Kelly House, Devon: A Historic Country House and Estate
Site at a Glance
- Popularity
- Medium
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Primary era
- Early Modern
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Early Modern, Modern
- Civilizations
- British, English
- Site type
- Domestic
- Remains
- Manor House
On this page8 sections
History
The Kelly family estate
Kelly House is a country house and estate in the village of Kelly, Devon, England. The Kelly family has owned the estate since approximately 1100, and the house preserves fabric from several periods of its development.
Village life and later changes
During the First World War, Margaret Kelly kept a diary about household affairs at Kelly House and life in the village. After the war, Mary Kelly established the Village Drama Society, which met at the house from 1919 until about 1925.
Parts of the estate were sold during the twentieth century, and the house deteriorated. It became a Grade I listed building on 14 June 1952, a designation that represents England’s highest listed-building category. Later, it was added to the Heritage at Risk Register, which identifies heritage places threatened by their condition or other pressures. A leaking roof was the main concern. Parts of the house have since been restored, with assistance from students at Kelly College. Members of the Kelly family continue to live at the property.
Remains
Kelly House stands within parkland and brings together an older core and later additions. The architect Abraham Rundle is associated with the house.
Architectural fabric
Medieval core
Parts of the original medieval house survive, including the great hall. Later, substantial remodelling in the Tudor style, associated with English architecture of the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, obscured much of the earlier fabric from view.
West wing
The west wing was built in 1742 in the Georgian style, a period of English architecture spanning the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
North wing
The north wing was added in 1877 and is the latest addition described for the house.
