Mapperton House and Gardens, in Dorset, wins the inaugural Historic Houses Diversification Award 2025

Mapperton House and Gardens has won the Diversification Award 2025, sponsored by Savills.

Mapperton, home to the Earl and Countess of Sandwich, Luke and Julie Montagu, attracts approximately 15,000 visitors annually but faces challenges due to its remote location. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, like many houses, they lost all their visitor income. To overcome this, Mapperton launched “Mapperton Live” on YouTube, a digital diversification initiative that has garnered more than 185,000 subscribers.  

Their channel generates significant advertising and subscription revenue, helping to fund repairs and restoration projects. Mapperton Live has also led to new ventures like Grand Historic Tours and the award-winning Alberta Research AI Project, which uses AI to bring family history to life through an archive of 10,000 letters. 

Mapperton’s victory is even more impressive considering the impressive shortlist for the award, including Cadhay in Devon, Muncaster Castle on the western edge of the Lake District, and Wordsworth Grasmere, which looks after Dove Cottage, former home of the writers William and Dorothy Wordsworth.  

The Earl of Sandwich, Luke Montagu said: “We are very pleased to have won the inaugural Historic Houses Diversification award. Following the launch of our YouTube channel Mapperton Live in 2020, we have been able to develop a range of related business opportunities, including Grand Historic Tours and our award-winning Alberta AI. We hope that other historic houses and estates across the UK are inspired to do something similar by thinking about digital diversification beyond their physical assets.”

Stephen Vickers, CEO of The Devonshire Group and Diversification Award judge, said: “So many historic houses are reliant on footfall to generate their revenues, and we only need to look back to 2020 to see the vulnerability in this business model. Mapperton have recognised their remote location and have developed a digital proposition that directly addresses the challenges that their remoteness brings. More importantly they are a leading light in how to develop income streams from digital content, and there’s a lot the wider historic houses sector can learn from that.” 

Watch the 2025 Diversification Award winner video below