Mompesson House

About the museum

Mompesson House stands on the north side of Choristers' Green in the Cathedral Close of Salisbury. The present building was created in 1701 for Charles Mompesson, a lawyer and Member of Parliament, whose initials and the date appear on the rainwater heads. A carved cartouche above the front door shows the arms of the Mompesson and Longueville families and recalls his marriage to Elizabeth Longueville in 1703. The richly decorated interiors, with their plasterwork and oak staircase, date from the years when she and her brother lived here.

Like many houses in the Close, it was leased to a succession of families. In 1798 the widowed Ann Portman moved in with her daughters, and the sisters probably extended many of the windows down to the floor. From 1846 the house was home for most of a century to the Townsend family, among them the watercolour artist Barbara Townsend, who recorded life in the Close. After a short time as the bishop's residence it was sold in 1952 to the London architect Denis Martineau, who repaired it, redecorated it in bold colours, redesigned the garden and opened it to the public on two afternoons a week.

Martineau left the house to the National Trust, which inherited it empty in 1975. Since then it has been redecorated in a Georgian style and furnished with carefully chosen 18th- and 19th-century art, furniture and porcelain. The collection includes nearly four hundred 18th-century drinking glasses, bequeathed to the Trust in 1970. The house also featured in the film Sense and Sensibility. Behind it lies a walled garden with herbaceous borders and a pergola, and a tea-room in the former summerhouse.

Highlights

• Early 18th-century plasterwork and a fine oak staircase
• Nearly four hundred English 18th-century drinking glasses
• Regency parlour and children's playroom, themed on the Portman family
• Walled garden with herbaceous borders and pergola
• Garden tea-room and second-hand bookshop

Permanent exhibitions

• Regency interiors and the Portman family – The house is dressed to reflect the years when the Portman family lived here, with a Regency parlour downstairs and a children's playroom upstairs.
• English 18th-century drinking glasses – A display of nearly four hundred drinking glasses bequeathed to the National Trust in 1970, in the Dining Room.

Operated by

National Trust

Admission & discounts

Prices are the standard admission without the optional Gift Aid donation. Free entry for National Trust members.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The ground-floor Entrance Hall, Small Drawing Room, Large Drawing Room and Dining Room are accessible by wheelchair, reached by a ramp through the back entrance; a tablet shows images of the upstairs rooms. The garden has level access, the tea-room is accessible and a ramp serves the second-hand bookshop. An accessible toilet is in the courtyard. A manual wheelchair can be booked in advance. Two Blue Badge spaces in front of the house must be booked by phone or email. Only assistance dogs are allowed. Quiet and busy areas are marked on a map in the bookshop, which is a quiet zone, and ear defenders and a sensory guide can be borrowed at the front door.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Hands-on stations
• Baby changing facilities

A free Regency spotter trail leads children round the house, and the Green Room is dressed as a Regency playroom with toys and games. The walled garden suits young children, and Baby Tree Time meetings for parents and babies run from April to September. This autumn the free Stranger Folk app game is aimed at ages 7 to 12. Baby changing is in the accessible toilet in the courtyard, pushchairs can be stored in a sheltered area and hip carriers can be borrowed.

Getting there & parking

Public cycle parking is on Choristers' Green and in the courtyard. National Cycle Network routes 24 and 45 pass the green. The what3words address of the entrance is grab.grace.search.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop

Garden tea-room in the former summerhouse with indoor and outdoor seating, serving hot and cold drinks, cakes, soups, sandwiches and light lunches, with gluten-free and vegan options. Second-hand bookshop with a children's section, where proceeds stay with the house.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties
• Weddings / ceremonies

Licensed for civil ceremonies in the house and garden, specialising in micro weddings, with exclusive mid-week use between May and September. Naming ceremonies and proposals are also offered.

Plan your visit