Kelly House is a
Grade I listed
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 ...
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 ...
and estate located in the village of
Kelly
Kelly may refer to:
Art and entertainment
* Kelly (Kelly Price album)
* Kelly (Andrea Faustini album)
* ''Kelly'' (musical), a 1965 musical by Mark Charlap
* "Kelly" (song), a 2018 single by Kelly Rowland
* ''Kelly'' (film), a 1981 Canadi ...
, in
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
, England.
The estate has been the property of the Kelly family since approximately 1100. Parts of the original
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
house and
great hall
A great hall is the main room of a royal palace, castle or a large manor house or hall house in the Middle Ages, and continued to be built in the country houses of the 16th and early 17th centuries, although by then the family used the great ...
are still standing, though they are obscured from view, as this part of the house was significantly remodelled in the
Tudor architectural style. In 1742 the west wing of the building was constructed in the
Georgian architectural style
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I, George II, Georg ...
and surrounded by parkland. The most recent north wing of Kelly House was built in 1877. During the twentieth century parts of the estate were sold off, and the house fell into disrepair.
A description of life in the house and village during the first world war was written as a diary by Margaret Kelly, the lady of the house at the time. It includes details of the running of the house. After the war Mary Kelly founded the
Village Drama Society
The Village Drama Society was founded in 1919 by Mary Kelly in the village of Kelly in Devon, England. Its purpose was to promote the production of plays in villages, develop the arts in country areas, encourage playwrighting and offer the oppo ...
, which was based at Kelly House from 1919 until about 1925. Kelly House continues to be inhabited by members of the Kelly family while opening some rooms for
bed and breakfast
Bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. Bed and breakfasts are often private family homes and typically have between four and eleven rooms, wit ...
basis.
The house was added to the
Heritage at Risk Register
An annual ''Heritage at Risk Register'' is published by Historic England. The survey is used by national and local government, a wide range of individuals and heritage groups to establish the extent of risk and to help assess priorities for actio ...
due to concerns particularly about the leaking roof.
Parts of the house have been restored, with students from
Kelly College
Kelly College was a coeducational independent school in the English public school tradition situated in the outskirts of Tavistock, Devon, with around 350 students ranging from ages 3 to 18. There was an associated preparatory school for pri ...
assisting with the works. These parts of the house are open to the public through guided tours, and since 2013 the house has offered three bedrooms as bed & breakfast accommodation.
In April 2010, Kelly House was the subject of a
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
television programme presented by hotelier
Ruth Watson
Ruth (or its variants) may refer to:
Places
France
* Château de Ruthie, castle in the commune of Aussurucq in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département of France
Switzerland
* Ruth, a hamlet in Cologny
United States
* Ruth, Alabama
* Ruth, Ar ...
as part of her ''
Country House Rescue
''Country House Rescue'' is an observational documentary series which airs on British terrestrial television channel, Channel 4. The series has also aired on BBC Canada, ABC1 in Australia and Living in New Zealand and in South Africa.
In each ep ...
'' series.
Arms of Kelly of Kelly
The
coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
of the head of the family of Kelly of Kelly is recorded in 16th century
Visitations of Devon and is
blazon
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...
ed ''argent, a chevron between three billets gules''.
John Lambrick Vivian
Lieutenant-Colonel John Lambrick Vivian (1830–1896), Inspector of Militia and Her Majesty's Superintendent of Police and Police Magistrate for St Kitts, West Indies, was an English genealogist and historian. He edited editions of the Heraldic Vis ...
, ed., ''The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620'' (Exeter, 1895), p. 511
References
{{reflist
External links
Margaret Clare Kelly's diary during World War IKelly-house.co.uk
Country houses in Devon
Historic house museums in Devon
Grade I listed buildings in Devon
Borough of West Devon