The History of Dorton House

The present Grade 1 listed Jacobian Mansion was begun on the site of an earlier house by Sir John Dormer in 1596 and finished in 1626.  The architect is unknown.  The bricks used to build the house were fired at the bottom of Brill Hill from local clay.  The plan is Gothic, a long, narrow house only one room wide in many parts, with few corridors and those added later; a house of Tudor chimneys and mullions, but with a portico and many lovely ceilings.  The Jacobean screen in the Saloon should not be missed.

In 1783 the house was sold to Sir John Fletcher and remained in the family until 1928 when it was sold to Major Michael Beaumont.  In 1939 the Royal London School for the Blind bought the house and remained until 1955 when Mr James Harrison bought the house for Ashfold School.
More historical pictures, under Dorton, can be found on  website:http://www.buckscc.gov.uk/photo_database/index.htm