Willoughby House, Seaton, Devon

 
I was riding past on a bus in March 2009 when I noticed a broken window pane in the side of this house, and it appeared to be abandoned and derelict, so I decided to go back to investigate and take some photos. I had another walk past a few days later and saw someone clearing out the building. We had a chat and he told me that the elderly lady who lived there had left to live in a care home - which is always rather sad, I think - and the house was subsequently put on the market.

It's a delightful Edwardian building with several interesting details. What's interesting is that the nearby Manor House was once owned by a family called Willoughby, who were earlier Lords of the Manor (seen in the previous post). That was some hundred years or so earlier than when this house was built, and I don't think there's any connection because the Willoughby name died out when the last heiress married. It is a rather nice coincidence though.

Controversy occurred when the Town Council decided to buy it for their meetings. A petition against it was formed, and a meeting in the Town hall was arranged to protest about the debt that would encrue for the town. During that meeting the seller's agent withdrew the purchase to the Council because of the bad feeling. The building has since been restored and is now owned by a private company for its offices.

 
There wasn't any access inside, but I managed to take a couple of interior shots through the windows where I could. The one below is of the hall through the main front door window.

There's another door on the right hand side with a lovely veranda style porch, indicitive of the Arts & Crafts movement during Edwardian times.

And the photo taken through this door of a downstairs living or dining room.

On one side of the house there's a lane which leads to a dead end. 

A very high wall prevented me from looking over into the garden, which I really wanted to see. There were some interesting bits and pieces to take photos of though, including an old and broken cast iron pipe, below.

Someone on the forum Derelict Places, that I belong to, told me that the switch in the photo below is a 'fireman's switch', which is unusual on a residential building. Next to it is a label with the words 'B.P. sign' on. I googled that, but the only nearest match was for vintage enamel British Petroleum signs. So, I've got absolutely no idea what that was for.

Lovely peely paint on the shutter. This was on the side of a lean to extending from that side of the house. It looks like the kind of wall door that deliveries are made through but it looks too high for a coal cellar hatch. Another little mystery!

The road on the other side of the house is elevated. The rear view of the house is screened off by a thick hedge unfortunately, but I managed to squeeze through! 

I was expecting to see an overgrown but delightful secret garden but I was sadly disappointed as the enclosed back garden was mostly full of brambles with a partially cleared space nearer to the house.

Altogether a pleasant little mooch. I haven't had a proper look again since it was sold on but I suspect that restoration meant losing some of the interesting old bits, so it's always nice to see and record them before they disappear.

EDIT: I've walked past a few times in the last year and the cleared garden patch is now a tarmac'd car park for the employers. Beyond that is still a wilderness of brambles and a profusion of wild flowers, which is lovely to see. Having also looked at the other side the odd bits and bobs have been removed and everything is now repainted, etc.  

The Manor House, Seaton, Devon

This Grade II listed town house with its elegant Georgian style frontage is now a Residential Home for the elderly. However, it began life as a Tudor home for the Starr family, and was called Pale House (the rear part of the building having 16th century origins), and later sold to Sir John Willoughby, an earlier Lord of the Manor. The frontage was extended in 1800 by the Trevelyans, who had inherited the house along with the title through marriage from Sir John. Interestingly, there is a Willoughby House a short distance along the road. As far as I know there isn't any connection, as the Willoughby line petered out some hundred or so years earlier than the date of the house, but it is a rather nice coincidence nonetheless.
 

According to the British Listed Buildings website the house was once listed as Manor House School. I couldn't find out much, but with a little digging I came across an obscure item in The Edinburgh Gazette dated November 10, 1959, which mentioned a 'Hilda Ann Feare, of Rose Cottage, Elsing in the county of Norfolk, widow, lately residing and carrying on business at Manor House School, Seaton in the county of Devon, as principal of a private school'.

I also found a reference to a member on the social network website 'LinkedIn' who'd been a pupil of Manor House School. I don't know when it became a residential care home but the last British Listing was in 1983, so it must have been some time before then. The Manor House (Seaton) Ltd, as it is now, was only registered in 2002 as a private company. However, it was probably an independent business previous to that. 

A fairly conventional 18th century frontage of three storeys with five bays containing tall sash windows on the ground and first floors, it nevertheless looks lovely with its old, faded, red brick and pretty front garden.

The central doorway is a delight with fluted pilasters and large rectangular fanlight with lead tracery. I especially like the door panel reveals.

At the rear is the original two storey part of the building, built with unrendered stone rubble and stone quoins surrounding the windows. It was quite a common thing at one time to build outwards at the front or even just add a new brick frontage to an older building, as it saved rebuilding from scratch and meant being able to keep up with current fashion without as much expense.

And lastly, a rather pretty and quirky arrangement of a painted 'walker' used to display a flower basket full of colourful summer plants.

West Kennet Long Barrow, Wiltshire

  
Following on from the visit to Avebury, and a stop to look at Silbury Hill (in the previous post), the last port of call was this amazing Long Barrow at the top of a wind-swept hill. At the bottom of the hill there's a lovely oak tree which has been decorated by visitors. Ribbon, beads and scraps of cloth adorn the branches of this 'prayer tree', making a delightful start to the journey to see the last resting place of some of our ancestors.

The barrow is of Neolithic origin, and is thought to have been built and used from circa 3700 BC until around 2200 BC. It is part of the Avebury area consisting of many prehistoric sites, and not far from a path of standing stones known as the West Kennet Avenue, connecting Avebury with the Sanctuary on Overton Hill. The Avenue can be clearly seen from the top of the barrow. It is also just south of Silbury Hill.

Although undoubtedly a tomb, the full usage of the barrow is uncertain, as the very few skeletal remains belie that as being the sole use of its 1500 years existence. Rites may very well have been performed here, and its East-West orientation may signify the importance of the rising and setting of the sun. Only 36 people were found to have been buried here, some dozen of which were children, but various disturbances during the last few centuries may have altered the original amount. They may, also, have belonged to the most prominent members of their society at that time.

Interestingly, usage of the barrow ended at around the time that the Avebury stone circle and Silbury Hill were built. This was also when the community living by nearby Windmill Hill began to emerge. The change in society and also religious rites may therefore have been a factor in the sealing of West Kennet Long Barrow.

The entrance to the tomb was sealed around 2200 BC, and the large sarcen stones were also erected at this time.

The interior upright stone, positioned central left (photo below left), has deep grooves on its surface caused by the sharpening of flint axes, and at the farthest part of the tomb a modern-day visitor had left a token of a small beaded bracelet and some holly leaves with berries, which I thought was rather lovely.

There's a gentle slope leading to the top and I went up and walked to the end of the long barrow, which was indeed rather long - much longer than the small part that's open inside - and which afforded fantastic views across the countryside, including the West Kennet Avenue. By that point I'd finished the film in my camera and I just couldn't make myself put another one in; it had been a long day, I was cold & tired, and it was drizzly weather, but I really wish I had. We live and learn! ;)

 

Avebury & Silbury Hill, Wiltshire

The prehistoric complex at Avebury is one of the most important, and certainly one of the most magical, sites in Europe. Consisting of a massive henge, the construction of which was spread over several centuries, it was created by the descendants of the Windmill Hill people who had built the nearby West Kennet Long Barrow. 

Begun around 3,000 BC, the final construction was completed circa 2,400 BC when the avenues were added, comprising a bank, ditch and two stone circles within.

The outermost area was once marked by 98 large sarson stones, but only the innermost stone circles now remain. Both circles are much larger than the one at Stonehenge. Four entrances, approximately situated at the four cardinal points, show evidence of avenues; the most evident and spectacular being the West Kennet Avenue which runs from the Southern entrance.

A long-held dream of mine, I had the opportunity to visit Avebury in September 2008. The weather was suitably atmospheric with lowering clouds, the odd drop of rain and slightly misty dampness. Perfect! ;)

These gorgeous old oak trees have a massive array of overground roots.

The above photos show the chalk path on the outer embankments and below are the views from the embankments looking over part of the stone circle.

There is so much information about Avebury that I find it impossible to do anything more than just write a short summary. However, I've added a link below to an amazing website that gives a humungous load of info. As the author says, Avebury is very much a personal experience. Awe-inspiring and magical!

http://www.avebury-web.co.uk/index.html

An enigma lies approximately one mile to the South of Avebury - Silbury Hill - which at 130 feet high, is the biggest man-made mound in Europe. Several attempts, such as tunnelling, have been made to discover its purpose, but its secrets still keeps eluding us. I have read recently that square-topped mounds such as this may well have been used as a place for offerings, such as harvest produce.

A further walk of around half a mile takes us to West Kennet Long Barrow; the largest accessible example of a barrow in the country. Coming up in the next article.