Fowelscombe House
| Fowelscombe House | |
| Devon | |
|---|---|
.jpg) The ruins of Fowelscombe House | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SX695551 |
| Location: | 50°22’55"N, 3°50’11"W |
| History | |
| Built 1537 | |
| Country house | |
| Information | |
| Condition: | Ruins |
| Owned by: | Barker Family |
| Website: | www.fowlescombe.co.uk |
Fowelscombe House lies in ruins within the Fowlescombe (anciently 'Vowelscombe'[1]) estate in the parish of Ugborough in Devon.
The estate is an historic manor. Its large, ancient manor house, Fowelscombe House, survives only as an ivy-covered "romantic ruin"[2] overgrown by trees and nettles,[3] a mile south-east of the village of Ugborough. The ruins are nevertheless a Grade II listed structure.[4]
The house is believed to be one of three possible houses on which Conan Doyle based his "Baskerville Hall" in his novel The Hound of the Baskervilles,[5] (1901–02) the others being Hayford Hall (also owned by John King of Fowelscombe) and Brook Manor.
History
In the time of William Pole the Stuart antiquary, the manor of Fowelscombe comprised the estates of Bolterscombe, Smythescombe and Black Hall, situated in the parishes of Ugborough and North Huish.[6] The earliest member of the Fowell (alias Foghill, Foel, etc.) family identified by Pole (who did not record his first name) was an attorney during the reign of King Henry IV (1399–1413). His eventual successor Sir Thomas Fowell (born 1453), a member of the King's court, is recorded as being born at Fowelscombe, implying that there was a house on this site before that date.
Thomas Fowell in 1537 rebuilt the manor house at Fowelscombe, much of which survives today as a ruin. It stayed in the Fowell family until inherted by Margaret Fowell, who in 1679 married Arthur I Champernowne of Dartington.[7] The estate was divided in 1711 between Margaret and her elder sister Elizabeth as co-heiresses. Margert and her husband received Fowelscombe, which the Champernowne family held it until 1758.[8]
In 1758 Mr Herbert of Plymouth purchased the estate of Fowelscombe from the Champernowne family. The house was enlarged in the 18th century.[2] His son George Herbert of Plymouth sold it to Thomas King.
The estate was purchased by Thomas King and by 1810 Fowelscombe was the property and residence of his brother, Richard King. The King family made valuable agricultural improvements at Fowelscombe and other estates in Ugborough and adjoining parishes for which "the county is greatly indebted".[9]
John King of Fowelscombe was Master of the South Devon Foxhouds for two years 1827-9, when they were known as "Mr King's Hounds", since he had re-established the pack. He is memorialised in the verse:[10]
When all have great merit 'twould be hard to begin,
If precedence belonged not of course to a King;
In royalty's person you seldom will find,
A good fellow and sportsman together combined;
One exception there is, for of sportsmen the best,
And a hearty good soul, is John King of the West.
It was said of John King:[11]
The late Mr. John King of Fowlescombe was an able sportsman. His hounds were rather lighter than those which meet with most consideration at the present time (1861), yet neatly proportioned and not deficient in power, and withal most true and efficient hunters. He maintained the principle that hounds should account for their fox with as little assistance as possible, and work out their own success. Naturally shrewd and observing, as dwellers and frequenters of the moor usually are, he was fully cognisant of the nature and habits of the wild animal he pursued, and when he did render assistance to his favourites it was invariably to the purpose, and followed by happy results.
In 1817 John King purchased the nearby estate of Hayford, near Buckfastleigh, then a modest farmhouse with 162 acres, and spent a large sum on transforming it into a gentleman's residence and hunting lodge, by the addition of three wings. According to Tozer (1916) John King died in 1841, whilst hunting with Mr. Trelawny's hounds on Dartmoor, but according to Podnieks & Chait he died in 1861. His nephew Thomas King kept a pack known as the South Devon Harriers, hunting the parishes of North Huish, Diptford and Marley.[12]
The King family were the last occupants of the manor house[13] and after their departure it fell into ruins sometime between 1860 and 1880, and is today an ivy-clad ruin.
The estate was sold in 1919,[14] and again in 1948. In 1973 the house was occupied by Francis John Burden, a farmer.[15]
The estate today
Richard Barker (1946–2015) purchased the estate in 1998 and began a major restoration,[13] assisted by their son, an architect.[16] It is now an organic farm of 462 acres known as Fowlescombe (altered spelling as appears in modern deeds) with some holiday cottages for rent.[17][18] The farm has pedigree Aberdeen Angus and Devon Ruby Red cattle and rare breeds of sheep, goats and chickens.[19]
Description of house
The main building took the form of a hall house surrounded by parkland and a water garden. The 17th century stable block was built around a courtyard, which may also have been the location of the kennels for the pack of hounds used for fox and deer hunting.[13][20]
Legend
A pack of hounds was kept at kennels at Fowelscombe for many years. It is said that a kennel-master used sometimes to keep the hounds hungry so that they would hunt well the following day, but that one night, when visiting his hounds which were making a noise, he failed to wear his usual jacket, and was eaten by the hounds, with only his boots being found the next morning.[20]
Bridge
The late 18th century bridge leading to the manor house is a Grade II listed building.[21]
Outside links
References
- ↑ Risdon, p.179
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 William George Hoskins|Hoskins, W.G.: 'A New Survey of England: Devon' (1954, 1959), p.509
- ↑ Nikolaus Pevsner: The Buildings of England: Devon, 1952; 1989 Penguin Books ISBN 978-0-300-09596-8page 451
- ↑ National Heritage List 1325432: Ruins of Fowlecombe House
- ↑ Weller, Philip, The Hound of the Baskervilles – Hunting the Dartmoor Legend, Devon Books, Halsgrove Publishing, c.2002, quoted in Dartmoor: In the footprints of a gigantic hound, The Telegraph, 9 March 2002
- ↑ Pole, p.315
- ↑ Vivian, p.370
- ↑ Risdon, p.385
- ↑ Risdon, 1810 Additions, p.385
- ↑ Tozer, pp.33–40
- ↑ Tozer, p.35
- ↑ Tozer, p.40
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Gray, Abigail (2009). "Fowlescombe Archaeological Notes". Devon Rural Archive. http://www.fowlescombe.co.uk/History/Fowlescombe%20Initial%20Report%20compressed.pdf. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
- ↑ "Fowlescombe History". Fowlescombe. http://www.fowlescombe.co.uk/friends/history/Top%20-%20history.shtml. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
- ↑ London Gazette, 22 May 1973, p.6450
- ↑ Abigail Gray, B.A., "Archaeological study and report on Fowlescombe", Devon Rural Archive Charity, 2009
- ↑ "Welcome to Fowlescombe". Fowlescombe. http://www.fowlescombe.co.uk/friends/index.shtml. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
- ↑ "Fowlescombe Organic Farm". Devon Farms. http://www.devonfarms.co.uk/self-catering-holiday-cottage/fowlescombe-organic-farm/310.html. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
- ↑ "Page 1 Fowlescombe Farm Wildlife Report". Visit South Devon. http://www.visitsouthdevon.co.uk/downloads/dmsimgs/fowlescombe%20farm_wildlife%20report.pdf. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Hounds of Fowescombe". Fowlescombe: History. http://www.fowlescombe.co.uk/friends/history/Music/Kennels.shtml. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
- ↑ National Heritage List 1307161: Bridge south-east of Ruins of Fowelscombe House
- Pole, Sir William: 'Collections Towards a Description of the County of Devon' (ref to 1791 edition)
- Risdon, Tristram: 'Survey of Devon'
- Tozer, Edward J.F.: 'The South Devon Hunt: a history of the hunt from its foundation, covering a period of over a hundred years, with incidental reference to neighboring packs' (1916) pp. 33–40
- Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.): 'The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620' (1895)
Books
- Lauder, Rosemary: 'Vanished Houses of South Devon' (North Devon Books, 1997) pp. 115–127, Fowelscombe (ISBN 0-9528645-9-2)