Ugbrooke House is a

stately home 300px, Oxfordshire.html" ;"title="Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire">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 To ...

in the parish of

Chudleigh Chudleigh () is an ancient wool town located within the Teignbridge District Council area of Devon, England; it is sited between Newton Abbot and Exeter. The electoral ward with the same name had a population of 5,919 at the 2021 United Kingdo ...

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, situated in a valley between

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 ...

and

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 ...

. The home of the Clifford family, the house and grounds are available for guided tours in summer and as an event venue.

History

It dates back over 900 years, having featured in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086. Before the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

the land belonged to the Church and the house was occupied by

Precentor A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is ''præcentor'', from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" (or alternatively, "first ...

s to the

Bishop of Exeter The Bishop of Exeter is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. The current bishop is Mike Harrison (bishop), Mike Harrison, since 2024. From the first bishop until the sixteent ...

. The property came into the possession of the Courtenays of

Powderham Castle Powderham Castle is a fortified manor house in Exminster, Devon, south of Exeter and mile (0.4 km) north-east of the village of Kenton, where the main public entrance gates are located. It is a Grade I listed building. The park and gar ...

. In 1604 it passed to Thomas Clifford, grandson of the widow of Piers Courtnay. It has been the seat of the Clifford family for over four hundred years, and the owners have held the title

Baron Clifford of Chudleigh Baron Clifford of Chudleigh, of Chudleigh in the County of Devon, is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1672 for Thomas Clifford, 1st Baron Clifford of Chudleigh, Thomas Clifford. The title was created as "Clifford of Chudleigh ...

since 1672. Ulmus laevis at Ugbrooke

The house, now a Grade I

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 ...

, was remodelled by

Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (architect), William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and train ...

, while the grounds were redesigned by

Capability Brown Lancelot "Capability" Brown (born c. 1715–16, baptised 30 August 1716 – 6 February 1783) was an English gardener and landscape architect, a notable figure in the history of the English landscape garden style. Unlike other architects ...

in 1761.Stroud, D. (1950). ''Capability Brown''. New edition 1984, Faber & Faber, London. The grounds featured what were possibly the earliest plantings of the European White Elm, ''

Ulmus laevis ''Ulmus laevis'' Pall., variously known as the European white elm, fluttering elm, spreading elm, stately elm and, in the United States, the Russian elm, is a large deciduous tree native to Europe, from France northeast to southern Finland, east ...

'', in the UK.Elwes, H. J. & Henry, A. (1913).
The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland
'. Vol. VII. 1848–1929. Republished 2004 Cambridge University Press, The gardens are now Grade II* listed in the

National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens #REDIRECT Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England #REDIRECT Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England {{R from move ...

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St. Cyprian's Chapel

Thomas Clifford, 1st Baron Clifford of Chudleigh Thomas Clifford, 1st Baron Clifford of Chudleigh (1 August 1630 – 17 October 1673) was an English statesman who sat in the House of Commons from 1660 to 1672 when he was created Baron Clifford. He was one of five leading politicians who form ...

The Dominican Father James Dominic Darbyshire came to Ugbrooke and remained there until his death in 1757. Catholics in the area came to St. Cyprian's for services. In 1813, there were about 100 in attendance, served by a French émigré priest Felix Vauquelin, who lived at Ugbrooke. Priests in residence at Ugbrooke were responsible for tutoring the Clifford children, and providing pastoral care to the surrounding communities. The Synod which set out the organisation of the new Plymouth diocese took place there in 1854. Eventually parishes were established in

Bovey Tracey Bovey Tracey () is a town and civil parish in Devon, England. It is located on the edge of Dartmoor, which gives rise to the slogan used on the town's boundary signs: ''The Gateway to the Moor''. It is often known locally as ''Bovey''. About so ...

and

. Ugbrooke retains close ties with

Buckfast Abbey Buckfast Abbey forms part of an active Benedictine monastery at Buckfast, near Buckfastleigh, Devon, England. Buckfast first became home to an abbey in 1018. The first Benedictine abbey was followed by a Congregation of Savigny, Savignac, later ...

in Devon, founded in part through the generosity of the 9th Baron.

Present day

The house and gardens are open to the public for a limited number of days each summer for guided tours. Refreshments are available at the Orangery Tearoom, including a Devon cream tea. As part of Holy Spirit Parish in Bovey Tracey, Mass continues to this day, every Sunday morning at 8.45am. Lord & Lady Clifford live in a coach house on the grounds, while Lord Clifford's heir and his wife, The Hon. Mr. & Mrs. Alexander Clifford live in the main. house. File:Ugbrooke House, Chudleigh - geograph.org.uk - 1984388.jpg, Ugbrooke House, Chudleigh File:Ugbrooke House and its park - geograph.org.uk - 1364109.jpg, Ugbrooke House and its park File:St Cyprian's Chapel, Ugbrooke House, Chudleigh - geograph.org.uk - 1985363.jpg, St Cyprian's Chapel, Ugbrooke House, Chudleigh File:The Orangery, Ugbrooke Park - geograph.org.uk - 1985232.jpg, The Orangery, Ugbrooke Park

References

External links

Ugbrooke House Official site
* {{coord, 50.59086, N, 3.59067, W, region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(SX875780), display=title Country houses in Devon Gardens in Devon Grade I listed houses in Devon Grade II* listed parks and gardens in Devon Historic house museums in Devon Gardens by Capability Brown Chudleigh