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Spitchwick is an historic estate situated within the parish of Widecombe-in-the-Moor, [2] Devon. The present 19th century mansion house known as Spitchwick Manor is situated four miles north-west of Ashburton, [3] the gardens of which are open to the paying public.
As listed in the Domesday Book of 1086, SPICEWITE was the 48th of the 72 manors held in demesne by King William the Conqueror in the County of Devon. [4]
Spitchwick later became a possession of the de Courcy family, feudal barons of Stogursey (anciently "Stoke Courcy") in Somerset. [5]
The manor is listed in the 13th century Book of Fees as held as one knight's fee by Michael de Spichewik, whose family as was usual had taken their surname from their seat. [6] His overlord was John Neville, then feudal baron of Stogursey. [7] At some time a grant was made to Troarn Abbey in Normandy of unum hospitem in Espicewic, apparently "one guest lodging/chamber/inn". [8]
The large manor of Widecombe-in-the-Moor on Dartmoor was acquired by John Dunning (1731–1783), from 1782 1st Baron Ashburton, and included a farm called "Park", to which shortly after his acquisition he had "added a room or two". [9] This was the origin of the mansion house, later known as "Spitchwick Park", [10] which he subsequently built.
Lord Ashburton was born at nearby Ashburton, the son of a local attorney of modest yeoman family, and had an eminent career as a lawyer and Member of Parliament, rising to the office of Solicitor-General in 1768. As Solicitor-General he acquired the then unprecedented sum of £10,000 per annum and as a money-lender he had obtained estates that brought him in large sums. [11]
But his main acquisition of lands had been to the detriment of the ancient Gould family of Devonshire, which traced its roots back to a certain "John Gold", a crusader present at the Siege of Damietta in (1218–19). [12] Edward Gould (1666-1736) [13] of Pridhamsleigh in the parish of Staverton, Devon, was the last male of the senior branch of the Gould family, and bequeathed all his lands in Staverton, Ashburton, Holne, Widdecombe-on-the-Moor and Chudleigh to his infant distant cousin William Drake Gould (1719-1766) [14] of Lew Trenchard, Devon, the representative of the next branch. The estates of William Drake Gould devolved on his only son Edward Gould (1740-1788), a spendthrift and a gambler. One evening after a game of cards in which he had lost "every guinea he had about him", [15] he rode off, put a black mask over his face as a highwayman, waylaid the winner of the game and shot him dead. That Edward Gould was a very distant relative of Dunning's, and Dunning defended him successfully at his ensuing murder trial in about 1768. (Dunning's great-aunt Margaret Dunning (d.1662), whose monumental brass survives in Staverton Church, married (as his first wife) Edward Gould (1637-1675) of Pridhamsleigh, Staverton, who by his second wife was the father of Edward Gould (1666-1736)). Dunning lent Edward Gould increasingly large sums secured on mortgages, and he eventually foreclosed, securing for himself possession of most of the Gould estates around Ashburton, Widdecombe, Holne, and Staverton. Edward Gould ended his days in lodgings in Shaldon. Dunning then purchased for £4,700 the 88 year residue of a lease of ninety-nine years of the manors of Spitchwick and Widdecombe. [16]
It had been Dunning's original intention to build a grand mansion elsewhere in Devon, on his estate of Sandridge in the parish of Stoke Gabriel, as he informed Rev John Swete to whom he was showing that new purchase, also in the company of Sir Robert Palk, 1st Baronet (1717-1798), who also expanded a large mansion and planted vast expanses of woodland at Haldon House, having also had a change of mind as to location, in his case from Tor Mohun to Haldon. He was at first "struck with the beauty and grandeur of the spot (i.e. of Sandridge) and...then express'd an intention of raising an house on it that should be more worthy than the present of the situation". This then existing house at Sandridge was the former seat of the Gilbert family formerly of Compton Castle in the parish of Marldon. Although Dunning changed his mind and built at Spitchwick instead, after his death in 1783 his widow in 1805 finally built the envisioned mansion at Sandridge, now surviving as Sandridge Park. As for Lord Ashburton's change of mind, Swete remarked: "He soon dropt all thoughts of proceding with the plans he had form'd at Sandridge; Park indeed was a situation more congenial to Lord Ashburton's mind; it was wild and romantic; he delighted its softening the harsh and rude features of the scene around him and in its meliorating the grounds, which lay almost in a state of nature, neglected and uncultur'd".
Lord Ashburton created at Spitchwick (on the site of a chapel dedicated to St. Laurence [17] ) a mansion in which "he much delighted to reside" [18] and where he "escap'd from the trammels of State and the bustle of the Great Town, and enjoy'd the otium cum dignitate . [19] This was his Tusculum and here" (as he often told Swete) "(with) his rural amusements, with his books, his friends, his dearest Leisure...he past his pleasantest hours". [20] The Devon historian and author Sabine Baring-Gould (1834-1924), a distant relative of his great-uncle by marriage Edward Gould (d.1675), and who himself inherited the Gould manor of Lew Trenchard, which otherwise would have been part of Dunning's estate, called Spitchwick an "ugly house" and in his largely unflattering biography suggested that Lord Ashburton had "like the cuckoo, kick(ed the Gould family) out of their nest and gather(ed) all their property into his own hands. [21]
He made great improvements by planting woodland and enlarged the estate by further land purchases. [22]
The high garden wall survives today enclosing a "massive vegetable garden" of 2.6 acres. [25] He built a "secret garden" within which survives "Lady Ashburton's Bath" [26] a plunge-pool built in 1763, fed by a stream. [27] Lord Ashburton also had a seat at Bagtor in the parish of Ilsington, on his Dartmoor estate about 6 miles north-east of Spitchwick. [28]
Lord Ashburton's house at Spitchwick has been superseded by the present surviving 19th century building, and of the earlier house only two gate lodges survive, Upper Lodge and Lower Lodge, [29] survive [30] at the end of their respective long entrance drives.
Lord Ashburton's estate at "Park", later called Spitchwick, should be distinguished from the estate of Parke in the parish of Bovey Tracey situated 1/2 mile west of Bovey Tracey and about 7 miles north-east of Spitchwick, today (at Parke House) the headquarters of the Dartmoor National Park Authority, [31] a large white rendered house built by William Hole in 1826. The two estates appear to have been confused by Pevsner. [32]
Spitchwick was purchased in 1867 by Thomas Blackall (d.1899), MD, an eminent surgeon, and Sheriff of Exeter in 1862, [33] also of Maryfield, Pennsylvania, Exeter, using a fortune inherited from his father, John Blackall, also a prominent doctor.
He made a number of improvements to the estate and it's over 2,200 acres of land, [34] and during the 1880s he instructed a Gerald Warren to construct a scenic drive where he could take his carriage to best show off the beauty of the Dart valley for himself and his guests, [35] [36] making this amongst the earliest examples of a scenic drive. [37]
He constructed a 2 mile long carriage drive over Dartmoor, known as Dr Blackall's Drive for use in picturesque drives with his guests.
In 1901 Spitchwick was purchased by Frederick Struben (1851-1931) a South African geologist and goldminer, born in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, of German descent. [38] [ circular reference ] With his brother Harry in 1884 he was the first to strike gold in Johannesburg and called their mine "Confidence Reef". Although the seam of gold was disappointingly small, nevertheless they both made fortunes. They owned parts of the adjoining farms Sterkfontein and Wilgespruit in what is now Roodepoort. [39] Fred Struben recalled: "In January 1884 I started prospecting on the Sterkfontein farm at the west end of the range. The second day I found a reef showing gold, which assayed on the surface 6 penny weights, and at 50 feet had improved so that the sum had reached nearly 2 ounces." [40] His widow sold Spitchwick in 1934 to the Simpson family. [41]
The Simpson family purchased Spitchwick in 1934. In 1937 Stephen Simpson of Spitchwick purchased further the Dartmoor estate of Holne.
John Dunning, 1st Baron Ashburton, of Spitchwick the parish of Widecombe-in-the-Moor, Devon, was an English lawyer and politician, born in Ashburton in Devon, who served as Solicitor-General from 1768. He was first noticed in English politics when he wrote a notice in 1762 defending the British East India Company merchants against their Dutch rivals. He was a member of parliament from 1768 onward. His career in the House of Commons is best known for his motion in 1780 that "the influence of the crown has increased, is increasing, and ought to be diminished". He was created Baron Ashburton in 1782.
Holne is a village and civil parish on the southeastern slopes of Dartmoor in Devon, England. A community has existed here since at least the 11th century, and today a population of around 250 people is served by a church and a public house, the Church House Inn.
Newton St Cyres is a village, civil parish former manor and former ecclesiastical parish in Mid Devon, in the English county of Devon, located between Crediton and Exeter. It had a population of 562 at the 2011 Census. The village is part of the Newbrooke electoral ward. The ward population at the above census was 1,520. Almost destroyed by fire in the early 1960s, its main point of interest is the Parish Church, built in the 15th century and dedicated to the martyrs St. Cyriac and his mother St. Julitta. Most of the church is in early Perpendicular style, built of local reddish 'trap', a volcanic stone from quarries at Posbury, with the exception of the nave pillars, which are of Beer stone. It contains the monument with standing effigy of John Northcote (1570-1632) of Hayne, lord of the manor of Newton St Cyres. Newton St Cyres railway station is on the Tarka Line from Exeter to Barnstaple and the Dartmoor Line from Exeter to Okehampton, but is located approximately 0.5 miles outside the village centre, and receives an infrequent service.
Rev. John Swete of Oxton House, Kenton in Devon, was a clergyman, landowner, artist, antiquary, historian and topographer and author of the Picturesque Sketches of Devon consisting of twenty illustrated journals of Devon scenery. He was a connoisseur of landscape gardening, and much of his Travel Journals consist of his commentary of the success or otherwise of the landscaping ventures of his gentry friends, neighbours and acquaintances in Devon. He himself undertook major building and landscaping works at Oxton.
John Baring of Mount Radford House, Exeter, Devon, was an English merchant banker and MP.
Lupton is an historic manor in the parish of Brixham, Devon. The surviving manor house known as Lupton House, is a Palladian Country house built by Charles II Hayne (1747–1821), Sheriff of Devon in 1772 and Colonel of the North Devon Militia. It received a Grade II* listing in 1949. The park and gardens are Grade II* listed in the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.
John Crocker Bulteel (1793–1843) of Fleet, Holbeton, in South Devon, was a Whig MP for South Devon 1832-4 and was Sheriff of Devon in 1841. He was Master of the Dartmoor Foxhounds and bred the finest pack of hounds in England.
Newnham in the parish of Plympton St Mary in Devon is a historic estate long held by the Devonshire gentry family of Strode. The ancient mansion house is situated 1 mile north-east of St Mary's Church, beside the Smallhanger Brook, a tributary of the Tory Brook, itself flowing into the River Plym. The house was abandoned by the Strode family in about 1700 when they built a new mansion on the site of Loughtor Manor House, about 1/3 mile to the north-east of Old Newnham.
Matford is an historic estate in the parish of Alphington, near Exeter, Devon. It should not be confused with Matford in the parish of Heavitree, almost immediately opposite on the other side of the River Exe.
Sharpham is an historic estate in the parish of Ashprington, Devon. The Georgian mansion house, known as Sharpham House, overlooks the River Dart and is a Grade I listed building. The house was commenced in about 1770 by the Royal Navy captain Philemon Pownoll to the designs of the architect Sir Robert Taylor (1714–1788). In the opinion of Nikolaus Pevsner it contains "one of the most spectacular and daring later 18th century staircase designs anywhere in England". The park and gardens are Grade II* listed in the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. Part of the descent of Sharpham is shown on the Palmes family heraldic pedigree roll.
Floyer Hayes was an historic manor in the parish of St Thomas on the southern side of the City of Exeter in Devon, England, from which city it is separated by the River Exe. It took its name from the ancient family of Floyer which held it until the early 17th century, when it was sold to the Gould family. In the 19th century the estate was divided up and the manor house demolished. The parish church of St Thomas, situated a short distance to the west of the house, was burned down in 1645 during the Civil War, and was rebuilt before 1657. Thus no monuments survive there of early lords of the manor, namely the Floyer family.
The Manor of Bicton is an historic manor in the parish of Bicton in east Devon, England.
Flete in the parish of Holbeton in Devon is an historic manor. In 1810 it was called "one of the finest estates in the county of Devon". The present manor house known as Flete House was built in the 19th century incorporating some elements of an earlier Tudor house on the site.
North Wyke is an historic manor in the parish of South Tawton, Devon. The surviving grade I listed manor house, the original Devonshire seat of the Wyke family from the early 13th century to 1714, retains its basic mediaeval form, but was "improved and reconstructed" by Rev. William Wykes-Finch (d.1920) in 1904, historian and descendant of the Wyke family, to the design of G.H. Fellowes Prynne. Currently, the manor is part of Rothamsted Research's North Wyke site.
Sandridge is an historic estate in the parish of Stoke Gabriel in Devon, situated on high ground at the head of the River Dart estuary. The estate was originally encompassed on three sides by the river, which meanders along its border, leaving it on the east side. The present grade II* listed Italianate style Regency mansion house known as Sandridge House was built in 1805 by Lady Ashburton, to the design of John Nash.
South Milton is a village and civil parish in Devon, England, situated on the south coast about 2 miles south-west of Kingsbridge. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Sutton, south of the village, and Upton, north of the village.
Kingston is an historic estate in the parish of Staverton in Devon, England. The surviving large mansion house, known as Kingston House is a grade II* listed building, rebuilt in 1743 by John Rowe, after a fire had destroyed the previous structure. The Kingston Aisle or Kingston Chapel survives in the parish church of Staverton, built by and for the use of, the successive owners of the Kingston estate.
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 situated 1/2 mile west of the centre of the town of Bovey Tracey and on the opposite side of the River Bovey, was rebuilt in 1826/8 by William Hole (1799-1859) and is today the headquarters of the Dartmoor National Park Authority.
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.
