Venue Type & Location
Performance Spaces
Overview
Located 8 miles W of Exeter, the roughcast stone rubble Tudor home of the Fulford family stands on rising ground in secluded countryside on the NW edge of Dartmoor near the main road from Okehampton into Cornwall.
Built on a courtyard plan with a single-storey service courtyard beyond. The 2-storey hall range on the W side of the courtyard is probably of medieval origin. An 18th c. pen and ink sketch by Francis Towne shows that the E range of the house was originally gabled (Wilcox, Francis Towne 41).
Performance History
A possible performance venue. The sheriff's minstrel who appeared in Barnstaple in 1535 may have been patronized by Sir John Fulford, appointed sheriff of Devon in 1534.
Current Status
History of the Venue
1085 Fulford family resident in Dunsford parish.
1461 Sir Baldwin Fulford, a Lancastrian supporter, beheaded and his estates forfeited.
147x Sir Thomas Fulford succeeded in petitioning the Crown for return of the family estates.
153x Medieval house rebuilt and extended by Sir John Fulford.
154x Manor acquired after the Dissolution.
1642 House sacked by parliamentary forces. Subsequently garrisoned for the king and then retaken by parliamentarians.
late 17th c. Interior remodelling by Col. Francis Fulford, including the addition of a handsome staircase and the coved ceiling and black and white marble floor in the hall. Tudor and Jacobean panelling from various rooms installed in the hall.
1760 Landscaping commissioned by John Fulford, including the creation of the lake by damming a local stream.
ca. 1800 Further remodelling in neo-Gothic style by Baldwin Fulford. Square bays added at the corners, gables removed and a crenellated battlement added.
19th c. N wing fell into decay.
early 20th c. Restoration and repairs by Francis Fulford. Kitchen block converted as cottages.
Record Source
REED Devon 38
Patrons who owned this venue
| Name | Date | Titles |
|---|---|---|
| Fulford, John | 1503-1544 | Knight |
Bibliographic Sources
- Adams, Maxwell. 'Notes on Great Fulford.'. Devon and Cornwall Notes and Queries 1 (1900): 1--5.
- Cherry, Bridget, and Nikolaus Pevsner. Devon. London: Penguin Books, 1989
- Delderfield, Eric R. West Country Historic Houses and Their Families. Exmouth: E.R.D., 1975
- Gray, Todd. The Garden History of Devon: An Illustrated Guide to Sources. Exeter: U of Exeter P, 1995
- Lauder, Rosemary Anne. Devon Families. Tiverton: Halsgrove, 2002
- Lysons, Daniel and Samuel. Magna Britannia; being a concise topographical account of the several counties of Great Britain. 6 vols. London: T. Cadell and W. Davies, 1806--22
- Polwhele, Richard. The History of Devonshire. 1st ed. [1793--1806] printed by Trewman and Son for: Cadell, Johnson and Dilly (vol 1); Cadell, Dilly and Murray (vol 2); Cadell and Davies (vol 3); all in London. 3 vols. Dorking: Kohler & Coombes, 1977
- Tipping, H. Avray. English Homes: Period II, Early Tudor 1485--1558. 9 vols. London: Country Life, 1924 2:
- Tipping, H. Avray. 'Great Fulford, East Devon, the Seat of Mr. Francis Fulford.'. Country Life 36 (1 August 1914): 160--8.
- Wilcox, Timothy. Francis Towne. London: Tate Gallery Publishing, 1997