Kingston Lacy is a large Grade I listed National Trust mansion and estate in Dorset and is home to the Trust’s most significant art collection. The mansion is surrounded by nearly 400 acres of Registered Park and Garden. 

DHV Architects led a multi-disciplinary feasibility study for development of the estate which informed a number of projects, including the recently completed £3.6m Access for All project to enhance visitor facilities at the mansion hub.

The Access for All project included re-design and re-landscaping of the visitor car park to include accessible and EV parking; a new pedestrian feeder path; soft landscaping improvements including tree planting and biodiversity enhancement, and new SUDs drainage throughout.

The dramatic new-build visitor reception building with zinc cladding in the estate’s signature Burgundy red now welcomes and guides visitors at the beginning of their journey into the estate. The surrounding landscape was re-modelled to remove steep ramps which formed a barrier to access to create a seamless welcoming transition from the car park to the mansion hub.

New family facilities were created in the Grade I listed Kitchen Court north range, including three unisex family toilets, a quiet sensory room, an accessible Changing Places adult changing facility and an accessible toilet.

The main toilets in the Grade II listed Engine House buildings were refurbished and upgraded to increase capacity. Original features were conserved and reinstated, such as the brick walls, Art Deco crackled tiles, and the space was opened-up to reveal original windows and walls. The design was inspired by the industrial heritage of the building which was the first electricity generator house in Dorset. 

The project helps open the property up to a diverse range of audiences and has been very positively received by visitors