Overbeck's Garden at Sharpitor is an

Edwardian In the United Kingdom, the Edwardian era was a period in the early 20th century that spanned the reign of King Edward VII from 1901 to 1910. It is commonly extended to the start of the First World War in 1914, during the early reign of King Ge ...

2.75 hectare (7 acre) subtropical Grade II registered garden at Sharpitor,

Salcombe Salcombe is a resort town in the South Hams district of Devon, south west England. The town is close to the mouth of the Kingsbridge Estuary, mostly built on the steep west side of the estuary. It lies within the South Devon Area of Outstand ...

, Devon, England. It is named after its last private owner Otto Christop Joseph Gerhardt Ludwig Overbeck (1860–1937). The original house on the site was "Sharpitor", a small villa by Salcombe builder Albert

Stumbles Stumbles (also spelt Stumbels) is a family name probably originating in the United Kingdom but nowadays also found in Australia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Canada, and the United States. Origin ''A Dictionary Of British Surnames'' lists a ''Gervase ...

. In 1901 it was bought by Edric Hopkins, who also bought a further of land, and laid out the garden, creating terraces and planting exotic specimens on the sheltered site. In 1913 the property was bought by Mr and Mrs George Medlicott Vereker who demolished the original house and had the present one built. Otto Overbeck acquired the house in 1928 and lived there until his death in 1937. Wishing the house to be used after his death as "a public park and museum and a Hostel for Youth" Overbeck bequeathed it to 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 ...

or Salcombe Urban District Council on condition it be used as such and not as a brothel as so many properties in the surrounding area had become. It was accepted by the National Trust. Until 2014 the house was divided between a museum and a

youth hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory sleeping 4–20 people, with shared use of a lounge and usually a kitchen. Rooms can be private or shared - mixe ...

. The youth hostel closed in 2014 when the agreement between the National Trust and the Youth Hostels Association ended. The museum closed in 2020.

Museum

The museum displayed some of Overbeck's inventions and collections of stuffed animals, and exhibitions of model sailing ships and various nautical and shipbuilding tools and effects. Many of the maritime-related items have subsequently been displayed at Salcombe Maritime Museum. A room in the middle of the house, one of whose entrances is a "secret" door concealed in the wooden panelling of the room outside, contained a display of dolls' houses, amongst which was "Fred the friendly ghost" for children to discover. The museum contained a

Polyphon A Polyphon is a disc-playing music box. The machine was invented in 1870; it was first manufactured by the Polyphon Musikwerke, in Leipzig, Germany, full-scale production having started about 1896 and continuing into the early 20th century. Poly ...

— a large

musical box A music box (American English) or musical box (British English) is an automatic musical instrument in a box that produces Musical note, musical notes by using a set of pins placed on a revolving cylinder (geometry), cylinder or disc to pluck ...

which played music encoded as holes punched in large sheet-metal discs. There was a collection of discs of popular Edwardian melodies which were played for visitors when the garden was open. There was also a collection of photographs by Edward Chapman who worked in and photographed Salcombe – including the building of the first house on the site – during the early 20th century.

Garden

The garden, begun by Edric Hopkins, was developed by the property's subsequent owners. It has become a specialised collection of tender Mediterranean and Australasian plants growing in the microclimate on the edge of the Kingsbridge Estuary. The National Trust identify the following separate gardens:. * Gazebo Garden * Statue Garden - formerly the tennis court * Old Quarry - source of the stone for the house * Olive Grove * Banana Garden - the bananas produce fruit most years * Terraces * Orange Tree Store - a glasshouse for overwintering the orange tree * Woodland Garden More detailed information about the history of the garden and its gardeners is given i
Historic England's official listing

References

External links

Overbecks (Sharpitor), Malborough
– Historic England listing text
Salcombe Maritime Museum
– website {{Coord, 50.2227, -3.7831, type:landmark, display=title Biographical museums in Devon Gardens in Devon Historic house museums in Devon Houses in Devon Museums in Devon National Trust properties in Devon Salcombe