Affeton Castle is a converted late-medieval

gatehouse A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town, religious house, castle, manor house, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the most ...

near East Worlington,

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. It was formerly part of the fortified

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 usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

of Affeton, built by the

Stucley family Stucley or Stukley may refer to: *George Stucley, 1st Baronet (1812–1900), a British Conservative Member of Parliament *Hugh Stucley (1496–1559), Sheriff of Devon in 1545 *Lewis Stukley (died 1620), Vice-admiral of Devonshire and foe of Sir Wal ...

in about 1434, and situated on the side of a valley of the

Little Dart River The Little Dart River is a tributary of the River Taw in Devon, England. It joins the Taw a mile west of Chulmleigh. The Little Dart rises near Rackenford. It flows west past Witheridge and through a deep wooded valley between Chawleigh an ...

. The manor house was destroyed in the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

of the 1640s, and by the early 19th century the gatehouse was in ruins. It was restored between 1868-9 by

Sir George Stucley, 1st Baronet Colonel Sir George Stucley Stucley, 1st Baronet Deputy lieutenant, DL (17 August 1812 – 13 March 1900), known as George Buck until 1858, was a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parlia ...

for use as a shooting box or hunting lodge; in 1956, it was converted to form the private home of Sir Dennis Stucley, 5th Baronet. The castle, approximately 60 feet (18 m) by 22 feet (6.7 m) in size, is protected as a Grade II*

listed building 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 ...

History

Affeton Castle formed part of a large fortified

built from grey rubble stone by the

in about 1434. Affeton manor was at one time also a parish with its own parish church, but was later merged into the parish of West Worlington. The manor house was almost entirely demolished in the

, the only part left standing was the gatehouse, which fell into ruin. A large farmhouse known as Affeton Barton was built over the foundations and cellars of the manor house. The ruinous gatehouse was converted in 1868–9 to a shooting box for the use of the

of Hartland Abbey and

Moreton House, Bideford Moreton House (formerly until 1821 Daddon House) is a Listed building, grade II listed country house and former large estate near Bideford, North Devon, England. The house is about one mile west of the old centre of Bideford town, its entrance ...

, and later became known as Affeton Castle. The Stucley family acquired the Affeton estate when Hugh Stucley,

Sheriff of Devon The High Sheriff of Devon is the Kings's representative for the County of Devon, a territory known as his/her bailiwick. Selected from three nominated people, they hold the office for one year. They have judicial, ceremonial and administrative f ...

in 1448, married the heiress Catherine de Affeton. It measures approximately by . It formed a major part of the defences of the house, and incorporates a tall arch, now partly filled in to form a smaller front door, through which persons and vehicles passed to gain access to the inner courtyard. The gatehouse was restored in 1868-9 by

(1812-1900) - originally called George Buck, until he became the first of the Stucley baronets - to create a shooting-box for grouse shooting on nearby Affeton Moor within the estate. The castle was inherited by Lt.-Col. Sir William Stucley (1836–1911), Sir Edward Stucley (1852–1927) and Sir Hugh Stucley, 4th Baronet (1873–1956), who lived at Moreton House. The 4th Baronet gave Affeton Castle to his son, Sir Dennis Stucley, 5th Baronet (1907–1983), in 1947. In 1956, Moreton Hall was sold off, and Affeton Castle became the main private residence of the Stucley baronets. Sir Dennis installed two bathrooms in the castle, where previously there were none.Stucley, 1976, no page given Sir Hugh Stucley, 6th Baronet (born 1945), lives in the castle in the 21st century, which is not open to the public, unlike the family's other larger residence at Hartland Abbey.Lauder, p.149; Stucley, 1976 He has added an extension housing a nursery wing and additional bedrooms.

References

Bibliography

*Emery, Anthony. (2006)
Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales, 1300–1500: Southern England.
' Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. . * Lauder, Rosemary. (2002) ''Devon Families''. Tiverton, UK: Halsgrove. . *Pettifer, Adrian. (2002)
English Castles: a Guide by Counties
'' Woodbridge, UK: Boydell Press. . *Stucley, Dennis. (1976) "A Devon Parish Lost, A new Home Discovered", in ''Transactions of the Devonshire Association'', no. 108, pp. 1–11. * Vivian, J. L. (ed) (1895) ''The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 and 1620.'' Exeter, UK: H.S. Eland. {{OCLC, 3674935. Castles in Devon Grade II* listed buildings in Devon Former manors in Devon

History

See also

References

Bibliography