Bowden, Ashprington

Bowden House, Ashprington, Devon

Bowden is an historic estate in Ashprington parish near Totnes in Devon, England. The present structure, known as "Bowden House," is a grade I listed building and, having been modified over many centuries, is composed of a mélange of styles with English Baroque and Tudor predominating.^[1]

Listing description[]

Bowden House was given a grade 1 listing in 1952, making it one of fewer than 10,000 such buildings in the UK, recognizing it as being of exceptional interest and national importance. The Register of Listed Buildings describes it, in part, as follows:

Description of Bowden House[]

Bowden House as viewed from the South

Bowden's primary façades provide a consistent 18th century appearance, screening the mixture of ages and styles of its much-remodeled interior. The massive chimney stacks, some dating to the 16th century, appear crude by contrast with the square dressed stone of the south and west elevations. These elevations together contain two main entrances and thirty sash windows. The secondary elevations to the north and east display much more clearly the many modifications made over time and incorporate masonry remnants and leftovers salvaged during previous renovations.

Ground floor plan of Bowden House

The oldest parts of the house lie to the north and east. Land at Bowden was occupied by the de Braose family in 1154 but nothing visible in the house's structure suggests it contains anything dating to this period. Much of the foundation and some internal walls of the current building likely have their origin in construction done for Thomas Giles (or Gyles, or Gylles) who acquired Bowden in 1464. A large Tudor mansion arose early in the 1520s (about one-third of which remains today) and was incorporated into the current building. Evidence of the original layout of Giles' construction can be gleaned from studying the existing cellar walls and the southern outer courtyard walls. The Giles Family lived at Bowden for about 250 years.

Shortly after purchasing the house in 1704, Nicholas Trist enlarged it by adding ranges to cover two sides of the original building, but probably retaining part of a north cross wing as well as the 'Giles' Tudor hall. Any previous structure to the south of this hall has been obliterated by Trist's additions. In the 18th century the 'Giles' hall became the main kitchen, with ovens and a massive chimney being added to the west side.

In about 1800 Bowden was bought by the Adams family, who brought the roofs to their current state during their ownership, which lasted until 1887. The ceiling in the 18th century south entrance hall carries a shield of arms of 'Adams of Bowden'. Pevsner comments upon this room: '...one of the few examples in the country of an essay in Baroque taste, the details rather better than the sum of the parts, as seen so often in provincial work. An early C18 date seems likely for most of the decoration, although some of the embellishments may be later, among them the arms of the Adam family, owners of the house from c. 1800, which appear on the ceiling.'^[3]

Ownership[]

John Giles (or Gyles, or Gylles) MP (c.1487-1553) to son

William Giles (c.1507-1581) to son

John Giles MP (d. 1606) to son

Sir Edward Giles MP (1566-1637) to first cousin

Richard Giles (1581-1648) to son

John Giles (d. 1676) to kinswoman

Mary, wife of Sir Richard Gipps, who sold 1704 to

Nicholas Trist (1668-1741) to son

Browse Trist (c.1699-1777) to son

Hore Browse Trist (c.1736-80) to brother

Rev. Browse Trist (c.1742-91) to three daughters, who sold c.1800 to

William Adams MP (1752-1811) to son

William Dacres Adams (1775-1862) to son

Rev. Dacres Adams (1806-71) to son

William Fulford Adams (1833-1912) who sold 1887 to

Sir Mortimer Singer (d. 1929) who sold 1895 to

The Harvey family who sold c.1914 to

Montague Bush who sold to

Robert William Campbell-Davidson (fl. 1923) ca. 1920 let to

Col. Partridge, requisitioned for use by US Army in WW2, used as special school, then sold c. 1965 to

Ayles family, who sold in 1976 to

Christopher & Belinda Petersen, who sold in 2000 to

Mrs. & Mr. R. Taylor, who sold in 2005 to

Jan Mosbacher, who sold in 2014 to

The Bowden Housing Cooperative Ltd.

The Bowden House Community, who are the present owners and residents of the building, are a cohousing "group of families and individuals developing conscious, authentic and eco-mindful living within a culture of singing, working, eating, gardening, celebrating and learning together".^[4] Bowden House is owned by the Bowden Housing Cooperative Ltd., which is in turn the joint property of its residents.

References[]

Sources[]

• Burke, John, Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland Enjoying Territorial Possessions or High Official Rank but Uninvested with Heritable Honours, 4 volumes (1833–1838), Vol. 4, ("Small Paper Edition"), London, 1838, pp. 434–4, Adams of Bowden
• Pevsner, Nikolaus & Cherry, Bridget, The Buildings of England: Devon, London, 2004, pp. 195–6, Bowden House
• Pole, Sir William (died 1635), Collections Towards a Description of the County of Devon, Sir John-William de la Pole (ed.), London, 1791, p. 293, Bowedon
• Risdon, Tristram (died 1640), Survey of Devon, 1811 edition, London, 1811, with 1810 Additions, p. 166, Bowden, Ashprington
• Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, p. 409, pedigree of Giles of Bowden

Coordinates: 50°25′02″N 3°41′18″W / 50.4172°N 3.6884°W / 50.4172; -3.6884