Stowe House

Performance Spaces

Overview

History

Bibliographic Sources

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18th c. view
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Venue Type & Location

Private Residence

Site Name: Stowe House
Location: Stowe House
County: Cornwall
Location Type: Countryside - at determined location

Overview

Located near the N coast of Cornwall high on the edge of the steep valley of Coombe.

Little is known, even of the precise location of the Grenville (later Granville) family's fortified medieval house, replaced by a 17th c. residence that does not survive.

Performance History

A probable performance venue. Stowe was the principal residence of the Grenville family, which patronized entertainers who appeared elsewhere in Devon in the 15th and 16th c.

Current Status

Demolished. The stables of the 17th c. house were converted in the 18th c. to the farmhouse of Stowe Barton.

History of the Venue

14th c. Grenville family owned a residence at Stowe.

16th c. Renovations made.

1679 Older house demolished. Magnificent brick mansion in the latest style designed and built on a nearby site (probably by John Fitch) for John Granville, 7th Earl of Bath.

1711 The 7th Earl's nephew George Granville, 1st Baron Lansdowne of Biddeford, resided at Stowe until 1720, when he gave up his claim to the Granville inheritance. After this date, Stowe ceased to be used as a residence.

1739 Demolished by the 7th Earl's daughter Grace, 1st Viscountess Carteret and 1st Countess Granville.

Record Source

REED Devon 35, 224

Patrons who owned this venue

Name Dates Titles
Grenville, Richard 1495-1551 Knight
Grenville, Thomas 0-1514 Knight

Bibliographic Sources

View a list of abbreviations.

  • Gill, Crispin. The Great Cornish Families: A History of the People and their Homes. 1995. Tiverton: Cornwall Books, 2000.
  • Granville, Roger. The History of the Granville Family. Exeter: William Pollard & Co., 1895.
  • Hawker, R.S. Footprints of Former Men in Far Cornwall. London and New York: John Lane, 1903.
  • Hill, Oliver, and John Cornforth. English Country Houses: Caroline 1625–1685. London: Country Life, 1966.
  • Jope, E.M. 'Cornish Houses, 1400–1700.' . Studies in Building History. E.M. Jope, ed. London: Odhams, 1961.
  • McCabe, Helen. Houses and Gardens of Cornwall: A Personal Choice. Padstow: Tabb House, 1988.
  • Pett, Douglas Ellory. The Parks and Gardens of Cornwall: A Companion Guide arranged to correspond with the Ordnance Survey Landranger Maps. Penzance: Alison Hodge, 1998.
  • Pevsner, Nikolaus. Cornwall. Radcliffe, Enid, rev. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth, Midd: Penguin Books, 1970.
  • Polwhele, Richard. The History of Cornwall. 1st ed, 7 vols [1803–8]. Facsimile ed. 3 vols. Dorking: Kohler & Coombes, 1978.
  • Trinick, G.M. 'The Great House of Stowe.' Journal of the Royal Institution of Cornwall ns 8.2 (1979): 90–108.