Ugbrooke Park, Chudleigh, England

The following is from the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest.

 An early 18th century formal park landscape, remodelled in the mid and late 18th century by Lancelot Brown, with 19th century gardens and pleasure grounds around a mansion rebuilt by Robert Adam in the mid 18th century.

 DESCRIPTION

LOCATION, AREA, BOUNDARIES, LANDFORM, SETTING

Ugbrooke Park is situated some 2 kilometres south-east of the town of Chudleigh, and about 2 kilometres north-east of the village of Ideford. The A380 road from Exeter to Newton Abbot passes through the site, running from north-east to south through the park about 550 metres south-east of the House. The site occupies about 235 hectares, which comprise about 5 hectares of gardens and pleasure grounds, about 200 hectares of parkland and woodland and about 30 hectares of pleasure grounds, parkland and woodland associated with Lawell House which afford views of the picturesque Chudleigh Rocks. The site is bounded to the north and south-east by rubble-stone walls about 3 metres high which enclose the park. Elsewhere the site is enclosed by traditional hedge banks which adjoin agricultural land and minor roads to the south and south-west of the site. Ugbrooke Park lies in the upper valley of the Ugbrooke, a stream which flows from north-east to west-south-west through the park. The ground rises to high points to the north at Castle Dyke Camp, and to the south-west. To the north of the Gappah to Biddlecombe road which forms the northern boundary of the park, the land falls steeply through Riding Parks to Lawell House and Chudleigh Rocks, an area of quarried land with cliffs, caves and exposed rocks. The site has extensive views north and west towards Dartmoor.

REFERENCES

Fr Reeve, Ugbrooke park: A Poem (1776)

R Polwhele, The History of Devonshire II, (1793-1806), pp 119-120

T H Williams, Picturesque Excursions in Devonshire II, (1815)

Gardener's Magazine 18, (1842), pp 551-552

J B Burke, Visitation of Seats ii, (1853), p 150

M Jones, The History of Chudleigh, Devon (1875)

F O Morris, A Series of Picturesque Views of Seats 2, (1880), p 67

Country Life, 142 (20 July 1967), pp 138-141; (27 July 1967), pp 203-207; (3 August 1967), pp 266-270; (5 October 1967), pp 790-793

D Stroud, Capability Brown (1975), pp 96-97, 100, 243

H Clifford, The House of Clifford from before the Norman Conquest (1987)

Ugbrooke, Chudleigh, South Devon, guidebook, (Ugbrooke Park nd)

Ugbrooke Park Restoration Plan, (Nicholas Pearson Associates 1993)

T Gray, The Garden History of Devon An Illustrated Guide to Sources (1995), pp 223-225

Maps

William Doidge, A Plan of the Barton of Ugbrook lying in the Parish of Chudleigh Belonging to the Rt Honble Ld Clifford, 1740 (private collection)

B Donn, Map of the County of Devon, 1765

Survey Drawing, nd (c 1770), (private collection)

Lancelot Brown (?), Plan of Ugbrooke Park, nd (c 1770), (private collection)

Estate Plan, nd (c 1810), (private collection)

C and J Greenwood, Map of the County of Devon, 1827

Estate Plan, 1830 (private collection)

Tithe map for Chudleigh parish, 1842 (Devon Record Office)

OS Surveyor's drawing, 1810

OS Old Series 1" to 1 mile, published 1811

OS 6" to 1 mile: 1st edition surveyed 1886, published 1890

OS 25" to 1 mile: 1st edition surveyed 1887, published 1889

2nd edition revised 1904, published 1905

Illustrations

H De Cort, view of Ugbrooke Park, late C18 (private collection)

William Tomkins, two views of Chudleigh Rocks, 1772 (private collection)

Francis Towne, series of drawings of Ugbrooke Park, 1775 (private collection)

Francis Towne, series of drawings of Ugbrooke Park, 1778 (private collection)

Archival items

The Clifford family papers, including plans of the park, are held in a private collection.