In 1861 Wroxall Abbey Estate was sold to James Dugdale. The Dugdales came from Lancashire and had made their fortune, first as cotton manufacturers and then as bankers. They were Victorian philanthropists, building a village school and new cottages and farmhouses for the local labourers.
Instead of trying to rescue the old Manor, the Dugdales decided to build a new larger Mansion. The previous historic Manor site is adjacent to the ruins, with the old ice house and imposing brick gate columns still in situ today.
The building incorporated aspects of the original architecture and features of previous generations, but essentially was in the Victorian Gothic style, and was completed in 1868.
