East Worlington House

East Worlington House

Property Description

East Worlington House (formerly the village rectory) is located in a prominent position in East Worlington with its south elevation facing the river Little Dart and the woods beyond.  It is a Grade II* listed building, one of very few in this part of North Devon, indicating its architectural importance. 

The exact date of construction is not known,  however an archaeological study found evidence to suggest that the original building dating from circa 1470 was quite modest: probably just two rooms, one on top of the other near what is now the east end of the building.  

The nearby Church of St Mary dates from the 12th century and it is therefore possible that the 1470 house was built to house the local priest.  However, there is an unsubstantiated story that tells that at that time the priest lived in a building that is now incorporated into East Worlington School.  Following the reformation in the 16th century, when priests were permitted to marry, a larger property was therefore needed to house the new protestant rector and his family.  The story then tells that a local farmer, unable to pay his tithes, donated a farm house in the hope of being forgiven the annual dues. 

The initial structure has been  extended and remodelled, over the centuries to a substantial and elegant property of over thirty rooms.  In 1958 the living of East Worlington Rectory was put into abeyance and the rectory was sold into private ownership.

View 2012 Archaeological Report by South West Archaeology.

The construction of the house is primarily cob walls siting on stone foundation walls and a thatched roof.

The north elevation of the house faces into a courtyard area which is enclosed on its west side by what was once a barn and is  now converted into East Worlington Parish Hall.  On the north side of the courtyard are a number of buildings, one being  an original stable block which has been maintained in original condition and is a reminder to the past when horses were an essential aspect of country living.    On a first floor, directly above the stable stalls, the old store,  has been skilfully transformed by local crafts people, and now (2026) offers extremely high quality holiday accommodation.  The east side of  the courtyard is enclosed by a garage, a well maintained Victorian greenhouse, and a garden, providing vegetables and flowers for residents and guests.

On the south side of the house is a formal garden, consisting mainly of a lawned area, and is  boarded on its southern edge partly by a metal post and rail fence and partly by a ha-ha.

Beyond the ha-ha a meadow goes down the hill, which finally levels off in the valley and carries on to the  river as the southern boundary of the meadow.

East Worlington House Fact File

  • Earliest Record

    The first reference to a priest in East Worlington is in 1261 with the installation of Robert de Hendeville.  However, the first reference to East Worlington House in 1679 is in a Church of England inventory (called a Glebe Terrier).   It was described as a house with mud walls with part stone to the front.   On the site of the house there was also a dairy, malt house, a barn, a shippen (cow barn) and a stable.  The presence of a malt house indicates that beer was being brewed, however it is not known if this was solely for the household or if the rector of East Worlington had a handy side-line in selling beer to boost his income.

  • Demolition of Cottage 

    In 1895 a petition was made under the Ecclesiastical Dilapidation Act of 1871 to demolish a coachman’s cottage, washhouse, and linhay (farm building) which were described as being in very poor condition. 

    The purpose of the act was to ensure rectors took care of church property, but it also permitted buildings to be demolished when the cost of repair exceeded the value of the property.  This petition required the consent of  both the Bishop of Exeter and  the Right Honourable Newton Fellows, Earl of Portsmouth  who was the patron for East Worlington Church and Parsonage.

  • Valuation in 19th Century

    In 1831 East Worlington House was described in White’s Devonshire Directory as a neat thatched residence with 66.5 acres of glebe (land that provided income for a clergyman) and valued at £238.  It is not clear if this is the value of the property as we would understand it today or whether this was a reference to the income that it generated on an annual basis. 

    Talking of income, up until 1936 money to support the local clergyman and also to maintain the church came from tithes.   

    A tithe  was a tax on local landowners and farmers who had to give one-tenth of their annual agricultural produce (crops, livestock, etc.) directly to the local clergyman.  In 1936 the old practice of payment in physical goods and farm produce was replaced by a fixed, regular money payment.  The value of the local tithe payment for East Worlington was calculated at  £207 9s 10d per year.  

  • Tithe Barn

    Before 1836 the current East Worlington Parish Hall, which was then part of the rectory of East Worlington House was used to store tithes.  We know this because over eighty years after the abolishment of physical tithes it was still being referred to as “Ye Olde Tythe Barn”. 

    From the mid 1800’s onwards, the barn had been used as a venue for different community activities.  It was sold, in 1920 as a Parish Hall for community use and was purchased by the Parish Council for the princely sum of £10.  The building is Grade II listed, and has since 1920 undergone different phases of renovation, improvement and internal modernisation.

  • Poor House

    At some point in the 19th century the local poor house (a property for housing orphans or the destitute) was located in one of the stables at East Worlington House (from an early 20th century description by Rev. Horace Hill, rector from 1902 to 1918).  It is also known that the poor house occupied a site in what is now East Worlington School but it is unclear if this is the aforementioned stable or whether it was relocated to the School House at a later date (if so this was an perhaps a welcome upgrade for the poor of East Worlington). 

  • Very Nearly Demolished

    In an account entitled “The Evolution of a Devonshire Rectory”, it would appear that in the early 20th century the house had fallen badly into disrepair; so much so it was recommended for demolition.  Fortunately the Church of England financed the necessary repairs, and the house survived.

  • House Sold 

    The property was sold on the open market for the first time in 1958. 

    After the Second World War the Church of England began a policy of selling off of rectories and vicarages. The primary reason was almost certainly financial, as the buildings were often large and expensive to maintain.  In 1958 the living of East Worlington Rectory ceased and in  the same year house was sold into private ownership.

  • Grade II* Listing in 1967

    East Worlington house property is listed as a Grade II*.  The details of the listing can be found on the Historic England website.  Listed buildings are buildings of special architectural or historic interest with legal protection.  Only around 5.8% of listed buildings are Grade II*, which highlights the importance of East Worlington House in the locality. 

  • Hub of Community Events

    The house and grounds have long provided a venue for community events and celebrations  These include the annual village fete, the Riverside Rocks concert, Crocus and Cream Teas (under the National Garden Scheme) and the Duck Race and Dog Show (in support of East Worlington School).  Every four years the grounds are also used for the much enjoyed local Worlympics. 

Property Development Timeline 

1470 
Phase One 
1470 to 1510 Phase 1 is comprised of a single cell building, with just two rooms providing living accommodation with sleeping chamber above.
 
1510 
Phase Two
1510 to 1580 The first phase appears to have been short-lived, the house being modified into a two or three cell house, most probably with an open hall cross-passage and a first floor chamber over the lower end.
 

1580 

Phase Three

1580 to 1600 More work was done at the end of the 16th century with the insertion of a first floor and a chimney stack at the west end of the open hall. A possible stair turret seems to have been added during this phase in the position now occupied by the 20th century stairs. Chimney stacks were probably added at both the upper and lower ends of the hall during this phase, and it may have been during this stage that an inner room was added to the west of the hall.
 
1600 
Phase Four
1600 to 1640 This saw the construction of a detached block to the north-west of the main range but it is not certain what these rooms were used for.  The block might have housed a detached kitchen, but the absence of a chimney and the lack of any evidence of smoke blackening of the roof timbers seems to make this unlikely. An alternative suggestion is that this block was used as a  malt-house with chamber over which was detailed in the Glebe Terrier of 1679. 
 
1680
Phase Five

1680  to 1710  This was a period of rapid expansion to the house.  A link between the west end of the main range and the detached block to the north was constructed. A fireplace and chimney stack was inserted in the south wall of the detached block. In addition a wing of several rooms was added to the east of the link, with a further building, probably agricultural, also added to the north-east of the original 1470 building.

 
1800
Phase Six
Early 19th century This phase saw the rearrangement of the internal space on the ground floor to the north of the main range and to the majority of the first floor. The construction of a new stair occurred during this re organisation probably replacing an earlier stair turret, a fragment of which may survive and can be seen in a cupboard below the stairs added later in phase 7.
 

1900 

Phase Seven

The 20th century saw less significant changes with only a few minor structural alterations, primarily of the partitions on the first and ground floors. The most dramatic change was the addition of a new staircase in the inner hall
 

Press Cuttings

The Property Is More Than The House

Natural Crocus Display  in the Garden

One of the natural features of the property is the extensive display of crocuses that have spread over many years in an area of the garden to the East of the house. The display is of national interests as they  are recognized by the National Garden Scheme and forms part of their annual programme of privately own gardens open to the public The crocuses are at their best in late February early March, depending on the weather conditions. The crocuses, as is the rest of the garden and the grounds of the property, are well maintained and in immaculate condition as a result of the dedication of the owners of the property Barnabas and Campie  Hurst-Bannister.

National Garden Scheme

The National Garden Scheme (NGS) is a UK charity that opens thousands of beautiful private gardens in England, Wales, NI, & Channel Islands to the public, raising millions for nursing and health charities (like Marie Curie, Macmillan, Hospice UK) through admissions, tea, and cake, while also promoting the health benefits of gardens through its “Gardens & Health” programme. It’s a long-standing tradition, started in 1927, offering unique access to diverse gardens, from grand estates to hidden gems, for charity and well-being.

This cutting is an extract from the publicity promoting the scheme and advertising the location, directions, facilities and  the details of opening, of the specific properties.

Extract of text from the press cutting taken from Devon Live  2025

‘The crocuses, which have spread naturally over many years, create a striking display across the two-acre garden and the neighbouring churchyard. The garden, set in a picturesque location with views down the valley to the Little Dart river, offers visitors the chance to explore beyond the flowers. Guests are welcome to walk down to the river, cross the bridge into the wildflower meadow-though not yet in bloom – and follow the public footpaths into the woods.

Stories

add media image

In Poor Condition – Dilapidation the Reverend Benjamin Clay Era and Consequences

This story does not offer a detailed historical account of the condition of the Rectory during the Clay era nor identifies the exact role of Benjamin Clay as the Rector, in his approach to property maintenance and its apparent decline during his tenure.. The aim of this story is to provide information that helps understanding of national context about dilapidation of Church Properties and identify specific information and events relevant to East Worlington to encourage debate, create hypothesis that may generate further investigation, and pose questions rather than draw conclusions.

East Worlington Rectory – A Matter of The Patronage

This story provides an explanation about the system of Patronage, some details of landownership prior to this system, which offers a background to the Earls of Portsmouth who through successive generations held the role of Patron for East Worlington.

When is a Barn Not a Barn? When it is a Parish Hall

Within the curtilage of the Rectory, over the time of its existence, there have been a number of buildings. Excluding the Rectory as a dwelling for the Rectors their families and their employees, the majority of the building were either represented the social and domestic needs of the residents at any given historical  time or related to the income of the Rectors through tithe payments, which for many years were in-kind payments, not money, but produce grown or raised by parishioners and used as the tithe payments they were required to make annually,,  by law, to retain their Rector, who needed a place for storage,  The second source of income was through Glebe land. This is land in the parish owned by the church of which the majority of  the  land was farmed, which required  the Rector have buildings associated with farming This explains why one of the buildings close to the Rectory was a barn, with evidence in  the Glebe Terrier of c1679 confirming it was first constructed in the second half of the 17th century. If you think the barn still exists as a barn or has long decayed  and disappeared you are wrong. Read on for further information.

Evolution of a Devonshire Rectory

The booklet below describes East Worlington House from the 17th through to the early 20th centuries.  The author was the Reverend Henry Hodgson who was the rector of East and West Worlington from 1918 to 1937.  The Reverend Hodgson was clearly enamoured with his home which he describes as  being in a “beautiful situation” and “a typical old Devonshire Rectory” with “no pretension to style itself a mansion”.  This description of the house appears to have compiled from both observation and information available in the ecclesiastical Glebe Terrier;  however, it should be noted that Henry Hodgson was an enthusiastic amateur, not an archaeologist or architect so this account should not be relied upon for its accuracy.