Sir Ralph Bankes was a courtier of the restored Charles II

Charles II of England

Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...

 and a knight

Knight

A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....

ed member of the Privy Chamber

Privy chamber

A Privy chamber was the private apartment of a royal residence in England. The gentlemen of the Privy chamber were servants to the Crown who would wait and attend on the King and Queen at court during their various activities, functions and entertainments....

. He is most notable for being the builder of Kingston Lacy

Kingston Lacy

Kingston Lacy is a country house and estate near Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England, now owned by the National Trust. From the 17th to the late 20th centuries it was the family seat of the Bankes family, who had previously resided nearby at Corfe Castle until its destruction in the English Civil War...

, the restored seat of the Bankes

Bankes

The Bankeses were an important aristocratic family in Dorset, England for over 400 years. They owned large portions of land throughout Dorset and made significant contributions to the political history and development of the country.-Buildings:...

 family.

Bankes was born at Corfe Castle, Dorset

Dorset

Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...

, the second son and one of nine children of Sir John Bankes

John Bankes

Sir John Bankes was Attorney General and Chief Justice to King Charles I of England during the English Civil War. He was one of the most prominent members of the Bankes family of Dorset...

. Sir Ralph, like his father, trained in the law at Gray's Inn

Gray's Inn

The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...

 and became close friends with Peter Lely

Peter Lely

Sir Peter Lely was a painter of Dutch origin, whose career was nearly all spent in England, where he became the dominant portrait painter to the court.-Life:...

, the painter, and Roger Pratt, the gentleman architect. In 1661 he married Mary Brune, niece of Charles Brune of Athelhampton

Athelhampton

Athelhampton is a Grade I listed 15th-century manor house in England. It is a privately owned country house on 160 acres of parkland, located five miles east of Dorchester, Dorset...

, by whom he had two children, John and Mary.

Bankes sat in Richard Cromwell

Richard Cromwell

At the same time, the officers of the New Model Army became increasingly wary about the government's commitment to the military cause. The fact that Richard Cromwell lacked military credentials grated with men who had fought on the battlefields of the English Civil War to secure their nation's...

's parliament in 1659 for the family seat of Corfe Castle and remained an MP

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 until his death in 1677, actively safeguarding Dorset interests. With the restoration of Charles II in 1660, he went to Canterbury

Canterbury

Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....

 and was knighted. He was also made a gentleman of the Privy Chamber

Privy chamber

A Privy chamber was the private apartment of a royal residence in England. The gentlemen of the Privy chamber were servants to the Crown who would wait and attend on the King and Queen at court during their various activities, functions and entertainments....

 for services rendered to the crown.

Until his death, he was engaged with Roger Pratt in the design of Kingston Lacy, a new house to replace the destroyed Corfe Castle. It was based on Clarendon House

Clarendon House

Clarendon House was a town mansion which stood on Piccadilly in London, England from the 1660s to the 1680s. It was built for the powerful politician Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon and was the grandest private London residence of its era.-History:...

, built for the Lord Chancellor

Lord Chancellor

The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...

, which Bankes visited several times.

Sources

• Mitchell, Anthony, nd: Kingston Lacy Guide by the National Trust, ISBN 1-84359-042-5