Pynes House is a

Grade II* 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 ...

built by Hugh Stafford between around 1700 and 1725, situated in the parish of

Upton Pyne Upton Pyne is a parish and village in Devon, England. The parish lies just north west of Exeter, mainly between the River Exe and River Creedy. The village is located north of Cowley and west of Brampford Speke and Stoke Canon. It has a populati ...

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 ...

, 3 miles northwest of

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 ...

. It was the

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 ...

for the Manor of Upton Pyne, which included the village of

Description

The house has four storeys and covers . Its present owners run the house as a wedding and events venue, offering 12 bedrooms. It is set in gardens and grounds of 37 acres. The building is primarily made of bricks to a square plan, with

Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries are cut in beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building sto ...

dressings. The principal roof is slate, with four large brick chimney stacks.

History

The manor of Upton Pynes was held by the Pyne family for ten generations from the time of King

Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the No ...

, following which it passed through the Larder (which held it for another five generations), Copleston and Stafford families and finally the Northcote family in 1732. This 1732 transfer occurred when it passed to the Northcote family on the marriage of the heiress of Hugh Stafford to

Sir Henry Northcote, 5th Baronet Sir Henry Northcote, 5th Baronet (1710 – 28 May 1743), of Hayne in the parish of Newton St Cyres near Crediton in Devon, later of Pynes in the parish of Upton Pyne, Devon, was a Member of Parliament for Exeter from 1735 until his death in ...

. Following his marriage Northcote abandoned the family seat of Hayne, which sank to the status of a farmhouse, and moved to Pynes House. Renovations at the house in 1789 inspired Sebastian Emmett to write the poem ''Written on Viewing the Improvements at Pynes-House, the Seat of Sir Stafford Henry Northcote, Bart. Near Exeter. 1789'', which talks about the house and the design of the gardens, but also alludes to the character of the nation at the time. An 1827 account relates that "Pynes House contains some valuable pictures, particularly a fine

Van Dyke Van Dyke, VanDyke or Vandyke is an Americanized or anglicized form of the Dutch language, Dutch-language toponymic surname ''Van Dijk'', ''Van Dijke'', ''Van Dijck'', or ''Van Dyck (surname), Van Dyck''. Meaning living near the dike. Van Dyke, Van ...

, in the eating-room, and several excellent family portraits". The building was enlarged in 1851 by the statesman Sir Stafford Northcote, 8th Baronet, who was created 1st

Earl of Iddesleigh Earl of Iddesleigh ( ), in the County of Devon, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1885 for the Conservative politician Sir Stafford Northcote, 8th Baronet, of Pynes in the parish of Upton Pyne near Exeter in ...

by Queen Victoria in 1885. Walter Stafford Northcote, 2nd Earl of Iddesleigh claimed that Pynes House was the inspiration for Barton Park, which features in

Jane Austen Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...

's ''

Sense and Sensibility ''Sense and Sensibility'' is a novel by Jane Austen, published in 1811. It was published anonymously; ''By A Lady'' appears on the title page where the author's name might have been. It tells the story of the Dashwood sisters, Elinor (age 19) a ...

''.See, for instance, The Earl of Iddesleigh sold Pynes in 1998.

References

External links

*{{official website Buildings and structures completed in the 1770s Country houses in Devon Queen Anne architecture in the United Kingdom Grade II* listed houses Grade II* listed buildings in Devon 1770s establishments in England Inigo Jones buildings