The house, formerly called
Standlynch Park, was built on the ancient
manor of Standlynch, The Beauchamp family held the manor during the
Tudor period, after which it was bought by the Greene family, who owned it until the 17th century, when it was sold to the Buckland family.
Construction of the house Standlynch Manor was bought by
Sir Peter Vandeput in 1726. Sir Peter died in 1748, bequeathing the estate to his son George, who in 1752 sold it to Sir William Young.
Henry Dawkins bought it from Young for £22,000 in 1765. Dawkins died in 1814, and the executors of the estate sought buyers. Nelson's closest male relative was his elder brother,
the Rev. William Nelson, who was created
Earl Nelson in 1806 along with other titles of Horatio's and who lobbied for an estate in honour of his brother.
Parliament's Lords of the Treasury resolved accordingly. Standlynch Park was chosen in 1814 and by an
act of Parliament, the '''''' (
55 Geo. 3. c. 96), bought for £90,000 and was renamed Trafalgar Park. The 1st Earl also acquired nearby
Redlynch House (2.8 km to south-east) with its 25-acre park, which he provided as a home to his son-in-law
Samuel Hood, 2nd Baron Bridport. After William Nelson's death, his nephew
Thomas Bolton succeeded as the 2nd
Earl Nelson and changed his surname to Nelson and inherited the property. When he died less than a year later, his 12-year-old son
Horatio inherited the estate in 1836.
The 3rd Earl Nelson went to great lengths to ensure that the estate was well maintained; he commissioned a new garden and renovation of Standlynch Church. In 1930,
the 4th Earl Nelson purchased the panelling of the Captain's Cabin of
HMS Ganges, built in 1821, which was being broken up, installing the panelling in the principal top floor room at Trafalgar Park. During the
Second World War, the North and South Wings were occupied by tenants with Lord Nelson and his younger brother Edward Agar Nelson living in the main house.
Since 1948 In 1948, the
5th Earl Nelson sold the house and its remaining 3,415 acres for an estimated £58,000 to
John Osborne, 11th Duke of Leeds, whose brother-in-law
Oliver Lyttelton, 1st Viscount Chandos, lived there while he was an
MP. The Duke's son-in-law, Viscount Chandos, was installed as sitting tenant in the house, which he eventually bought with only 10 acres of land when the rest of the estate was sold to the neighbouring
Longford Castle estate in 1953. Lyttleton lived there until 1971, when banker Jeremy Pinckney bought the house for an estimated £75,000.
Michael Wade of Besso Limited bought the house in 1995, by which time it needed extensive restoration. are held here throughout the year, as are charity fundraisers. Over the years the Park has been host to associations such as the
National Trust,
The Civic Trust and the Salisbury Hospice. As of 2021, it is listed for sale as "fully restored" at £11 million. ==Bibliography==