Langdon Court is a former

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

, in

Wembury Wembury is a village on the south coast of Devon, England, very close to Plymouth Sound. Wembury is located south of Plymouth. Wembury is also the name of the peninsula in which the village is situated. The village lies in the administrative di ...

South Devon South Devon is the southern part of Devon, England. Because Devon has its major population centres on its two coasts, the county is divided informally into North Devon and South Devon.For exampleNorth DevonanSouth Devonnews sites. In a narrower se ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It consists of a single courtyard mansion from 1693 and a walled

formal garden A formal garden is a garden with a clear structure, geometric shapes and in most cases a symmetrical layout. Its origin goes back to the gardens which are located in the desert areas of Western Asia and are protected by walls. The style of a forma ...

.Langdon Court
Devon Rural Archive. The house is a Grade II*

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 ...

, and the garden is Grade II 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 ...

. In 1960 it was bought and converted into the Langdon Court Hotel.

History

Domesday Book

''Langedone'' is recorded in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

of 1087 as having been a double manor amongst the 107 Devon holdings granted to

Juhel de Totnes Juhel de Totnes (died 1123/30) (''alias'' Juhel fitz Alfred, Juhel de Mayenne, Judel, Judhel, Judael, Judhael, Joel, Judhel de Totenais), Latinised to Judhellus filius Aluredi, "Juhel son of Alured") was a soldier and supporter of William the Con ...

(d. 1123/30), feudal baron of

Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-southwest of Torquay and abo ...

, by

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

for his support during the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Con ...

of England in 1066. Before 1066 one part had been held by ''Heche'' (or "Heca"), the other by ''Gode'' (or "Goda"). Juhel in turn granted both parts of Langdon to one of his

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

s named ''Waldin''

Pipard

During the reign of King Henry III (1216–1272) Langdon was held by the Pipard family and then by the great Courtenay family,

Earls of Devon Earl of Devon was created several times in the English peerage, and was possessed first (after the Norman Conquest of 1066) by the de Redvers (''alias'' de Reviers, Revieres, etc.) family, and later by the Courtenay family. It is not to be con ...

. This family held the estate for nearly 200 years, with the last Courtenay being Marquis of Exeter who in 1538 was beheaded for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

by King Henry VIII. This was probably due to his opposition to Henry's break with Rome and the creation of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

during the

Pilgrimage of Grace The Pilgrimage of Grace was a popular revolt beginning in Yorkshire in October 1536, before spreading to other parts of Northern England including Cumberland, Northumberland, and north Lancashire, under the leadership of Robert Aske. The "most ...

uprising.

Escheat to royal demesne

The house later passed to Henry VIII's widow Catherine Parr.

Calmady

In 1555Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) ''The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620'', Exeter, 1895, p.128, pedigree of Calmady Langdon Court was purchased from the crown by Vincent Calmady (d.1579), attorney-at-law. He was the third son of John Calmady of Calmady (a tenement within the manor of Penfound, in the parish of

Poundstock Poundstock ( kw, Tregorlann) is a civil parish and a hamlet on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The hamlet is situated four miles (6.5 km) south of Bude half-a-mile west of the A39 trunk road about one mile from the coa ...

, Cornwall) by his wife Frances Vincent, daughter of Francis Vincent. The family had been established at Calmady since at least 1337. This was the start of a great building and landscaping period, much of which exists at Langdon today. The Calmady family created an early English

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

garden which survives. Langdon Court remained in the family until 1875, when it was sold by the children of

Charles Calmady Charles Biggs Calmady (5 February 1791 – 8 January 1855) was an English landowner and cricketer with amateur status. Life He was the son of Admiral Charles Holmes Calmady (born Everitt) and his wife Pollexfen née Calmady (married 8 Septembe ...

. The early descent was as follows: *Vincent Calmady (d.1579), purchased Langdon. By his first wife Mary Nicks he left children who inherited Langdon. *Josias I Calmady (1565–1611), son and heir, who in 1584 married Katherine Courtenay, daughter and co-heiress of Edward Courtenay of

Ugbrooke Ugbrooke House is a stately home in the parish of Chudleigh, Devon, England, situated in a valley between Exeter and Newton Abbot. The home of the Clifford family, the house and grounds are available for guided tours in summer and as an event ...

*Sir Shilston I Calmady (1585–1645), son and heir. He was knighted in 1618 at Theobalds Grove and was killed during 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 ...

at the siege of

Ford Abbey Forde Abbey is a privately owned former Cistercian monastery in Dorset, England, with a postal address in Chard, Somerset. The house and gardens are run as a tourist attraction while the estate is farmed to provide additional revenue. Forde Abbey ...

, Devon, on 13 February 1645, and was buried in nearby Membury parish church, where survives his monument. * Josias II Calmady (1619–1683), third son and eventual heir, MP for Okehampton in 1680 * Charles Home Calmady (d.1807). Admiral of the Blue 1804, Captain Bramdean (Hants) Volunteer Cavalry 1798. Died aged 55 at Langdon Hall Noted families of descent include the Sykes family, who through Admiral Clark Gayton, are of relation to the Calmady's of Langdon.

Cory

Richard Cory purchased Langdon Court in 1876. He was the son of William Cory, who founded the coal shipping and bunkering firm in London known as William Cory & Son. During his tenure, extensive repairs and alterations were made to the house. On several occasions, Richard Cory played host to his friend the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

, later to become

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

, who was often accompanied by his friend, the society beauty and actress

Lillie Langtry Emilie Charlotte, Lady de Bathe (née Le Breton, formerly Langtry; 13 October 1853 – 12 February 1929), known as Lillie (or Lily) Langtry and nicknamed "The Jersey Lily", was a British socialite, stage actress and producer. Born on the isla ...

.Our History
Langdon Court Hotel, retrieved 14 June 2020.

Later owners

On Richard Cory's death in 1904 the estate was broken up and Mrs. Kenyon-Slaney bought the house and of land. She lived in the house until the beginning of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. After the war Langdon Court was purchased by the

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

of Plymouth and used as a children's convalescent home. In 1960 the council sold the building and work was carried out to convert the building into the Langdon Court Hotel.The hotel was purchased by John and Shelia Barnes and Alan and Ann Cox .In 2018 the hotel was bought by the Carlauren Group. Carlauren Group's Heritage Hotels division went into administration in December 2019, and Langdon Court Hotel was closed in June 2020 after losses caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. In September 2021 it was reported to have been bought by Donna Ida Thornton and Robert Walton.{{Cite web, url=https://www.business-live.co.uk/commercial-property/plymouths-grade-ii-langdon-court-21523772, title=Plymouth's Langdon Court hotel bought by fashion and hospitality power couple, date=9 September 2021

References

External links

Devon Rural Archive
Houses in Devon Manor houses in England Grade II* listed buildings in Devon Grade II listed parks and gardens in Devon Grade II* listed houses