Pynes House is a

Grade II* 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, H ...

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 ...

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

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 ...

, 3 miles northwest of

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

. It was the

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 ...

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 geological formation (formally named the Portland Stone Formation) dating to the Tithonian age of the Late Jurassic that is quarried on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England. The quarries are cut in beds of whi ...

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

History

The manor of Upton Pyne 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 Sir Henry Northcote, 5th Baronet (1710 – 28 May 1743), of Hayne in the parish of Newton St Cyres near Crediton in Devon, later of Pynes in the parish of Upton Pyne, Devon, was a Member of Parliament for Exeter from 1735 until his death ...

. 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 Earl of Iddesleigh ( ), in the County of Devon, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1885 for the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician Stafford Northcote, 1st Earl of Iddesleigh, Sir Stafford Northcote ...

by Queen Victoria in 1885. Walter Stafford Northcote, 2nd Earl of Iddesleigh 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 #List of works, her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment on the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century ...

's ''

Sense and Sensibility ''Sense and Sensibility'' ( working title; ''Elinor and Marianne'') is the first novel by the English author Jane Austen, published in 1811. It was published anonymously: ''By A Lady'' appears on the title page where the author's name might h ...

''.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