Mamhead House,

Mamhead Mamhead is a rural village and civil parish near Dawlish and Kenton in Devon, South West England, in the Teignbridge local authority area. Current community venues includMamhead Village Halland The Church of England parish church, dedicated t ...

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 ...

, is a country house dating from 1827. Its origins are older but the present building was constructed for Robert William Newman, an

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 ...

merchant, in 1827–1833 by

Anthony Salvin Anthony Salvin (17 October 1799 – 17 December 1881) was an English architect. He gained a reputation as an expert on medieval buildings and applied this expertise to his new buildings and his restorations. He restored castles and country ho ...

. The house is

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 ...

as Dawlish College, its function at the time of listing. The parkland is listed at Grade II*.

History

The Mamhead estate 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 manusc ...

of 1086 as belonging to

Ralph de Pomeroy Ralph de Pomeroy (died pre-1100) (''alias'' de la Pomeroy, Pomeraie, Pomerei, etc.) was one of the 52 Devon Domesday Book tenants-in-chief of King William the Conqueror and was the first feudal baron of Berry Pomeroy in Devon. He held 58 landholdi ...

. It was owned by the Carew and Ball families, of which latter Thomas Ball (1671–1749) was a merchant who planted many exotic trees. His head gardener Thomas Lucombe became a prominent nurseryman at Exeter. The estate came into the possession of Joseph Gascoigne Nightingale, whose sole heir, Elizabeth Nightingale, married

Wilmot Vaughan, 1st Earl of Lisburne Wilmot Vaughan, 1st Earl of Lisburne (1728 – 6 January 1800), of Trawsgoed, Cardiganshire, known as Viscount Lisburne from 1766 to 1776, was a WelshThe Vaughans of Trawsgoed peer and politician. Lisburne was the son of Wilmot Vaughan, 3r ...

. Subsequently the estate was owned by the Earls of Lisburne until it was bought by Robert Newman in 1823. In the 1770s,

Capability Brown Lancelot Brown (born c. 1715–16, baptised 30 August 1716 – 6 February 1783), more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English gardener and landscape architect, who remains the most famous figure in the history of the English la ...

had undertaken landscaping of the grounds. Newman was the senior partner in Newman & Co., a trading company based in Exeter that had established a small shipping fleet to support its trade with

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

and

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. The original mansion house of the Balls had been demolished in the late 18th century and shortly after purchasing the estate, Newman commissioned

Charles Fowler Charles Fowler (17 May 1792 – 26 September 1867) was an English architect, born and baptised at Cullompton, Devon. He is especially noted for his design of market buildings, including Covent Garden Market in London. Life Education and ear ...

to design a new house. Fowler's

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

plans did not find favour and Fowler had got no further than constructing the footings before he was replaced by Anthony Salvin. At 26, Salvin had his first important commission in Mamhead, and it made his reputation. His designs for the house were in the

Tudor Revival Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture ...

style, then a relatively new architectural approach, and incorporated the initials of Newman and his new wife, together with the Newman family

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...

in the decorative skyline above the main entrance. The Newman family retained ownership of the estate until the 1950s when Sir Ralph Newman, Robert Newman's great-grandson, sold it to an evangelical society. It subsequently housed a school, Dawlish College, in the 1960s, and was the regional headquarters of the

Forestry Commission The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England. The Forestry Commission was previously also respon ...

in the 1990s. Distant view of Mamhead House - geograph

In the early 21st century the house, again privately owned, operated as an events and wedding venue, hosting the second marriage of

Peter Andre Peter Andre (born Peter James Andrea, 27 February 1973) is an English-Australian singer and television personality of Australian descent. Andre gained popularity as a singer, best known for his singles "Mysterious Girl" and " Flava". He is als ...

in 2015. The business subsequently went into liquidation, and its owner was disqualified from acting as a company director in 2019. In 2020 the house, with an estate of approximately 164 acres, was put up for sale at a guide price of £10,000,000.

Architecture and description

Pevsner Pevsner or Pevzner is a Jewish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Aihud Pevsner (1925–2018), American physicist * Antoine Pevsner (1886–1962), Russian sculptor, brother of Naum Gabo * David Pevsner, American actor, singer, da ...

describes Mamhead as establishing "Salvin as the chief architect of his time for large country houses in the

Tudor style Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture ...

". The house is large, of nine bays, with battlemented and

gabled A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

roofs. It follows a "conservative" plan, mainly dictated by Fowler's foundations which has been undertaken for his intended, classically planned building. All the main rooms face east, opening on to a long, axial, gallery. This gallery housed a collection of statues depicting English monarchs and worthies of the

Tudor era The Tudor period occurred between 1485 and 1603 in England and Wales and includes the Elizabethan period during the reign of Elizabeth I until 1603. The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in England that began with th ...

, an unusual feature for the decoration of an English country house. Pevsner suggests that they were influenced by the decorative schemes for the

Houses of Parliament The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north bank ...

being planned at the same time, of which Sir Robert would have been aware, having been elected M.P. for Exeter in 1818. Salvin's biographer,

Jill Allibone Jill Spencer Allibone (26 April 1932 – 3 February 1998) was an English architectural historian and the founder of the Mausolea and Monuments Trust. She wrote studies of Anthony Salvin and George Devey, and was a justice of the peace for over 2 ...

, suggests the Temple of British Worthies at

Stowe Stowe may refer to: Places United Kingdom *Stowe, Buckinghamshire, a civil parish and former village **Stowe House **Stowe School * Stowe, Cornwall, in Kilkhampton parish * Stowe, Herefordshire, in the List of places in Herefordshire * Stowe, Linc ...

as the statues' most obvious ancestor, and writes of their "scandalous removal" and sale in the 1980s. As he did throughout his career, Salvin sought inspiration for his designs in earlier examples. The triple

oriel window An oriel window is a form of bay window which protrudes from the main wall of a building but does not reach to the ground. Supported by corbels, bracket (architecture), brackets, or similar cantilevers, an oriel window is most commonly found pro ...

on the (east) garden front was copied from one on the entrance front of the genuinely Tudor

Hengrave Hall Hengrave Hall is a Grade I listed Tudor manor house in Hengrave near Bury St. Edmunds in Suffolk, England and was the seat of the Kitson and Gage families 1525–1887. Both families were Roman Catholic recusants. Architecture Work on the ho ...

in Suffolk.

Simon Jenkins Sir Simon David Jenkins (born 10 June 1943) is a British author, a newspaper columnist and editor. He was editor of the ''Evening Standard'' from 1976 to 1978 and of ''The Times'' from 1990 to 1992. Jenkins chaired the National Trust from 20 ...

notes that the staircase in the gallery is recorded as being based on the external stair designed by

James Wyatt James Wyatt (3 August 1746 – 4 September 1813) was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the neoclassical and neo-Gothic styles. He was elected to the Royal Academy in 1785 and was its president from 1805 to 1806. Early life W ...

for

Canterbury Quadrangle The Canterbury Quadrangle is one of the quadrangles of Christ Church, Oxford, England. It stands on the site of the former Canterbury College. A Brief History of Christ Church p.8 On the west side is Christ Church Library, whose north façade ...

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

. The interior of the house contains stained glass by

Thomas Willement Thomas Willement (18 July 1786 – 10 March 1871) was an English stained glass artist, called "the father of Victorian stained glass", active from 1811 to 1865. Biography Willement was born at St Marylebone, London. Like many early 19th centu ...

and was decorated to an exceptionally high standard of craftsmanship. The conservatory, which adjoins the house, is surmounted by a

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...

decorated with "an ingeniously apt quotation" from Geoffrey Chaucer's ''

The Romaunt of the Rose ''The Romaunt of the Rose'' (''The Romaunt'') is a partial translation into Middle English of the French allegorical poem, '' Le Roman de la Rose'' (''Le Roman''). Originally believed to be the work of Chaucer, ''the Romaunt'' inspired controver ...

'': "Flouris yelowe white and rede / Such plenty grewe there ner in mede". Mamhead is listed at Grade I. The mock castle to the north of the house, containing the stable block, the brewery and the laundry, is listed at Grade II*. Pevsner suggests that the castle is modelled on

Belsay Castle Belsay Castle is a 14th-century medieval castle situated at Belsay, Northumberland, England. It is a Scheduled Monument and a Grade I listed building. The main structure, a substantial three-storey rectangular pele tower with rounded turrets ...

in Northumberland, a building Salvin knew, having grown up in the North East. The 1960s edition of Pevsner also suggested that it was constructed on the site of a genuine medieval castle, but this is contested and the 2004 revised ''Devon'' does not repeat the claim. The park has its own Grade II* listing.

Lodges and ancillary structures

The park is entered via one of three lodges. The first two are certainly by Salvin, and the third is attributed to him. Each has its own Grade II listing; Dawlish Lodge, Forest Gate, and Basket Lodge. Pevsner describes Dawlish and Forest Gate lodges as "very pretty examples, Salvin trimmings added to plain 18th century boxes".

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked wit ...

considers Dawlish Lodge "the most inventive and least altered of the Mamhead House lodges". Other features within the estate which are listed include: a

sundial A sundial is a horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a flat ...

in the formal garden to the south of the house; a pool with a fountain in the same garden; the

orangery An orangery or orangerie was a room or a dedicated building on the grounds of fashionable residences of Northern Europe from the 17th to the 19th centuries where orange and other fruit trees were protected during the winter, as a very large ...

; the terrace walling which runs to the south and east of the house; the steps, with decorative

urns An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape or ...

, leading from that terrace; and the

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...

, erected by Thomas Balle in 1742 as a guide for shipping, which stands in woodland on a ridge above the house. The writer Christopher Hussey suggests that the orangery was modelled on the water house at Chatsworth and may originally have had a similar

cascade Cascade, Cascades or Cascading may refer to: Science and technology Science *Cascade waterfalls, or series of waterfalls * Cascade, the CRISPR-associated complex for antiviral defense (a protein complex) * Cascade (grape), a type of fruit * Bioc ...

Notes

References

Sources

* * * {{cite book , last = Jenkins , first = Simon , authorlink = Simon Jenkins , title = England's Thousand Best Houses , url = https://www.worldcat.org/title/englands-thousand-best-houses/oclc/813876627 , location = London , publisher =

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Grade I listed buildings in Devon Country houses in Devon Anthony Salvin buildings