[3] Thomas Mompesson the elder moved to Salisbury, securing a 40-year lease on the north side of Chorister's Green in 1635 and building a large property with a hall and ten other rooms.

[3] His son, Sir Thomas Mompesson, MP for the constituency of Salisbury in 1679, 1695 and 1701, rebuilt the property in the late 1670s as well as adding the adjacent stable block.

[4] The site was purchased at the end of the 17th century and the house reflects the classic Queen Anne style of that period, as well as the influence of Christopher Wren.

[14] The house contains Georgian plasterwork and carvings of exceptional quality which have been carefully restored by the National Trust, including the removal of many layers of paint which had obscured them.

[15] The house also hosts the Bessemer-Wright collection of ceramics, bequeathed by Mrs Adam Smith,[13] which includes porcelain figures from the Derby & Bow factories, Sèvres plates and Wedgewood urns.