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Kelly House

Home to the Kelly family since 1100, the earliest part of the house dates from the 15th century with alterations from every century until 1877. Local architect, Abraham Rundle, designed much in 1740s and specifications survive. Pevsner compliments its good contemporary features. Unusual brick granary and 1740 stable block.
Kelly is a Celtic place-name meaning ‘clearing in a wood’ and it was first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Chenleia. Owned by a Saxon before the Conquest, it was then held by Modbert, a Norman from Baldwin the Sheriff of Devon

Around 1100 the owner was recorded as Martin de Kelly and the Kelly family has lived here ever since. The buildings you can now see reflect the way in which their lives have been part of this remote and lovely area of Devon for over 900 years.

The earliest part of the present house consists of the ground floor of the double height hall, which was used as the kitchen for the house until the middle of the 20th century and is now the tea room and venue for a range of evening feasts. The carved roof timbers of this hall are now hidden by the insertion of a first floor parlour, created as part of the modernisation and expansion of the house in the late 17th century.

By 1742, the Kellys were prosperous enough to replace part of the old pre-Tudor house by the elegant early Georgian building with its graceful staircase, which you can see today. Throughout the 19th century, the family continued to live the lives of prosperous country squires, devoted to their estate and with a close relationship to the people who lived in the parish. However the advent of the 20th century brought the problems faced by many country houses and rural estates, as maintenance became a constant drain on resources and much of the estate had to be sold off.

The current family, Warin and Elizabeth and their children Sophia and Jonathan, are determined to find new and imaginative ways of facing this challenge, while maintaining a family home and continuing to serve the local community.

Tour 2½ hours, £15 including tea, coffee, cakes and biscuits.

www.kelly-house.co.uk

To book, call the Mercury Theatre on 01206 573948
or book on-line at www.mercurytheatre.co.uk. 

Other nearby properties:

Coombe Trenchard
Pentillie Castle

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