Moonfleet Manor Hotel
{{Short description|Hotel and manor house in Dorset, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox historic site
| name = Moonfleet Manor
| native_name =
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| image = Moonfleet Manor Hotel - geograph.org.uk - 45646.jpg
| caption =
| type =
| locmapin = Dorset#United Kingdom
| coordinates = {{coord|50.6238|-2.5422|type:landmark_region:GB|display=inline,title}}
| location = Fleet, Dorset, England
| area =
| built =
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| designation1 = Grade II listed building
| designation1_offname = Moonfleet Manor Hotel, Fleet
| designation1_date = 26 January 1956
| designation1_number = 1152114
| designation2 =
| designation2_offname =
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Moonfleet Manor Hotel is a hotel and former manor house in Fleet, Dorset, England. With 17th century origins, much of the house dates to the 18th and 19th centuries. It is a Grade II listed building, as is its former stable block and coach house.{{NHLE|num=1152114 |desc=MOONFLEET MANOR HOTEL, Fleet |date=26 January 1956 |access-date=14 October 2022}}{{NHLE|num=1118703 |desc=STABLE-BLOCK AND COACH-HOUSE 15 METRES WEST OF MOONFLEET MANOR HOTEL, Fleet |date=26 January 1956 |access-date=14 October 2022}}
The manor was featured in the 1898 novel Moonfleet by J. Meade Falkner.
History
Moonfleet Manor Hotel was originally known as Fleet House. The oldest parts of the house to survive, believed to be the south wing and parts of the east and west wings, have been dated to the early 17th century.{{cite web |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/rchme/dorset/vol1/pp109-110 |title=Fleet |website=british-history.ac.uk |access-date=14 October 2022}} The house was mentioned in Coker's Survey of Dorsetshire, written by Thomas Gerard in the 1620s, as the seat of Maximilian Mohun.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=utRAAAAAYAAJ |title=Coker's Survey of Dorsetshire |last=Gerard |first=Thomas |year=1732 |publisher=Dorset Publishing Company |isbn=0-902129-20-1 |page=32 |edition=second |via=Google Books |access-date=14 October 2022}} It is believed that Mohun had the house built.{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/b30456496_0001 |title=The History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset: Volume 1 |last=Hutchins |first=John |year=1774 |page=545 |via=Internet Archive |access-date=14 October 2022}}
The house was remodelled during the 18th century and again in 1880 before undergoing a restoration in 1896. At the time, the manor had grounds of approximately 136 acres.{{cite book |title=Kelly's Directory of Dorsetshire |publisher=Kelly's Directories Ltd. |year=1903 |page=87}} The house became occupied by the Gould family during the 18th century. It remained under their ownership until it was sold to the George family in 1896.{{cite news |title=News |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002164/18960130/051/0009 |newspaper=Clifton Society |date=30 January 1896 |access-date=14 October 2022 |via = British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription}}
After the war, the manor became the Moonfleet Hotel, which opened in August 1946.{{cite news |title=Hotels |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000513/19460730/092/0002 |newspaper=The Western Daily Press and Bristol Mirror |date=30 July 1946 |access-date=14 October 2022 |via = British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription}} The four-star hotel underwent a £1 million refurbishment after it was purchased by the current owners, Nigel Chapman and Nicholas Dickinson, in 1997.{{cite web |url=https://www.moonfleetmanorhotel.co.uk/moonfleet-manor |title=Moonfleet Manor: Our Hotel |website=moonfleetmanorhotel.co.uk |access-date=14 October 2022}}