Snooping around the Old Forde House

In the market town of Newton Abbot, a stone's throw from the A380 and the Penn Inn roundabout, sits a grand old jewel of a house. Everybody in town knows of it, and each day thousands watch it pass by their car windows, probably with nonchalance.  Separated from the roadside by a generous green, upon which local dog walkers and ramblers will stroll gently under its shadow, with a stately air and granite-grey facade, lies arguably the town's most well-known landmark, our beloved Forde House.

Forde House's wood-paneled entrance hall 

Many years ago, as a little eight-year-old, I paid a visit here on a school trip examining the Tudors and Stuarts.  Today, for the first time in 22 years, I passed through its front door once again, Teignbridge District Council (owners and occupiers since 1978) having begun, last year, a series of summer open days.  The history of the house can be dated back to the 13th century, although in its present form, the house is around 400 years old, remodelled in 1610 into its familiar Jacobean appearance.  Built in the shape of an E, as were several manor houses of the age, it is said to have been a tribute to Queen Elizabeth I, although Her Majesty died in 1603, seven years before the completion of the building.

The parlour

To me, this is the most historically important building in town (apologies St Leonard's clock tower, Bradley Manor, and our lovely railways station,) for in terms of a building keeping beat to the pulse of history, this house saw it all.  Perhaps most famously, King Charles I stayed here in 1625, en route to Plymouth to review the fleet, before it set off for the Cadiz Expedition, and returned some days later, staying a further two nights. In 1643, having captured Exeter from the forces of Parliament during the Civil War, a band of the King's cavaliers stayed here before travelling on to take the port of Dartmouth.  Three short years later, it was Parliament who were put up at the house, when Oliver Cromwell and Colonel Fairfax, more heavyweight names of English history, were hosted on their way to retake Exeter, and march towards eventual success in that bloody conflict.  

Engraving by J Henshall, around 1835 after a painting by R Brown (source: Wikipedia)

Fast forward 45 years and, now in the hands of the Courtenay family of Powderham Castle (see also: Courtenay Park in the town,) Forde House again played host to royalty.  After a brilliant landing at Brixham, William, Prince of Orange, stopped by at the onset of the Glorious Revolution.  William of Orange would march on to London for his coronation, but his first declaration on English soil was made at the foot of St Leonard's tower in the town.  Today, a plaque there reads:

"The first declaration of William, Prince of Orange, the glorious defender of the Protestant Religion and the liberties of England, was read on this pedestal by the Rev John Reynall, Rector of this parish, on November 5th 1688."

Thus began one of Britain's most important events, one that eventually led to the Bill of Rights, a cornerstone of British democracy.  Forde House played a role in this story.

Lizzie at the Old Forde House

We were treated to a very well-informed tour courtesy of a local historian with terrific knowledge and passion for his subject, reeling off the life history of the building and its historical context, without even the briefest of glances at his notes.  It certainly shed new light on a house that I pass nearly every day, and one that I hold now in higher regard still.  Forde House, like so many familiar, forgotten gems across the country, is a witness to the amazing story of English history.  You won't find it in many history books, save for a footnote or perhaps a mention in an index, but I really believe that places like this are where our history was made, ideas formed, and inspiration gained by the icons of our past.  This makes them invaluable, and is exactly why I jumped at the chance to explore it once again.  A far more detailed potted history of the house can be found on the Teignbridge District Council webpages, and is worth a read.