Endsleigh Cottage (now "Endsleigh House") is a

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

near

Milton Abbot Milton Abbot is a village, parish, and former manor in Devon, north-west of Tavistock, Devon, and south-east of Launceston, Cornwall. History The manor of Middeltone was donated at some time before the Norman Conquest of 1066 (according to the ...

, about 6 miles NW of

Tavistock, Devon Tavistock ( ) is an ancient stannary and market town within West Devon, England. It is situated on the River Tavy from which its name derives. At the 2011 census the three electoral wards (North, South and South West) had a population of 13,028 ...

in England. It is a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. The gardens are Grade I listed in the

National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens The Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England provides a listing and classification system for historic parks and gardens similar to that used for listed buildings. The register is managed by Historic England ...

. The house was built in the early 19th century for the

Duke of Bedford Duke of Bedford (named after Bedford, England) is a title that has been created six times (for five distinct people) in the Peerage of England. The first and second creations came in 1414 and 1433 respectively, in favour of Henry IV's third so ...

. Today, it is a hotel.

History

The house was built between 1810 and 1816 by

John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford, (6 July 1766 – 20 October 1839), known as Lord John Russell until 1802, was a British Whig politician who notably served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in the Ministry of All the Talents. He was the fathe ...

, as a private family residence, to the designs of Sir

Jeffry Wyatville Sir Jeffry Wyatville (3 August 1766 – 18 February 1840) was an English architect and garden designer. Born Jeffry Wyatt into an established dynasty of architects, in 1824 he was allowed by King George IV to change his surname to Wyatville ...

, in the style of the picturesque movement, and is a grand form of the

cottage orné Cottage orné () dates back to a movement of "rustic" stylised cottages of the late 18th and early 19th centuries during the Romantic movement, when some sought to discover a more natural way of living as opposed to the formality of the preceding ...

. It has been a

Grade I Listed Building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

since 21 March 1967. It was situated within the manor of

, a former manor belonging to

Tavistock Abbey Tavistock Abbey, also known as the Abbey of Saint Mary and Saint Rumon, is a ruined Benedictine abbey in Tavistock, Devon. Nothing remains of the abbey except the refectory, two gateways and a porch. The abbey church, dedicated to Our Lady and S ...

, which had been granted with its lands by King Henry VIII to his ancestor John Russell, 1st Baron Russell (created in 1550 1st

Earl of Bedford Earl of Bedford is a title that has been created three times in the Peerage of England and is currently a subsidiary title of the Dukes of Bedford. The first creation came in 1138 in favour of Hugh de Beaumont. He appears to have been degraded fr ...

). It is situated on the east bank of the

River Tamar The Tamar (; kw, Dowr Tamar) is a river in south west England, that forms most of the border between Devon (to the east) and Cornwall (to the west). A part of the Tamar Valley is a World Heritage Site due to its historic mining activities. T ...

, over which it commands superb views to the south and west. Pevsner stated that "the situation of Endsleigh can hardly be matched". It was usefully positioned as a residence whilst the Duke, normally residing at

Woburn Abbey Woburn Abbey (), occupying the east of the village of Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, is a country house, the family seat of the Duke of Bedford. Although it is still a family home to the current duke, it is open on specified days to visitors, a ...

in Bedfordshire, was inspecting his extensive Bedford estates in Devon and Cornwall. Before the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, when in Devon the Earl of Bedford resided occasionally at Bedford House in

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

, built by the family on the site of the Blackfriars Monastery, which had been granted, along with many other lands, to the first Earl of Bedford after the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Endsleigh was also used by the family as a summer holiday home and salmon-fishing lodge. The London streets Endsleigh Street,

Endsleigh Gardens Endsleigh Gardens is a street in the Bloomsbury district of central London, in the London Borough of Camden. It runs south-west to north-east from Gordon Street to Woburn Place. The south-west end becomes Gower Place after the junction with Gordon ...

and Endsleigh Place, leading off Tavistock Square, all built by a former Duke on the extensive

Bedford Estate The Bedford Estate is an estate in central London owned by the Russell family, which holds the peerage title of Duke of Bedford. The estate was originally based in Covent Garden, then stretched to include Bloomsbury in 1669. Pond Cottage Endsleigh - geograph

Hussey described it as "the outstanding and probably most nearly perfect surviving instance of a romantic cottage orné, devised for an aristocratic owner under the influence of the taste for the picturesque". The site was chosen by the Duchess, as a plaque in the stables records. It consists of a main range with two swept-back wings on either side. The roofline displays several chimney stacks in the Elizabethan style and dormer windows. The east wing was principally a service range, whilst the west wing is in the form of a pavilion known as the "Children's Cottage" linked by a rustic colonnade to the central block.

Grounds

The landscaping was designed by

Humphry Repton Humphry Repton (21 April 1752 – 24 March 1818) was the last great English landscape designer of the eighteenth century, often regarded as the successor to Capability Brown; he also sowed the seeds of the more intricate and eclectic styles of ...

and the grounds originally comprised a plantation of 300 acres, including a thickly wooded slope going down to the river, and gardens of 20 acres. The buildings in the grounds include the

Shell Grotto A shell grotto is a type of folly, a grotto decorated with sea shells. The shell grotto was a popular feature of many British country houses in the 17th and 18th centuries. It suited the Baroque and Rococo styles (which used swirling motifs sim ...

, a polygonal summer-house and the Swiss Cottage, restored by the

Landmark Trust The Landmark Trust is a British building conservation charity, founded in 1965 by Sir John and Lady Smith, that rescues buildings of historic interest or architectural merit and then makes them available for holiday rental. The Trust's headqua ...

with a thatched roof. Also, the Dairy Dell, by Repton, Pond Cottages by a pool and the octagonal Dairy surrounded by a

loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...

, and the Holy Well, part of which is an ancient structure formerly situated at Leigh Barton, and used as the baptismal font of the hunting seat of the Abbots of Tavistock Abbey. The following structures as well as the main house are Grade I listed:

Rockery A rock garden, also known as a rockery and formerly as a rockwork, is a garden, or more often a part of a garden, with a landscaping framework of rocks, stones, and gravel, with planting appropriate to this setting. Usually these are small A ...

and

Grotto A grotto is a natural or artificial cave used by humans in both modern times and antiquity, and historically or prehistorically. Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or often flooded at high ti ...

, Stables, Salmon Larder and Ice House, Shell House and Grotto.

Hastings Russell, 12th Duke of Bedford Hastings William Sackville Russell, 12th Duke of Bedford (21 December 1888 – 9 October 1953) was a British peer. He was born at Cairnsmore House, Minnigaff, Kirkcudbrightshire, the son of Herbrand Russell, 11th Duke of Bedford, and his wife ...

died in 1953, aged 64, as a result of a gunshot wound in the grounds of Endsleigh. The coroner recorded his death as accidentally inflicted, but his elder son suggested it may have been deliberately self-inflicted.

Today

In 2004 Endsleigh was owned by a fishing syndicate. Since 2005 it has been a hotel, which retains of the grounds. Hotel Endsleigh is owned by

Olga Polizzi Olga Polizzi (born February 1946) is a British hotelier and interior designer. She is a former Westminster City Council councillor, representing Lancaster Gate ward for the Conservative Party. Family She is the mother of the broadcaster and ''T ...

and managed by her daughter,

Alex Polizzi Alessandra Maria Luigia Anna Polizzi di SorrentinoBurke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage 2003, vol. 1, p. 1472 (born 28 August 1971), better known as Alex Polizzi, is an English hotelier, businesswoman, and television personality. Since 2008 ...

, known as the host of Channel 5's ''

The Hotel Inspector ''The Hotel Inspector'' is an observational documentary television series which is broadcast on the British terrestrial television station, Channel 5, and by other networks around the world. In each episode, celebrated hotelier and businesswo ...

'' since 2008.

Sources

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References

External links