffrey Fowell Buxton and his family rented Dunston Hall for almost thirty years until 1921.

He was the third son of Thomas Fowell Buxton of Easneye Mansion[13] (now All Nations Christian College) near Ware, Hertfordshire.