To Tourist Net UK Home Page

South East Devon

Heritage Attractions

South East Devon

ATTRACTIONS

   

Ancient Monuments 

Attractions               

Castles                    

Cathedrals & Churches

Cinemas                   

Galleries              

Heritage Sites        

Historic Monuments

Museums                

Stately Homes, Gardens

Theatres                

Theme Parks         

Walks & Viewpoints

Zoos & Wildlife Parks

Home

/

Regions

/

South West

/

South East Devon

/

Attractions

/

Heritage

South East Devon Castles, Cathedrals, Monuments,
Stately Homes & Palaces

Since the stone age, man has been creating majestic structures that we still marvel at today.

Whether you are interested in ancient monuments, battlefield sites, re-enactments, Roman and Norman forts and castles, Stately Homes, Country Houses, Historic Cathedrals, Ruined Abbeys etc, this is the page that should give you the information you need.

Here we try to list properties in private ownership but open to the public (even if only occasionally) as well as those in the care of the National Trust or English/Scottish Heritage.


We know that not all the properties in South East Devon are listed. Please help us make this guide comprehensive by giving details of missing attractions here

Heritage

Castles, Historic Monuments, etc

Compton Castle

Marldon, Paignton, Devon, TQ3 1TA
Tel: 01803 875740    Fax: 01803 875740
E-mail: comptoncastle@nationaltrust.org.uk

Fortified manor house with reconstructed medieval Great Hall.


Built between the 14th and 16th centuries, the castle has been home to the Gilbert family for most of the last 600 years.


Sir Humphrey Gilbert (1539–1583) was coloniser of Newfoundland and half-brother to Sir Walter Raleigh.

 

Compton Castle Photo © Crispin Purdye
Compton Castle -
Photo: Crispin Purdye CCL


The Church House

Widecombe in the Moor, Newton Abbot, TQ13 7TA
Tel: 01364 621321    Fax: 01364 621321     
E-mail: churchhouse@nationaltrust.org.uk

Fine two-storey granite building dating from 1537. Originally a brewhouse, this former village school is now leased as a village hall. The adjacent Sexton’s Cottage is a NT shop and Dartmoor National Park information point.


Berry Pomeroy Castle

Berry Pomeroy, Totnes, Devon, TQ9 6LJ
Tel: 01803 866618
E-mail: customers@english-heritage.org.uk

This castle is reputed to be one of the most haunted in the British Isles. A White Lady appears in the vicinity of the dungeons and upon the castle ramparts. She has been identified with the ghost of Lady Margaret Pomeroy who died of starvation while imprisoned in the dungeons of St Margaret's Tower. Her sister is said to have incarcerated her because of a love rivalry. Her sighting is associated with a death portent. The castle is also haunted by a Blue Lady who is tries to send people over the edge of the castle walls and into unsafe areas by luring them towards her. Said to be the spirit of the daughter of an early Norman lord, who raped her and then strangled her to death. She gave birth to a child from this event, and in other stories she (or her father) kills the child and then haunts the castle in her anguish.


Totnes Castle

Castle St, Totnes, Devon, TQ9 5NU
Tel: 01803 864406
E-mail: customers@english-heritage.org.uk

Totnes has a fine example of a Norman Castle, with commanding views over the town. Totnes Castle was constructed at a time when feudal Lords ruled over a simple mediaeval society. The presence, power and status of this ruling class of Norman's, was clearly demonstrated to the local people in the form of the castles that they built. William the conqueror, granted Totnes, along with 107 other Devonshire manors to Judel the Breton (three variations of the name are mentioned in the research texts; Judel, Juhel and Judhael). Totnes castle was one of the first three stone castles to be in Devon, in a clear attempt to tighten William's hold over this potentially rebellious shire. Judel built his castle in the most commanding position possible, straddling the original medieval town walls with one of the largest examples of a Norman motte-and-bailey castle in the country. A dramatic round shell keep built on top of a huge mound of pounded earth and rock that still evokes a feeling of power today. The castle remains remarkably intact to this day, as it never received the kind of battering usually suffered by castles in the middle ages.



[back to top]
 

 

Cathedrals, Churches, etc

The Cathedral Church Of Saint Peter in Exeter

Visitors' Officer
Tel: 01392 285983    Fax: 01392 285986
E-mail: visitors@exeter-cathedral.org.uk
Web: www.exeter-cathedral.org.uk

Everything you need to know about Exeter Cathedral can be found here, includes opening times etc.


The Churches Conservation Trust

E-mail: central@tcct.org.uk
Web: www.visitchurches.org.uk

Organisation dedicated to the preservation of England's Churches. Here you will find a handy search facility to locate Churches in the area you plan to visit.



[back to top]
 

 

Stately Homes & Gardens, Country Houses, etc

Greenway

Greenway Road, Galmpton, nr Brixham, Devon TQ5 0ES
Tel: 01803 842382 (Infoline)    Fax: 01803 661903 (Restaurant)     Fax: 01803 661900 
E-mail: greenway@nationaltrust.org.uk

Glorious woodland garden on the banks of the Dart estuary.


Renowned for rare half-hardy plants underplanted by native wild flowers, Greenway has an atmosphere of wildness and timelessness, a true ‘secret’ garden of peace and tranquillity with wonderful views, set within an extensive estate and associated with many fascinating characters.

 


Greenway - Photo: Bob Shires CCL


Bradley Manor

Newton Abbot, Devon, TQ12 6BN
Tel: 01626 354513
E-mail: bradley@nationaltrust.org.uk

Small medieval manor house set in woodland and meadows. Given to the National Trust in 1938 by Mrs A. H. Woolner, the house, which has 16th- and 17th-century features, is still lived in and managed by her family.


High Cross House

Dartington Hall, Totnes, Devon, TQ9 6ED
Tel: 01803 864114    Fax: 01803 867057
E-mail: high.cross.house@dartingtonhall.org.uk

High Cross House was completed in 1932 as the home for the first headmaster of Dartington Hall School, William Burnlee Curry. The house was designed by the Swiss-American architect William Lescaze and is regarded as one of his most important and successful commissions. Built by Staverton Builders (then a department of The Dartington Hall Trust) it displays much of the architectural vocabulary typical of Lescaze - the two rectilinear blocks joined by a curved form and bold use of colour (both inside and out). A superb example of International Modernism, High Cross House was restored and reopened in 1995 as a home to The Dartington Hall Trust Collection and Archive. The Collection, which had originally been that of the Elmhirsts, includes Studio Ceramics and early Chinese and Korean ceramics (which were bought on the advice of Bernard Leach). Potters represented include Bernard and David Leach, Shoji Hamada, Lucie Rie and Hans Coper as well as Jane Fox-Strangways and Marianne de Trey. Also included are significant paintings by Ben Nicholson, Alfred Wallis, Winifred Nicholson and Christopher Wood. In the 1930s and early 1940s the Dartington Hall estate was home to the artists Elisabeth and Cecil Collins and Mark Tobey and they are strongly represented in the Collection.


Ugbrooke Park

Chudleigh, Newton Abbot, Devon, TQ13 0AD
Tel: 01626 852179    Fax: 01626 853322
E-mail: cliffordestate@btconnect.com

Beautiful scenery, quiet parkland, rolling hills and valleys in the heart of Devon. Ugbrooke House and Church built c1200, redesigned by Robert Adam. Home of the Cliffords of Chudleigh for 300 years. Landscaped park by Capability Brown, with lakes, majestic trees, views to Dartmoor. House contains fine furniture, paintings, embroideries, porcelain and military collection. Guided tours relate tales of Clifford Castles, Shakespeare's 'Black Clifford', The Secret Treaty, Lady Anne Clifford who defied Cromwell, tales of intrigue, espionage and bravery. Exclusive dinner parties, corporate events and presentation. Private party visits April - September.


Kirkham House

Kirkham St, Paignton, Devon, TQ3 3AX
Tel: 01803 522775
E-mail: customers@english-heritage.org.uk

This well-preserved, medieval stone residence, which has undergone considerable restoration and repair, gives a fascinating insight into life in a town house during the 15th century.


New Members required for this section!
To join or recommend an establishment to us, please
contact Tourist Net UK

[back to top]

Tourist Net UK Ltd, Hanover House,  87 Hassell Street, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, ST5 1AX    Tel: 01782 719900