Thousand Years of History
Set above the River Taw with sweeping views across the North Devon countryside, Tawstock Court has watched more than a thousand years of English history unfold. From its first mention in the Domesday Book to its present life as a family-run country house and wedding venue, every stone and staircase carries a story.
A manor has stood at Tawstock since the late 13th century, when the estate became the administrative and judicial centre for the surrounding area. Over the centuries it has been home to powerful barons, Earls of Bath and baronets, hosted kings and generals, survived devastating fires and radical rebuilding, and, more recently, echoed with the sound of schoolchildren at St Michael’s.
New Chapter
Today, Tawstock Court opens its doors once more – not as a fortress or a school, but as a welcoming, lived-in family home that shares its history through weddings, celebrations and gatherings. Guests can wander past the Tudor gatehouse, admire the Georgian neo-Gothic house, glimpse St Peter’s Church and its remarkable monuments, and look out towards Codden Hill knowing that generations before have enjoyed exactly the same view.
What makes Tawstock Court special is not just its age, but its continuity. Dynasties have risen and fallen, fashions have changed, fires have come and gone, but the estate has remained a constant presence in North Devon life. That sense of deep time is part of what gives the house its atmosphere: a place where you can feel the past, but still relax, celebrate and make new memories of your own.
A Gift From A Conqueror
The story of Tawstock begins with a gift. Following the Norman Conquest, the estate was granted to Geoffrey de Mowbrey by William the Conqueror himself. By 1086, it was recorded in the Domesday Book, cementing its status as a site of power and influence in North Devon.
Royalty, Rebellion & Fire
Tawstock Court has always been at the centre of the action. During the English Civil War, the house hosted the future King Charles II before he was forced into hiding. Shortly after, the Parliamentarian General Fairfax took over the estate as his military headquarters.
However, the house faced its biggest challenge in 1787, when a catastrophic fire destroyed the original Elizabethan structure. Only the ancient gatehouse survived the flames. Rising from the ashes, the current Neo-Gothic mansion was commissioned in 1789 by Sir Bourchier Wrey, designed to impress and endure.
The School Years
For nearly 70 years (1941–2011), the halls of Tawstock Court echoed with the sound of children as St. Michael’s Prep School. When the school closed, the building faced an uncertain future until it was purchased by the Peryer family in 2012. Since then, it has undergone a meticulous restoration, transforming fading classrooms back into the elegant rooms you see today.
