Kelly House is a

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire 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 Townhou ...

and estate located in the village of

Kelly Kelly may refer to: Art and entertainment * ''Kelly'' (Kelly Price album), 2011 * ''Kelly'' (Andrea Faustini album) * ''Kelly'' (musical), by Mark Charlap, 1965 * "Kelly" (song), by Kelly Rowland, 2018 * ''Kelly'' (film), Canada, 1981 * ...

, in

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, England. The estate has been the property of the Kelly family since approximately 1100. Parts of the original

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

house and

great hall A great hall is the main room of a royal palace, castle or a large manor house or hall house in the Middle Ages. It continued to be built in the country houses of the 16th and early 17th centuries, although by then the family used the great cha ...

are still standing, though they are obscured from view, as this part of the house was significantly remodelled in the Tudor architectural style. In 1742 the west wing of the building was constructed in the Georgian architectural style and surrounded by parkland. The most recent north wing of Kelly House was built in 1877. During the twentieth century parts of the estate were sold off, and the house fell into disrepair. A description of life in the house and village during the first world war was written as a diary by Margaret Kelly, the lady of the house at the time. It includes details of the running of the house. After the war Mary Kelly founded the

Village Drama Society The Village Drama Society was founded in 1919 by Mary Kelly in the village of Kelly in Devon, England. Its purpose was to promote the production of plays in villages, develop the arts in country areas, encourage playwrighting and offer the opp ...

, which was based at Kelly House from 1919 until about 1925. Kelly House continues to be inhabited by members of the Kelly family while opening some rooms for

bed and breakfast A bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. In addition, a B&B sometimes has the hosts living in the house. ''Bed and breakfast'' is also used to ...

basis. The house was added to the

Heritage at Risk Register An annual ''Heritage at Risk Register'' is published by Historic England. The survey is used by national and local government, a wide range of individuals and heritage groups to establish the extent of risk and to help assess priorities for acti ...

due to concerns particularly about the leaking roof. Parts of the house have been restored, with students from Kelly College assisting with the works. These parts of the house are open to the public through guided tours, and since 2013 the house has offered three bedrooms as bed & breakfast accommodation. In April 2010, Kelly House was the subject of a

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

television programme presented by hotelier

Ruth Watson Ruth Watson is an English hotelier, restaurateur, broadcaster and food writer. Early life and career Born in London, Ruth Watson was educated in London and at Westonbirt School in Gloucestershire. After taking up a career in graphic design, sh ...

as part of her ''

Country House Rescue ''Country House Rescue'' is an observational documentary series which airs on British terrestrial television channel, Channel 4. The series has also aired on BBC Canada, ABC1 in Australia and Living in New Zealand and in South Africa. In each e ...

'' series.

Arms of Kelly of Kelly

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

of the head of the family of Kelly of Kelly is recorded in 16th century Visitations of Devon and is

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

ed ''argent, a chevron between three billets gules''.

John Lambrick Vivian Lieutenant-Colonel John Lambrick Vivian (1830–1896), Inspector of Militia and Her Majesty's Superintendent of Police and Police Magistrate for St Kitts, West Indies, was an English genealogist and historian. He edited editions of the Heraldic V ...

, ed., ''The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620'' (Exeter, 1895), p. 511

References

{{reflist

External links

Margaret Clare Kelly's diary during World War I

Kelly-house.co.uk
Country houses in Devon Historic house museums in Devon Grade I listed houses in Devon Borough of West Devon