Ugbrooke House is a

stately home 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 ...

in the parish of

Chudleigh Chudleigh () is an ancient wool town located within the Teignbridge District Council area of Devon, England between Newton Abbot and Exeter. The electoral ward with the same name had a population of 6,125 at the 2011 census. Geography Chudl ...

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, situated in a valley between

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 ...

and

Newton Abbot Newton Abbot is a market town and civil parish on the River Teign in the Teignbridge District of Devon, England. Its 2011 population of 24,029 was estimated to reach 26,655 in 2019. It grew rapidly in the Victorian era as the home of the Sou ...

. The home of the Clifford family, the house and grounds are available for guided tours in summer and as an event venue.

History

It dates back over 900 years, having featured 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. Before the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

the land belonged to the Church and the house was occupied by

Precentor A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is ''præcentor'', from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" (or alternatively, "first ...

s to the

Bishop of Exeter The Bishop of Exeter is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. Since 30 April 2014 the ordinary has been Robert Atwell.

. The property came into the possession the Courtenays of

Powderham Castle Powderham Castle is a fortified manor house situated within the parish and former manor of Powderham, within the former hundred of Exminster, Devon, about south of the city of Exeter and mile (0.4 km) north-east of the village of ...

. In 1604 it passed to Thomas Clifford, grandson of the widow of Piers Courtnay. It has been the seat of the Clifford family for over four hundred years, and the owners have held the title

Baron Clifford of Chudleigh Baron Clifford of Chudleigh, of Chudleigh in the County of Devon, is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1672 for Thomas Clifford. The title was created as "Clifford of Chudleigh" rather than simply "Clifford" to differentiate ...

since 1672. Ulmus laevis at Ugbrooke

The house, now 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 ...

, was remodelled by

Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him. With his o ...

, while the grounds were redesigned by

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 ...

in 1761.Stroud, D. (1950). ''Capability Brown''. New edition 1984, Faber & Faber, London. The grounds featured what were possibly the earliest plantings of the European White Elm, ''

Ulmus laevis ''Ulmus laevis'' Pall., variously known as the European white elm, fluttering elm, spreading elm, stately elm and, in the United States, the Russian elm, is a large deciduous tree native to Europe, from France northeast to southern Finland, east b ...

'', in the UK.Elwes, H. J. & Henry, A. (1913).
The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland
'. Vol. VII. 1848–1929. Republished 2004 Cambridge University Press, The gardens are now 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 ...

. On 14 June 1796

Thomas Weld Thomas Weld may refer to: * Thomas Welde (1594/5–1661), first minister of the First Church of Roxbury, Massachusetts * Thomas Weld (of Lulworth) (1750–1810), of Lulworth castle, Catholic philanthropist * Thomas Weld (cardinal) Thomas W ...

Lulworth Castle Lulworth Castle, in East Lulworth, Dorset, England, situated south of the village of Wool, is an early 17th-century hunting lodge erected in the style of a revival fortified castle, one of only five extant Elizabethan or Jacobean buildings of t ...

, a member of an old recusant family, married, at Ugbrooke, Lucy Bridget Clifford, granddaughter of the 3rd Baron Clifford of Chudleigh. On the death of his wife (1815) and the marriage of his only daughter to the 7th Baron Clifford of Chudleigh (1818), with no further family responsibilities he became a priest (1821), and kept a poor orphanage in London. Asked for as Bishop of Upper Canada, he was consecrated in 1826 at

St Edmund's College, Ware St Edmund's College is a coeducational independent day and boarding school in the British public school tradition, set in in Ware, Hertfordshire. Founded in 1568 as a seminary, then a boys' school, it is the oldest continuously operating and ...

, but his daughter's failing health delayed his departure for Canada, and he resigned his vicariate. In 1830, while visiting Rome, he was raised to the cardinalate. Ugbrooke House 1908

Lewis Henry Hugh Clifford, 9th Baron Clifford of Chudleigh (1851–1916), was an aide-de-camp to

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 an ...

and entertained royalty, both Edward VII and

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. Born duri ...

, at Ugbrooke Park. During 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 opposin ...

, the house was requisitioned as a school."Ugbrooke House", Historic Houses
/ref>

St. Cyprian's Chapel

Originally an Anglican Chapel, it was rededicated in 1673 when

Thomas Clifford, 1st Baron Clifford of Chudleigh Thomas Clifford, 1st Baron Clifford of Chudleigh (1 August 1630 – 17 October 1673) was an English statesman who sat in the House of Commons from 1660 to 1672 when he was created Baron Clifford. Background Clifford was born in Ugbrooke, the so ...

, became a Catholic. Subsequent Barons added a Lady Chapel, Baptistry, and an organ loft. The Dominican Father James Dominic Darbyshire came to Ugbrooke and remained there until his death in 1757. Catholics in the area came to St. Cyprian's for services. In 1813, there were about 100 in attendance, served by a French émigré priest Felix Vauquelin, who lived at Ugbrooke. Priests in residence at Ugbrooke were responsible for tutoring the Clifford children, and providing pastoral care to the surrounding communities. The Synod which set out the organisation of the new Plymouth diocese took place there in 1854. Eventually parishes were established in

Bovey Tracey Bovey Tracey () is a small town and civil parish in Devon, England, on the edge of Dartmoor, its proximity to which gives rise to the "slogan" used on the town's boundary signs, "The Gateway to the Moor". It is often known locally as "Bovey". It ...

and

. Ugbrooke retains close ties with

Buckfast Abbey Buckfast Abbey forms part of an active Benedictine monastery at Buckfast, near Buckfastleigh, Devon, England. Buckfast first became home to an abbey in 1018. The first Benedictine abbey was followed by a Savignac (later Cistercian) abbey cons ...

in Devon, founded in part through the generosity of the 9th Baron.

Present day

The house and gardens are open to the public for a limited number of days each summer for guided tours. Refreshments are available at the Orangery Tearoom, including a Devon cream tea. As part of Holy Spirit Parish in Bovey Tracey, Mass continues to this day, every Sunday morning at 8.45am."St. Cyprian's Chapel", Holy Spirit Catholic Church, Bovey Tracey
/ref> File:Ugbrooke House, Chudleigh - geograph.org.uk - 1984388.jpg, Ugbrooke House, Chudleigh File:Ugbrooke House and its park - geograph.org.uk - 1364109.jpg, Ugbrooke House and its park File:St Cyprian's Chapel, Ugbrooke House, Chudleigh - geograph.org.uk - 1985363.jpg, St Cyprian's Chapel, Ugbrooke House, Chudleigh File:The Orangery, Ugbrooke Park - geograph.org.uk - 1985232.jpg, The Orangery, Ugbrooke Park

References

External links

Ugbrooke House Official site
* {{coord, 50.59086, N, 3.59067, W, region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(SX875780), display=title Country houses in Devon Gardens in Devon Grade I listed buildings in Devon Grade II* listed parks and gardens in Devon Historic house museums in Devon Gardens by Capability Brown Grade I listed houses Chudleigh