Wiscombe Park is a 19th-century Gothic country house in Southleigh,

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. Devo ...

, UK which stands in parkland some 3 miles west of Colyton. The house is a grade II* listed building. The parkland now hosts the 1000 yard (914 metre)

Wiscombe Park Hillclimb Wiscombe Park Hillclimb is a British hillclimb, situated in Colyton, Devon. The course, which is 1000 yards (914 metres) in length — the same as Shelsley Walsh — was opened in 1958. The course was extended in 1961 when the record w ...

course. Wiscombe belonged in medieval times to Otterton Priory and was granted in the reign of Henry III to Sir William Bonville, in whose time the Park was stocked with deer. It then passed to the Marquis of Dorset, later the

Duke of Suffolk Duke of Suffolk is a title that has been created three times in the peerage of England. The dukedom was first created for William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, William de la Pole, who had already been elevated to the ranks of earl and marquess ...

, after whose attainder it passed first to the Petre family and then to the Hows, from whom it was bought c.1815 by Charles Gordon of the Gordon family (The Earls of Aberdeen). The present house was built in 1826 by Joseph Power of Colyton for Gordon on the site of the old manor house. It is a two-storey double depth building of plastered stone rubble with slate roofs. A large single storey billiard room projects at right angles to rear of the left end. The property was purchased by Richard and Bunny Chichester in 1953 who decided that the park would be ideal for a hill climb course. The first hill climb meeting was staged on 24 August 1958.

References

{{coord, 50.731408, -3.154392, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Country houses in Devon Grade II* listed buildings in Devon