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Summary

A flat-topped knoll which has been suggested to be the site of the earlier house which may have been left as a ruin in the designed landscape around the present Stover House which was built in the 1770s. However, a survey undertaken in 2019 showed the mound to be artificial, possibly representing one or more late 18th or 19th century events such as the demolition of the earlier house, which is now considered to have stood to the north or from the construction of the canal which was dug to the south in the 1770s.

Location

Protected Status

• Registered Park or Garden (II) 1001268: STOVER PARK
• Registered Park or Garden (II) 1001268: STOVER PARK

Other References/Statuses

• National Record of the Historic Environment: 447007
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX87SW/20
• Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division: SX87SW 3

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• (Former Type) MANSION HOUSE (Built, XVI to XVII - 1501 AD (Between) to 1700 AD (Between))
• MOUND (XVIII to XIX - 1701 AD (Between) to 1900 AD (Between))

Full description

Ordnance Survey, 1880-1899, First Edition Ordnance 25 inch map (Cartographic). SDV336179.

'Stover House (Site of)'

Watkin, H. R., 1924 - 1925, Templer Family, 329 (Article in Serial). SDV341503.

In the manor of Teigngrace stood an old residence called on Donn's map "Stoford Lodge". James Templer pulled down the old house and built "Stover" of Dartmoor granite.

Watkin, H. R., 1930 - 1934, Teign, Teign Bruer, Teign Le Gras, Teign Graas, Teign Grace, 133-43 (Article in Serial). SDV341505.

Descent of ownership of manor given.

Ordnance Survey, 1930 - 1939, Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map (Cartographic). SDV336668.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1953, SX87SW 3 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV341508.

1. Stover House (Site of) shown on Ordnance Survey 6 inch 1933 Provisional Edition.
2. Believed to be older than Elizabethan. The present Stover House was built in 1776. The Grotto (at SX83837428) is believed to be as old as the original house. This Stover House is a girls' school.
3. All that remains of the original Stover House is a flat rectangular knoll with slopes 2 to 3 metres high, surrounded by a small copse of fir trees and covered with nettles. Nothing remains by which it can be dated. The Grotto is a crescent shaped subterranean stable of the 18th century date, and compares with the style of building of the present house, which is Adam, and once the seat of the Templer family.

Fairy Surveys Ltd, 1964, FSL/6412 V, FSL/6412 V 2063-064 07-FEB-1964 (Aerial Photograph). SDV357115.

Earthwork banks are visible.

Mitchell, M., 1979, Ball Clay Survey of South Devon (Archive - Survey). SDV341500.

Visited 29/06/1979. Site of former house to north of present house, now a girls' school. All that remains is flat 'knoll' circa 50 metres wide, small copse of fir trees mentioned in Ordnance Survey description now removed. Overgrown and remains undefinable. No real threat of removal. Other details: 19, worksheet 24.

Environment Agency, 1998-2017, LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution) EA: South Devon Coast to Dartmoor, LIDAR SX8374 Environment Agency DTM 01-JAN-1998 to 31-MAY-2017 (Cartographic). SDV361470.

Curvilinear earthwork banks are visible.

Waterhouse, R., 2006, Stover House. Archaeological Notes, 1, 3 (Report - non-specific). SDV364294.

The site of a medieval manor house on an artificial platform overlooking the later serpentine lake (1 on plan). This is possibly connected with the Manor of Taigna recorded in Domesday Book [1086] and documented as Teingbruere 1297.
The manor house may have had a chapel, documented as licensed in 1297.

Askew Nelson Ltd, 2014, Stover Park. Parkland Plan (Un-published). SDV358318.

Askew Nelson Ltd, 2014, Stover Park. Parkland Plan, 23, 31, 36, 66 (Un-published). SDV358318.

Stover Lodge is shown on Donn's map of Devon, 1765, at which time it was owned by James Templer (1722-82) and maybe the same property that he is documenting as leasing at Teigngrace in 1760. It was a low lying property, possibly susceptible to flooding and a new house on higher ground was built between 1776 and 1780. The old house and/or its stables was kept until the mid 19th century, probably for use as services and outbuildings as the new house did not have a service wing. The site of the house is also shown on the 1st edition Ordnance Survey map.
Possibly the site of Weolfred's Tomb, mentioned in an anonymous poem, 'Stover Lodge A Poem' published in 1801.

Blaylock, S., 2015, Stover Park, Devon, 6 (Report - non-specific). SDV360090.

Seven hearths are recorded in the 1674 Hearth Tax Return indicating a significantly larger than average house. It appears to have been incorporated into the 18th century designed landscape with the serpentine lake curving around it which raises the question as to whether it was intended for the house to survive as a ruin?

Hegarty, C., Knight, S. and Sims, R., 2018-2019, The South Devon Coast to Dartmoor Aerial Investigation and Mapping Survey. Area 1, Haldon Ridge to Dart Valley (AI&M) (Interpretation). SDV361305.

Curvilinear banks associated with Stover House within Stover Park, Teigngrace, are visible as earthworks on aerial photographs taken in 1964 and digital images derived from lidar data captured between 1998 and 2017. The earthworks comprise banks, circa 9m wide, which form a partial sub-rectilinear shaped enclosure, circa 41m long by 35m wide.

Riley, H., 2019, Survey at Stover Park, Teigngrace, Teignbridge, Devon (Report - Survey). SDV363565.

Historic maps and engravings suggest that Stover Lodge was situated to the north of the present house which was built in the later 18th century. The earlier house may have been left as a ruin as part of the designed landscape of the time. Archaeological investigations in 1953 and 1979 noted that all that remained was a flat knoll.
A GPS survey undertaken at Stover Park, as part of the assessment of the possible site of the former house, recorded the location of several test pits dug on the knoll in 2019. The extent of the knoll, assumed to be the building platform for the house, was also recorded.
The surveys showed that the earthwork remains comprise an artificial, flat-topped mound, 60 metres by 50 metres and up to 3.5 metres high, possibly representing one or more late 18th and 19th century events. It could potentially contain demolition rubble from Stoford Lodge, which is suggested to have stood on the lower lying ground to the north, where a building, marked as stables, is depicted on the 1838 Tithe Map, or spoil from the construction of the ornamental canal which was dug just to the south of the site in the 1770s.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV336179	Cartographic: Ordnance Survey. 1880-1899. First Edition Ordnance 25 inch map. First Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map. Map (Digital).
SDV336668	Cartographic: Ordnance Survey. 1930 - 1939. Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map. Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map. Map (Digital).
SDV341500	Archive - Survey: Mitchell, M.. 1979. Ball Clay Survey of South Devon. Devon Committee for Rescue Archaeology Survey of the Ball Clay Industry of . Mixed Archive Material.
SDV341503	Article in Serial: Watkin, H. R.. 1924 - 1925. Templer Family. Devon and Cornwall Notes and Queries. 13. A4 Stapled. 329.
SDV341505	Article in Serial: Watkin, H. R.. 1930 - 1934. Teign, Teign Bruer, Teign Le Gras, Teign Graas, Teign Grace. Transactions of the Torquay Natural History Society. 6. Unknown. 133-43.
SDV341508	Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card: Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division. 1953. SX87SW 3. Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card. Card Index.
SDV357115	Aerial Photograph: Fairy Surveys Ltd. 1964. FSL/6412 V. Fairy Surveys Ltd aerial photograph. Photograph (Paper). FSL/6412 V 2063-064 07-FEB-1964.
SDV358318	Un-published: Askew Nelson Ltd. 2014. Stover Park. Parkland Plan. Digital. 23, 31, 36, 66.
SDV360090	Report - non-specific: Blaylock, S.. 2015. Stover Park, Devon. Digital. 6.
SDV361305	Interpretation: Hegarty, C., Knight, S. and Sims, R.. 2018-2019. The South Devon Coast to Dartmoor Aerial Investigation and Mapping Survey. Area 1, Haldon Ridge to Dart Valley (AI&M). Historic England Research Report. Digital.
	Linked documents:1
SDV361470	Cartographic: Environment Agency. 1998-2017. LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution) EA: South Devon Coast to Dartmoor. Environment Agency LiDAR data. Digital. LIDAR SX8374 Environment Agency DTM 01-JAN-1998 to 31-MAY-2017. [Mapped feature: #114053 ]
SDV363565	Report - Survey: Riley, H.. 2019. Survey at Stover Park, Teigngrace, Teignbridge, Devon. Hazel Riley. Digital + A4.
	Linked documents:1
SDV364294	Report - non-specific: Waterhouse, R.. 2006. Stover House. Archaeological Notes. Devon Rural Archive. A4 Stapled + Digital. 1, 3.

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV7223 - Contributions on Aspects of the Architectural History, Landscape History and Archaeology of Stover Park
• EDV7491 - Preparation of Parkland Plan for Stover Park, Newton Abbot, Devon
• EDV7515 - The South Devon Coast to Dartmoor Aerial Investigation and Mapping (formerly NMP) Survey: Haldon Ridge to Dart Valley (Ref: ACD1748)
• EDV8742 - Metric survey at Stover Park, Teigngrace

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