Knightstone Estate
| The Knightstone Estate | |
|---|---|
 The Chanters House, the official seat of the family. | |
| Location | Devon, England |
| Owner | Thomas Carew, Viscount Sidmouth |
The Knightstone Estate is a large country estate in Devon that serves as the seat of the Viscounts of Sidmouth, and by extension, the Carew-Grey Family. Consisting of land holdings primarily in Devon and the west of Dorset, the main seats of the estate are three manors in and around the small town of Ottery St. Mary, these being The Chanters House, Knightstone Manor (from which the estate is named), and Escot House. A great many of the buildings owned by the estate are designated as sites or homes of exceptional national interest.
The overall estate is named after the aristocratic peerage of Baron Knightstone, as well as the early-medieval manorhouse of Knightstone to the east of Ottery St. Mary. The Chanters House, originally a Chantry and outbuilding for the adjacent St. Mary's Church, became the seat of the Coleridge Family in the 1700s and the house was redesigned by Sir John Butterfield. Escot House, a late-Georgian manor, served primarily as a recuperation estate for The Baroness Wilton; the estate and house are open to the public for most of the year.
The Estate encompasses a large amount of land stretching as far West as Tavistock in west Devon, as far south as Kingsbridge, as far east as Lyme Regis in Dorset, and as far north as Dunkeswell. The greatest concentration of land immediately owned comes in and around Ottery St. Mary and the area of East Devon. It's holdings and other homes have made Carew one of the largest landowners in the country, and the biggest landowner in Devon.
The estate comprises of other residences such as Cadhay House on the outskirts of Ottery (formerly the residence of the Carew-Grey children); Ryder House in Talaton that served for a time as the ceremonial residence of the Director-General of the National Trust; Ellerton House, currently part of a tenancy agreement with George Coleridge; and many hotels and villas in East Devon and Dorset.
Origins
The estate is the main landowning entity in the Devonshire town of Ottery St. Mary. Ottery is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as 'Otri' and 'Otrei'. 'Oteri Sancte Marie' is first mentioned in 1242. The town takes its name from the River Otter (named after the animal) on which it stands. The town belonged to the church of St Mary in Rouen in 1086, hence 'St Mary'.
The estate was never a singular entity until it came under the ownership of Thomas Carew.
Properties
Unique for its exceptional list of manorhouses and other residences, The Knightstone Estate officially designates three main manors, though many more properties of note are also acquired.
The Chanters House
The House
St. Mary's Church
Knightstone
Knightstone is a Tudor manor and surrounding estate to the east of Ottery St. Mary. It encompasses the original manor, it's outbuildings and cottages, extensive gardens and grounds, and approximately several hundred acres of farmland. It is the official private residence of Thomas Carew and his late wife, Josephine Carew-Grey.
House
A historic manor in the parish of Ottery St Mary in Devon. The surviving mediaeval and Tudor grade I listed manor house is situated one mile south-east of St Mary's Church, Ottery St Mary. It was the seat of the Bittlesgate (alias Bedlisgate, etc.) family, the heiress of which Joan Bittlesgate, daughter of Thomas (or John) Bittlesgate by his wife Joan Beauchamp, was the wife of Richard Woodville (died 1441), grandfather of Elizabeth Woodville (c.1437-1492) Queen consort of England as the spouse of King Edward IV. In 1381 the Bittlesgate family obtained a licence from the Bishop of Exeter to build and operate a private chapel at their home, but no trace of the structure survives. The house has been much altered since the time of the Bittlesgate family. One Tudor-era fireplace survives in a bedroom.
It recieved extensive alterations when it came into the ownership of Thomas Carew, where it serves as his principal private home in the westcountry.
Gardens
Knightstone's award winning gardens remain one of the finest examples of the English cottage style in Britain. Knightstone Roses are annually displayed at the Chelsea Flower Show, winning best in show three times.
Orchard Cottage
Orchard Cottage, sometimes referred to as Heaven's Cottage, is a rennovated cottage in the grounds behind Knightstone. While formerly occupied by the estate manager it has been used extensively by Carew personally when he deems Knightstone too big for his own use. He also has a painting studio on the edge of its pond.