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Parke is an historic estate in the parish of Bovey Tracey in Devon, England. The present mansion house known as Parke House, a grade II listed building [1] situated 1/2 mile west of the centre of the town of Bovey Tracey [2] and on the opposite side of the River Bovey, was rebuilt in 1826/8 by William Hole (1799-1859) and is today[ when? ] the headquarters of the Dartmoor National Park Authority.
Parke was the seat of Nicholas Eveleigh (died 1618), [3] a junior barrister, who served as Steward of the Stannary Court of Ashburton, Devon. [4] He died aged 56 when the roof of Chagford Stannary Courthouse collapsed, killing him and nine others. His "sumptuous" [5] monument with an effigy survives in Bovey Tracey Church.
Eveleigh's widow married the lawyer Elize Hele (1560–1635) [6] (also seated at Fardel [7] in the parish of Cornwood, Devon), who founded Plympton Grammar School [8] (alias Hele's School). An elaborate monument with an effigy to Elize Hele survives in Bovey Tracey Church, facing that of Eveleigh.
Sir John Stawell (1625-1669) of Parke, a counsellor-at-law. [9] In 1653 he purchased Torre Abbey, Torquay. [10] He married Sarah Stephens, a daughter of Nathaniel Stephens (1589–1660), of Eastington in Gloucestershire, twice a Member of Parliament for Gloucestershire. [11] He had at least three sons, the eldest of whom, William Stawell (c.1651-1702), MP, erected a mural monument to his father and younger brother in Bovey Tracey Church.
William Stawell (c. 1651 – 1702), son and heir, of Parke, was elected nine-times a Member of Parliament for Ashburton in Devon, [12] due to his patronage derived from his ownership of a moiety of the manor and borough of Ashburton. He died unmarried.
Pevsner suggests that Parke, Bovey Tracey, was a seat of the prominent lawyer and politician John Dunning, 1st Baron Ashburton (1731–1783), [2] but he appears to have confused it with a farmhouse called "Park" (7 miles south-west of Parke, Bovey Tracey) within his manor of Widecombe-in-the-Moor on Dartmoor, to which shortly after his acquisition of that manor he had "added a room or two". [13] This farmhouse he enlarged and transformed into a house called Spitchwick Park (to be distinguished also from Stickwick near Hennock, 2 miles north-east of Bovey Tracy, a seat of the Hole family).
It was the seat of George Hunt Clapp (1756-1824), a barrister and a bencher of the Middle Temple, and in 1798 a governor for life of the Magdalen Hospital in London. [14] His inscribed mural monument survives in Bovey Tracey Church. His origins are revealed by the will of his grandfather George Hunt (d.1768) of Northwick, signed 31 October 1766. He leaves all his freehold lands and tenements in the parishes of North Bovey and Throwleigh, immediately upon his own decease, to "my grandson George Luxton, son of Thomas Luxton and Elizabeth his wife, my daughter, of Winkleigh, Esq.," with remainders to " my granddaughter Elizabeth Luxton, sister of the said G. L.," and "my granddaughter Mary Luxton, younger sister of the said G. L." He leaves Tarr Mill in S. T., immediately after his decease, to "my grandson George Hunt Clapp, son of Robert Clapp and Mary his wife, my youngest daughter, of Ottery St. Mary, gent.," with remainders to " my grandson Francis Hunt Clapp," and others. [15]
William Hole (1799-1859) of Stickwick (in the parish of Bovey Tracey, 2 miles north-east of that town), purchased the nearby estate of Parke in 1825. [16] He was the only son and heir of Robert Hole (1742-1822) who built Stickwick in 1780-2, [17] (son of William Hole (1701-1779) of Crownley, in the parish of Bovey Tracey, by his wife Anne Blatchford, daughter of Theophilus Blatchford) by his wife Anne Pitts (d.1809), a daughter of Joseph Pitts of Kiln in the parish of Drewsteignton, Devon. [18] He was educated at Harrow and in 1822 married Susan Kitson (d.1895), eldest daughter of Rev. William Kitson, of Shiphay, Devon. [19] In 1826/28 [16] he demolished the ancient house at Parke and rebuilt it as the present surviving house. [20]
William Robert Hole (1831-1903), Justice of the Peace, Deputy Lieutenant, [19] only son, a Chartered Accountant, [21] whose portrait is in the collection of the National Trust. [22] He was educated at Winchester and Eton. In 1875 he married Laetitia Parlby, a daughter of Rev. John Hall Parlby, JP, of Manadon, near Plymouth. [19] He died in a horse-riding accident on 7 February 1903. In 1905 his widow presented a stained glass window to Bovey Tracey Church in his memory, depicting the Resurrection, forming the east window of the Lady Chapel. [23]
Major William Gerald Hole (1881-1974), son, who was educated at Winchester and Merton College, Oxford. [24] He served in the Devon Imperial Yeomanry (Royal 1st Devon Yeomanry [19] ) at Gallipoli and in Palestine during World War I. In 1905 he married Mildred Bingley, daughter of Rev. John Bingley of Woodford, Torquay, by whom he had an only daughter and sole heiress (Mildred) Geraldine Hole (1908-2008), [19] who in 1939 married Fleetwood Hugo Pellew (1910-2008) of Coppelia House, Moreton Hampstead, [25] Devon (2nd cousin of Pownoll Irving Edward Pellew, 9th Viscount Exmouth (1908–1970)), and left one daughter. William Gerald Hole presented a stained glass window to Bovey Tracey Church depicting the Road to Emmaus, forming the south window of the Lady Chapel. [23]
He bequeathed the Parke estate, comprising the house and 239 acres, to the National Trust. [26] [27] [28]
Several inscribed mural monuments to the Hole family of Parke, Stickwick and Crownley, survive in Bovey Tracey Church, also the east and south windows of the Lady Chapel, donated by the family.
The mansion house of Parke is today leased to Devon County Council [16] as the headquarters of the Dartmoor National Park Authority. [2]
Ashburton is a town on the south-southeastern edge of Dartmoor in Devon, England, adjacent to the A38. The town is 20 miles (32 km) northeast of Plymouth and 17 miles (27 km) southwest of Exeter.
Moretonhampstead is a market town, parish and ancient manor in Devon, situated on the north-eastern edge of Dartmoor, within the Dartmoor National Park. The parish now includes the hamlet of Doccombe, and it is surrounded clockwise from the north by the parishes of Drewsteignton, Dunsford, Bridford, Bovey Tracey, Lustleigh, North Bovey and Chagford.
Ilsington is a village and civil parish situated on the eastern edge of Dartmoor, Devon, England. It is one of the largest parishes in the county, and includes the villages of Ilsington, Haytor Vale, Liverton and South Knighton. The parish is surrounded, clockwise from the north, by the parishes of Bovey Tracey, Teigngrace, Newton Abbot, Ogwell, Bickington, Ashburton, Widecombe-in-the-Moor and Manaton. In 2001 the population of the parish was 2,444, greatly increased from the 886 residents recorded in 1901. The parish is represented in parliament by Mel Stride, as part of the Central Devon constituency.
Bovey Tracey is a small town and civil parish in Devon, England, on the edge of Dartmoor, its proximity to which gives rise to the slogan used on the town's boundary signs, "The Gateway to the Moor". It is often known locally as "Bovey". It is about 10 miles south-west of Exeter and lies on the A382 road, about halfway between Newton Abbot and Moretonhampstead. The village is at the centre of the electoral ward of Bovey. At the 2011 census the population of this ward was 7,721.
Lustleigh is a small village and civil parish in the Wray Valley, inside the Dartmoor National Park in Devon, England. It is between the towns of Bovey Tracey and Moretonhampstead. The village has often been named amongst the best or prettiest villages in the country in various publications, particularly due to the traditional thatched buildings in the village centre, and local activities such as the Lustleigh Show. This has also led to it being noted as the most expensive rural location to buy a house.
Hele's School, formerly Plympton Grammar School, is a mixed Academy school and Sixth Form in the Plympton district of Plymouth, England, 6 miles (9.7 km) east of Plymouth city centre. Until 31 March 2011, Hele’s was a community school funded by the Local Education Authority (LEA), which is Plymouth City Council. From 1 April 2011, Hele's became an Academy, which among other things gives the school financial and educational independence. The school has a voluntary Combined Cadet Force with Navy, Army and RAF sections. Cadets in the CCF are given the option to take part in the annual Ten Tors Challenge on Dartmoor.
Elize Hele (1560–1635) of Fardel in the parish of Cornwood, Devon and of Parke in the parish of Bovey Tracey, Devon, was an English lawyer and philanthropist. In 1632 he transferred his lands into a trust intended for "pious uses", from which charitable action and in order to distinguish him from his many prominent relations, he became known to posterity as "Pious Uses Hele", which his biographer Prince looked upon "as a more honourable appellation than the greatest empty title". The trustees included his wife, together with John Hele and a number of friends. The trust was used to create a number of schools in Devon including Plympton Grammar School.
The A382 is a road in South West England, connecting Newton Abbot to the A38, then to Bovey Tracey and on through Moretonhampstead to the A30.
North Bovey is a village and civil parish situated on the south-eastern side of Dartmoor National Park, Devon, England, about 11 miles WSW of the city of Exeter and 1.5 miles SSW of Moretonhampstead. The village lies above the eastern bank of the River Bovey from which it takes its name. In 2001 the population of the parish was 274, compared to 418 in 1901 and 519 in 1801.
Teigngrace is a civil parish centred on a hamlet that lies about two miles north of the town of Newton Abbot in Devon, England. According to the 2001 census, its population was 235, compared to 190 a century earlier. The western boundary of the parish mostly runs along the A382 road; its short northern boundary along the A38; and its eastern partly along the rivers Bovey and Teign. It comes to a point at its southern extremity, near Newton Abbot Racecourse. The parish is surrounded, clockwise from the north, by the parishes of Bovey Tracey, Kingsteignton, Newton Abbot and a small part of Ilsington.
Creedy is an historic estate in the parish of Sandford, near Crediton in Devon. It is named from its location on the west side of the River Creedy. It was the seat of the Davie family from about 1600 until the late 20th century. The mansion house on the estate has been called at various times New House, Creedy House, and as presently, Creedy Park. It was first built in about 1600, rebuilt in 1846, burnt down in 1915 and rebuilt 1916–21. It is surrounded by a large park, the boundary of which is enclosed by a stone and brick wall several miles long.
Tor Mohun is a historic manor and parish on the south coast of Devon, now superseded by the Victorian sea-side resort of Torquay and known as Tormohun, an area within that town. In 1876 the Local Board of Health obtained the sanction of Government to alter the name of the district from Tormoham (sic) to Torquay.
Spitchwick is an historic estate situated within the parish of Widecombe-in-the-Moor, Devon. The present 19th century mansion house known as Spitchwick Manor is situated four miles north-west of Ashburton, the gardens of which are open to the paying public.
Indio in the parish of Bovey Tracey in Devon, is an historic estate. The present large mansion house, known as Indio House is a grade II listed building rebuilt in 1850, situated about 1/2 mile south of Bovey Tracey Church, on the opposite side of the River Bovey. According to the Devon historian Pole (d.1635) it was originally a priory, however research from 1840 onwards has suggested it was more likely merely a grange farm, a possession of St John’s Hospital, Bridgwater, Somerset, from 1216.
Fardel is a historic manor in the parish of Cornwood, in the South Hams district of Devon. It was successively the seat of the Raleigh and Hele families. The surviving Grade I listed medieval manor house is situated about half-way between Cornwood and Ivybridge, just outside the Dartmoor National Park on its south-western border.
Nicholas Eveleigh (1562–1618) of Parke in the parish of Bovey Tracey in Devon, was an utter barrister, and served as Steward of the Stannary Court of Ashburton, Devon. He died aged 56 when the roof of Chagford Stannary Courthouse collapsed, killing him and nine others. His "sumptuous" monument survives in Bovey Tracey Church.
Knightstone is an historic manor in the parish of Ottery St Mary in Devon. The surviving mediaeval and Tudor grade I listed manor house is situated one mile south-east of St Mary's Church, Ottery St Mary. It was the seat of the Bittlesgate family, the heiress of which Joan Bittlesgate, daughter of Thomas Bittlesgate by his wife Joan Beauchamp, was the wife of Richard Woodville, grandfather of Elizabeth Woodville (c.1437-1492) Queen consort of England as the spouse of King Edward IV. In 1381 the Bittlesgate family obtained a licence from the Bishop of Exeter to build and operate a private chapel at their home, but no trace of the structure survives. The house has been much altered since the time of the Bittlesgate family. One Tudor-era fireplace survives in a bedroom.
Bagtor is a historic estate in the parish of Ilsington in Devon, England. It was the birthplace of John Ford the playwright and poet. The Elizabethan mansion of the Ford family survives today at Bagtor as the service wing of a later house appended in about 1700.
Southcott is a surname of an ancient and prominent family from the English counties of Devon and Cornwall.
William Stawell (c.1651-1702), of Parke, Bovey Tracey, Devon, was an English Member of Parliament.