The house from a 1912 postcard
House & Family History: Harlestone was reputedly the inspiration for Jane Austen's "Mansfield Park," according to W.A. Craik in "Jane Austen in Her Time" (London: Nelson, 1969). The patchwork room at Althorp contains a fine chimneypiece designed by Humphry Repton that was removed from Harlestone. The house, a secondary home of the earls Spencer, was demolished in 1939, though the Spencers have kept the estate.
Architect: John Adey Repton
Date: 1809-11John Preston (J.P.) Neale, published under the title of Views of the Seats of Noblemen and Gentlemen in England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, among other titles: Vol. III, 1820.
Title: Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600-1840, A - HARDBACK
Author: Colvin, Howard
Year Published: 2008
Reference: pg. 856
Publisher: New Haven: Yale University Press
ISBN: 9780300125085
Book Type: Hardback
Title: Althorp: The Story of an English House
Author: Spencer, Charles
Year Published: 1998
Reference: pg. 84
Publisher: London: Viking
ISBN: 0670883220
Book Type: Hardback
Title: England's Lost Houses From the Archives of Country Life
Author: Worsley, Giles
Year Published: 2002
Reference: pg. 189
Publisher: London: Aurum Press
ISBN: 1854108204
Book Type: Hardback
House Listed: Demolished
Park Listed: Grade II
Past Seat / Home of: Robert Andrew, early 19th century. John Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl Spencer, until 1845.
Current Ownership Type: Demolished
Primary Current Ownership Use: Demolished
House Open to Public: No
Historic Houses Member: No