Langton House

Langton House was at one time an exceedingly fine country house which could be found a couple of miles to the south of Blandford at Langton Long. Surrounded by trees, it was the home of the Farquharson family and was located on a bend in the River Stour.

It had been built for James John Farquharson (1784-1871) who was renowned for his obsession with fox hunting and for his extravagances. As an example, to celebrate his coming of age, he held a great celebration which lasted four days and seated 300 guests. He became a Master of Hounds at Blandford and also the Sherriff of Dorset. Langton House had been built for Farquharson in the 1820s and in the 1840s had a staff of 30 servants.

Much later, Langton House became, during World War II, the headquarters 0f the 1^st United States Infantry Division. Known as the ‘Big Red One’, they had already fought in Sicily and North Africa. Much of the detailed work for the US Forces assault on Normandy was carried out here. It is believed both Eisenhower and Montgomery visited Langton House during this period. After World War II, it was used as a hostel to accommodate refugees from Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and the Ukraine.

Then, Langton House became the house that nobody wanted so it was demolished in 1949. However, it took 90 charges, which had to be loaded twice, before it became rubble. Langdon House stables survived and were later converted into accommodation.

(Illustration: Langton House, Langton Long.)