Derelict buildings can be like a magnet when there is an historic family connection. That was the case for me when I visited the site of the Grade II listed Rumleigh House on an overcast day. Over a rough stone wall I could see a section of neat grass. Elsewhere was overgrown, with scratchy, tangled shrubs and aged ivy creeping high and wide across outbuildings and part of the house. Save for a dog barking, it was almost silent.

A patchwork of red brick, grey stone, and slate, the house would have looked substantially different – and smaller – more than three hundred years ago. It was then owned by my 8x great-grandparents, Thomas and Jane Darracott, and later inherited by Jane’s brother, Robert Young and his sons.

Thomas was a merchant trading in the busy port city of Plymouth, and records suggest they would probably not have spent a lot of time at Rumleigh, it being the family’s country house, a farm with a source of income, and a symbol of prosperity. However, when they did visit, it would likely have been a grand escape, and it’s easy to imagine summer house parties gathered under the trees, enjoying stunning views across the valley with the winding River Tamar dominating. Perhaps they picnicked by the river with a cool breeze off the water.

Walking down towards the river is peaceful, surrounded by rolling hills and fresh country air. Sitting near the Devon and Cornwall border, amidst the Tamar Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, even today Rumleigh feels a long way from anywhere.

At the time I visited, five years ago, I was fortunate to be able to stay in guest accommodation in the Long Barn at Rumleigh Farm which was part of the original Rumleigh estate. Having such an experience in a place where my ancestors lived so many years ago was really special.

Selected references

Donetta Woollcombe, The Story of Rumleigh, unpublished, Rumleigh House, Bere Alston, Devon, 1990.

Historic England, ‘Rumleigh House’, https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1163065, accessed 13 November 2021.

Visit Tamar Valley, ‘The Tamar Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’, https://visittamarvalley.co.uk/tamar-valley-aonb, accessed 13 November 2021.

Toby Keel, ‘A magnificent ten-bedroom county house in Devon for sale at a startlingly low price tag’, Country Life, 16 February 2019, https://www.countrylife.co.uk/property/magnificent-ten-bedroom-country-house-devon-sale-just-250000-192480, accessed 13 November 2021.

Katie Avis-Riordan, ‘This 10-bedroom Devon country house is the same place as a small London apartment’, House Beautiful, 2 March 2019, https://www.housebeautiful.com/uk/lifestyle/property/news/a3405/rumleigh-devon-country-house-for-sale/, accessed 13 November 2021.

On the Market, ‘Bere Peninsula’, https://media.onthemarket.com/properties/3207415/doc_0_1.pdf, accessed 24 February 2024.