Minterne Magna

Minterne Magna is a village and civil parish in Dorset, England, situated midway between Dorchester and Sherborne.

The estate was later inherited by Sir Winston's son, Charles, who died without an heir, so the house went to his wife's family, the Goulds, who sold it to Admiral Robert Digby in 1768.

When Robert died in 1815, the house passed to his nephew, Sir Henry Digby, who later purchased the freehold from Winchester College in 1856.

Sir Henry was a senior British naval officer, who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars in the Royal Navy and it was his wealth that established the original manor house, the bulk of which came from prize money.

Minterne House has a large woodland garden with many Rhododendron species, which runs in an elongated 'u' shape around the slopes of a small spur of land that stretches into the valley floor.