HISTORY
1086
First mentioned in the Doomsday Book.
The name Cricket St. Thomas being derived from the Anglo-Saxon word "cruc," meaning a hill or ridge.
1800's
Sir Alexander hood under the watchful eye of Sir John Sloane considerably modifies and rebuilds the existing house.
1898
The manor was sold to the choclate manufactuor Francis James Fry who then conveyed it to Mrs. Jane Hall
1966
Messer H.G Taylor and his son W.J.D Taylor then purchased the Estate. They have remained the current owners up till present along with A.S.R Taylor.
1974
Twiggy and Chikki two Asian elephants at Cricket St Thomas Wildlife park.
1998
The manor house and gardens were sold to Warner Leisure and after a £20m development it reopened as a 220 bedroom hotel and leisure spa.
1300's
Cricket House was built.
In the church grounds a monument is erected to Visocunt Bridport.
1868
1965
Mr A.A Hall inheriting the estate from his mother then sold it to Maj. E. P. G. Miller Mundy.
1967
The wildlife park came into existence under the current owners. Species of birds, camels, deer, zebra and sealions were first introduced.
1979
Peter Spence's "To The Manor Born" first aired on BBC1. Later on becoming one of the most watched TV commedies of its generation, at its peak it had over 24m viewers.
1980
Retailing of milk and dairy products began. On the door step milk deliveries and by 1995 the estate dairy was bottling 1,000,000 pints a day.
2011
The building of 20 holiday lodges at London Lodge farm began reopening as Swandown Lodges a year later.
