Forde House, now also known as Old Forde House, is a Grade I

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

Jacobean 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 ...

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 So ...

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 ...

, England. It was built in and is noted for its fine 17th-century wood-carving and plasterwork. Once the manor house of the parish of

Wolborough Wolborough is a village and former civil parish in Devon, England. Today it forms a southern suburb of the large town of Newton Abbot Newton Abbot is a market town and civil parish on the River Teign in the Teignbridge District of Devon, ...

, it is now absorbed into a suburb of Newton Abbot. The south front is clearly visible from the busy Brunel Road which cuts across the house's front lawn.

History

Reynell

The present house was built by Sir Richard Reynell (d.1633),

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for

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in Cornwall (1593) and his wife Lucy Brandon and was probably completed in about 1610, according to the date on the rainwater heads.O'Hagan, p. 25. The house was built with an E-shaped floor plan, which may have been in honour of

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...

, who had recently died. The grounds were originally extensive, and included the whole of what is called Decoy (so named, because wildfowl were decoyed there to extend the house's larder), as well as a deer park. On 15 September 1625 King Charles I stayed at the house overnight on his way to

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to ...

, to inspect the fleet. He returned a few days later and stayed for a further two nights. 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 polici ...

, Forde House gave shelter to

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three ...

and Colonel Fairfax on 24 January 1646 before the second Siege of Exeter.

Courtenay

In 1648 the estate passed to the Courtenay family via the marriage of Margaret Waller (d.1694), only daughter and heiress of Sir William Waller by his wife Jane Reynell, the heiress of Forde, to Sir William Courtenay, 1st Baronet (1628-1702), 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 ...

.Vivian, p.247 Powderham Castle had been badly damaged during the

and Forde became the Courtenay's principal residence. Both the 1st baronet and his wife Margaret Waller were buried at Wolborough. William of Orange stayed at the house in 1688 on the way to his coronation in London, having landed in Brixham a few days earlier. The Courtenays soon moved back to a restored Powderham Castle, where in particular

William Courtenay, 1st Viscount Courtenay William Courtenay, 1st Viscount Courtenay (11 February 1709 – 16 May 1762), also '' de jure'' 7th Earl of Devon, was a British peer. He was the son of William Courtenay, 6th Earl of Devon and 2nd Baronet Courtenay, and Lady Anne Bertie. Life ...

(1711-1762), the great-grandson of Margaret Waller, effected a major remodelling. Forde House however remained a possession of the Courtenays until 1762 when the house was let to a succession of occupiers.

Tenants post 1762

=Wise

FordeHouse WolboroughDevon ByHenshall1835

In 1820

History of Parliament The History of Parliament is a project to write a complete history of the United Kingdom Parliament and its predecessors, the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of England. The history will principally consist of a prosopography, ...

biograph

/ref> Forde House was let to

Ayshford Wise Ayshford is a hamlet and historic manor in the parish of Burlescombe Burlescombe (, ) is a village and civil parish in the Mid Devon district of Devon, England. The parish is surrounded, clockwise from the north, by the parishes of Holcomb ...

(1786-1847), JP, DL and MP for

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 ...

1812-1818, descended from the ancient Devon family of Wise of Sydenham House. His co-member for Totnes was Thomas Courtenay (d.1841), younger brother of

William Courtenay, 10th Earl of Devon William Courtenay, 10th Earl of Devon (19 June 1777 – 19 March 1859) was a 19th-century British aristocrat and politician, who sat in the Commons before entering the House of Lords after succeeding to the title of Earl of Devon in 1835. Life ...

(1777–1859), of Powderham. The Wise family were

lord of the manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...

of Little Totnes, and his father John Wise (1751-1807) of Wonwell was Recorder of Totnes from 1779 until his death and a partner in the "Totnes Bank", founded in about 1800 as Wise, Baker & Co. In 1817 the bank opened a new branch in Newton Abbot and in 1820 Ayshford Wise sold Wonwell and rented Forde House to be near his new premises. Later in the 1820s he sold his ancestral lands in Totnes to Edward Adolphus St Maur, 11th Duke of Somerset (1775–1855), of Stover House, who owned a great estate in and around Totnes the ''

caput Latin words and phrases {{Short pages monitor {{Coord, 50.5273, -3.5957, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Grade I listed buildings in Devon Newton Abbot