Hillersdon House

Description

The house is a two-storey building arranged around a central hall,

History

Hillersdon House was built in 1848 by William Charles Grant, a Lieutenant of the First (Kings) Dragoon Guards and a nephew of Sir William Grant (1752–1832), Member of Parliament, Solicitor General and Master of the Rolls. In 1843 Grant had married Maria May (d.1891), a noted pteridologist. and W.C. Grant built the surviving house to replace the earlier house which was in a dilapidated state, and which had been offered for rent in the early 19th century.

In 1877 W.C. Grant died and Hillersdon passed to his second and eldest surviving son William John Alexander Grant ("Johnny") (1851–1935), a distinguished Arctic photographer who in 1895 married Enid Maud Forster, whom he divorced in 1901. In the 1890s Hillersdon became known for its wild parties. One incident occurred after the Exeter Ball, when four young gentlemen plunged into one of the lakes and were subsequently washed off in baths of champagne. Elinor Glyn, a noted society beauty was part of the house party on this occasion.

After the death of William Grant in 1935 the house was inherited under his will by Sir Mark Beresford Russell Sturgis (1884–1949), KCB, Assistant Under-Secretary for Ireland, who took the additional surname of Grant, as a condition of the will. In the Second World War it housed US Officers and then became a bed and breakfast and later was divided into five flats. It was purchased in 1982 by David and Gale Glynn, who having undertaken some refurbishment work sold it in 2010 for an asking price of £3-£4 million.

In 2010, Hillersdon was purchased by Michael Lloyd and has since undergone a complete refurbishment and is now used as a wedding venue and hotel.

References

Sources

References

1. "Hillersdon House". Historic England.
2. "Stable block 50 metres north of Hillersdon House". Historic England.
3. "Jane's Cottage 150 metres south-south-west of Hillersdon House". Historic England.
4. late [[Georgian architecture. Georgian]][[Nikolaus Pevsner. Pevsner, Nikolaus]] & Cherry, Bridget, The Buildings of England: Devon, London, 2004, p.482
5. "Country houses for sale in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset". www.countrylife.co.uk.
6. Grant purchased the estate in about 1847.Colvin and Moggridge, section 4.1
7. Mitchell, J.C.. (1851). "Eight views of Cullompton and neighbourhood together with a concise compilation of explanatory particulars and description". I. Frost.
8. (8 November 1821). "Hillersdon House". Exeter Flying Post.
9. Colvin and Moggridge, section 4.2
10. "Leigh Smith Expeditions on board the Eira 1880, 1881-82". Freeze Frame.
11. "Arctic Exploration: North West Pasage: The Pandora Voyage of 1876". World Through The Lens.
12. "William Grant". The Library of Nineteenth-Century Photography.
13. [[John Burke (genealogist). Burke's]] Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry, 15th Edition, ed. Pirie-Gordon, H., London, 1937, pp. 954–5, pedigree of "Grant of Hillersdon House"
14. Colvin & Moggridge
15. Tyzack, Anna. (5 June 2009). "Hillersdon House in Devon: a decadent affair". telegraph.co.uk.
16. "History". Hillersdon House.
17. "The House". Hillersdon House.