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Bradley is a medieval
Flowing past the house is the Bradley Leat which used to provide water for the manorial mills which were located where the cattle market in Newton Abbot now stands. Bradley was given to the National Trust in 1938 by Diana Woolner, daughter of the Egyptologist
Bradley information at the National Trust
{{coord, 50, 31, 34, N, 3, 37, 33, W, display=title, type:landmark_region:GB Country houses in Devon National Trust properties in Devon Grade I listed houses in Devon Historic house museums in Devon Newton Abbot
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 ...
in Newton Abbot
Newton Abbot is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Teign in the Teignbridge, Teignbridge District of Devon, England. Its population was 24,029 in 2011, and was estimated at 26,655 in 2019. It grew rapidly in ...
, Devon, England. It is set amongst woodland and meadows in the valley of the River Lemon
The River Lemon is a river in the county of Devon in southwest England. It is a tributary of the River Teign, starting on Dartmoor by Haytor, and ending in Newton Abbot. It rises on the south-east side of Dartmoor near Haytor, joins with the ...
about a half mile to the west of the main town. The house is now in the ownership of the National Trust
The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...
.
The house
Bradley is one of the smaller manor houses of the early fifteenth century, and has the advantage of having a contemporary chapel detached from the main house. The architect may have been influenced byDartington Hall
Dartington Hall in Dartington, near Totnes, Devon, England, is an historic house and country estate of dating from medieval times. The group of late 14th century buildings are Grade I listed; described in Pevsner's Buildings of England as ...
, some six miles to the south. Interesting features include the missing gatehouse, the interior of the chapel, the fenestration of the east front and the wall paintings.
The house is one of the most complete 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 ...
manor houses in Devon. Much of it is the creation of Richard and Joan Yarde who owned it from 1402. Richard Yarde was 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 1442. On the walls of an upstairs room is preserved a late medieval pattern of stencilled black fleur-de-lys
The ''fleur-de-lis'', also spelled ''fleur-de-lys'' (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a common heraldic charge in the (stylized) shape of a lily (in French, and mean and respectively). Most notably, the ''fleur-de-lis'' ...
. The great hall is emblazoned with the royal arms of Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...
, and there are a number of other rare features. There was a gatehouse until the mid nineteenth century when it was demolished. The woods surrounding the house have been designated as a SSSI
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...
, being a fine example of natural limestone woodland.
The chapel was consecrated in 1428 and is just . It is a simple building with a stone altar, a fine east window, a tiny gallery and the original wagon-shaped braced-collar roof. It was desecrated in the Protestant Reformation
The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...
and later used in different periods as a poultry house, a billiard room, a dining room and a barn. The roof was restored in 1993. The house contains a collection of Pre-Raphaelite
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB), later known as the Pre-Raphaelites, was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, ...
art and Arts and Crafts
The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the Decorative arts, decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and ...
furniture.
Flowing past the house is the Bradley Leat which used to provide water for the manorial mills which were located where the cattle market in Newton Abbot now stands. Bradley was given to the National Trust in 1938 by Diana Woolner, daughter of the Egyptologist Cecil Mallaby Firth
Cecil Mallaby Firth (5 July 1878 – 1931) was a British Egyptologist.
Firth was baptised at Ashburton in Devon on 14 August 1878, the son of Henry Mallaby Firth, gent., and Frances (Fanny) Caunter. He became a lawyer, and after briefly wor ...
. Her family still live in the house and manage it on the Trust's behalf.
See also
*Puritan's Pit
Puritan's Pit (also known as Preacher's Pit, The Devil's Pit or Gruti's Pit) is a large steep-sided pit in the south side of the valley of the River Lemon in Bradley Woods, just west of the town of Newton Abbot in Devon, England. It is probably ...
, nearby on the opposite bank of the River Lemon, was used for nonconformist services in the 17th century.
*The Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...
built a series of 4-6-0 steam locomotives known as the Manor class, named after various manor houses. Locomotive 7802 was named after Bradley Manor and is preserved on the Severn Valley Railway
The Severn Valley Railway is a standard gauge, standard-gauge heritage railway in Shropshire and Worcestershire, England. The single-track line runs from Bridgnorth to Kidderminster, calling at four intermediate stations and three request stop ...
.
References
* *National Trust: Bradley (Guidebook). 1989.External links
Bradley information at the National Trust
{{coord, 50, 31, 34, N, 3, 37, 33, W, display=title, type:landmark_region:GB Country houses in Devon National Trust properties in Devon Grade I listed houses in Devon Historic house museums in Devon Newton Abbot