A Short History of Paschoe House
Paschoe House is located near Crediton in the heart of Devon, set amongst twenty-five acres of wild landscapes with views over a large lake and as far as Dartmoor. A grade II listed gentry house of mid-nineteenth century origin, Paschoe House was designed by the famous architect John Hayward in the Victorian Gothic style.
The Pascoe Estate was first recorded in 1611 and the original house was built in the 13th Century near the lake that you can see today. In the late eighteenth century, it was noticed to be subsiding in its position, so the decision was made to move the house to higher and more sturdy ground – this is where you see it today.
At some point in 19th Century, the “h” was added to Pascoe making it Paschoe.
The original Pascoe House was acquired in 1611 by the prolific Hamlyn family who also owned seats at Clovelly, Langdon Court and Leawood.
For the construction of the new house, they employed the renowned Victorian architect John Hayward who was the official architect of the Exeter Diocesan Architectural Society and who also designed Exeter’s Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter Prison and The Hall in the Chapel Quad (Pembroke College, Oxford University).
Paschoe remained Hamlyn property from 1611 to 1948, a whopping 337 years and approximately 6 generations.
In 1787, there are records of the well-known Devonian, Uncle Tom Cobley, visiting Mr Christopher Hamlyn (then a country solicitor) residing in the original Pascoe House to draw up Tom Cobley’s will and testament. Uncle Tom was a well-to-do yeoman of the parish of Spreyton where he owned lands and a good sum of money. It is told that Old Tom, in his 90s, was very suspicious about signing his will as both his sight and hearing were failing him. He had been to another solicitor prior to Mr Hamlyn and didn’t trust him. He did, however, trust Mr Hamlyn and happily signed his will.
The last generation of the Hamlyn family opened Paschoe’s gates to 75 evacuee children from North London during World War II.
In 1948, the estate was bought by Frank Surgey, a Bond Street antiques dealer who only owned Paschoe for 10 years. Unfortunately, in his guardianship Paschoe lost its west wing, which split the L-shaped property into 2 separate properties: Paschoe House and Paschoe Cottage. In 1958 a farming family by the name of Blake bought the Estate and surrounding lands and lived there until 2000.
In 2000, the Amador family bought the House and 25 acres of land and in 2006 started the restoration works, building a tennis court, restoring the Victorian walled garden to the west of the property, building a garage and office space, a large stable yard and reinstating the west wing demised by Mr. Surgey restoring the original large L-shaped property.
After a pause between 2011 and 2015, the restoration works were completed and the House was opened to the public as a Hotel and Event venue in late March 2018. The interiors are decorated in a fusion of traditional and modern styles that attempt to provide a relaxed traditional environment while providing all the luxury and comforts of modern utilities.
