Orleigh Court
Orleigh Court | |
---|---|
Location | Buckland Brewer, Devon, England |
Coordinates | 50°58′42″N 4°14′18″W / 50.9783°N 4.2382°W |
Built | Early/mid 14th century, but much remodelled |
Architect | Various, latest major changes by J. H. Hakewill c.1870 |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
Designated | 22 January 1952[1] |
Reference no. | 91389 |
Orleigh Court is a
The building was substantially altered in the early 18th century and remodelled after 1869. It was redeveloped for multiple occupancy in the 1980s and is now divided into about twelve apartments. It was the birthplace of the famous explorer and discoverer of the source of the
History
Early
The earliest parts of the building to survive were built by a member of the Denys family. The hall, which is 30 ft x 20 ft and has 5-foot-thick walls, has been dated by the form of decoration around the doorways to the early to mid-14th century.[2] In 1416, a licence for a chapel at the house was granted by Bishop Stafford, and it has been speculated that the room over the porch was used for this.[3]
During the late 15th century the hall was remodelled and it is clear that some of the work was based on that already done at nearby Weare Giffard Hall; identical carving on the porches of both buildings shows that the same mason was employed for at least part of the work. The main improvement, though, was the construction of a fine four-bay hammerbeam roof to the main hall, again clearly influenced by, though somewhat less ornate than the one at Weare Giffard.[2] The hammer-beams are supported on carved stone corbels representing figures, one of which holds a shield displaying the arms of the Denys family (three battleaxes). Sitting on the ends of the hammer-beams were a series of ten carved sitting heraldic beasts, each around two feet tall.[2]
A few alterations were made during the late 16th century, such as the addition of a staircase to the left of the porch,
Davie family
...the chief Mansion of Mr Davie, who having a predilection for Watermouth has intentions either of letting or disposing of this place.
—Rev. John Swete who passed by near Orleigh in 1797 and wrote of it in his journal.[5]
John I Davie died in 1710 and is commemorated by a large mural monument in the Orleigh Chapel of St Mary's Church, Buckland Brewer.[6] his son and heir, Joseph Davie (died 1723), embarked on a series of improvements to the interior. These included, in the hall, the installation of an ornamental fireplace,[2] and the addition of fire buckets decorated with the Davie arms and the date 1721 — they remained in place until the early 20th century.[3][4] Other additions made at this time included a new inner hall accessed from newly created doors by the side of the fireplace, and rainwater heads on the east front of the building, which bear the Davie arms as well as those of Pryce, which refer to Joseph Davie's wife, Juliana Pryce, who died aged 28 in 1720. Joseph himself died in 1723, but the building stayed in the Davie family until 1807, when it was in the ownership of Joseph Davie Bassett, who built Watermouth Castle and moved there. In that year Orleigh Court was either sold, or according to local tradition, lost in a game of cards, to Major Edward Lee.[3]
Lee, Speke and Rogers
After Edward Lee's death in 1819, the house passed to his nephew, the politician
William Henry Rogers was an antiquarian and he included a history of Orleigh Court in a booklet about Buckland Brewer, published in 1938. However, by 1939 he had sold the house, which was then converted into multiple occupation until after World War II when it was left empty and decaying. In 1952 it was made a listed building,[1][9] but remained empty until 1982, when work began to convert it into apartments.[4] In 1986 the owner attempted to sell by auction at Sotheby's the ten 15th-century wooden animal carvings that had decorated the hammer-beams, but their provenance was investigated and they were deemed to be fixtures of a listed building, so they were returned and the owner was prosecuted.[9][10] As a result of this incident the listing status of the building was increased to Grade I.[10] As of 2011, the building is divided into a number of apartments and is surrounded by eight acres of communal grounds.[11]
Notes
- ^ Mural monument to Anthony Dennis (d.1641), his second wife, and his eleven children in Buckland Brewer church.
- ^ Col. Bayly from 1845 to 1856, and Capt. Audley Mervyn-Archdale from 1856 to 1869.[citation needed]
References
- ^ a b c "Orleigh Court - Buckland Brewer - Devon - England". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
- ^ a b c d Emery (2006), pp. 611–12
- ^ a b c d e Rogers (1926), pp. 185–92.
- ^ a b c d Cherry & Pevsner (1989), pp. 613–4.
- ^ Gray, Todd & Rowe, Margery (Eds.) (1999), Travels in Georgian Devon: The Illustrated Journals of the Reverend John Swete, 1789-1800, vol.3, Tiverton, p.98
- ^ Rogers (1938), pp.53–4.)
- ^ "LEE, John Lee (1802-1874), of Orleigh Court, nr. Bideford, Devon". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
- ^ "Obituary Notices – William Henry Rogers". Report & Transactions of the Devonshire Association. 76: 24. 1944.
- ^ a b Devon Buildings Group Newsletter No. 2. October 1986
- ^ a b Devon Buildings Group Newsletter No. 4. October 1987
- ^ "1 Orleigh Court". Savills, Exeter. 2011. Archived from the original on 8 June 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
Sources
- Cherry, Bridget & ISBN 0-14-071050-7.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - Emery, Anthony (2006) Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales, 1300–1500: Southern England
- Rogers, W. H. (1926). "Orleigh: An Ancient House". Report & Transactions of the Devonshire Association. 58.
- Rogers, W. H. (1938) Buckland Brewer, reprinted 2000, Snetzler, M.F. (Ed.), Barcott, Buckland Brewer