Pynes House is a

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

country house 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 town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

built by Hugh Stafford between around 1700 and 1725, situated in the parish of Upton Pyne, Devon, 3 miles northwest of

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

. It was the manor house for the Manor of Upton Pyne, which included the village of Upton Pyne.

Description

The house has four storeys and covers . Its present owners run the house as a wedding and events venue, offering 12 bedrooms. It is set in gardens and grounds of 37 acres. The building is primarily made of bricks to a square plan, with

Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries are cut in beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building sto ...

dressings. The principal roof is slate, with four large brick chimney stacks.

History

The

manor Manor may refer to: Land ownership *Manorialism or "manor system", the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of medieval Europe, notably England *Lord of the manor, the owner of an agreed area of land (or "manor") under manorialism *Man ...

of Upton Pynes was held by the Pyne family for ten generations from the time of King Henry I, following which it passed through the Larder (which held it for another five generations), Copleston and Stafford families and finally the Northcote family in 1732. This 1732 transfer occurred when it passed to the Northcote family on the marriage of the heiress of Hugh Stafford to Sir Henry Northcote, 5th Baronet. Following his marriage Northcote abandoned the family seat of Hayne, which sank to the status of a farmhouse, and moved to Pynes House. Renovations at the house in 1789 inspired Sebastian Emmett to write the poem ''Written on Viewing the Improvements at Pynes-House, the Seat of Sir Stafford Henry Northcote, Bart. Near Exeter. 1789'', which talks about the house and the design of the gardens, but also alludes to the character of the nation at the time. An 1827 account relates that "Pynes House contains some valuable pictures, particularly a fine Van Dyke, in the eating-room, and several excellent family portraits". The building was enlarged in 1851 by the statesman Sir Stafford Northcote, 8th Baronet, who was created 1st Earl of Iddesleigh by Queen Victoria in 1885.

Walter Stafford Northcote, 2nd Earl of Iddesleigh Walter Stafford Northcote, 2nd Earl of Iddesleigh CB (7 August 1845 – 26 May 1927) was an English landowner, peer, civil servant, and author, a member of the House of Lords from 1887 until his death. Life and career The son of Stafford Henry ...

claimed that Pynes House was the inspiration for Barton Park, which features in

Jane Austen Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...

's '' Sense and Sensibility''.See, for instance, The Earl of Iddesleigh sold Pynes in 1998.

References

External links

*{{official website Buildings and structures completed in the 1770s Country houses in Devon Queen Anne architecture in the United Kingdom Grade II* listed houses Grade II* listed buildings in Devon 1770s establishments in England Inigo Jones buildings