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Summary

Following a catastrophic fire in 1928, the house and nearby farm buildings was redesigned and rebuilt. The house is a striking and well-executed late Arts and Crafts country house design, incorporating a reimagining of the former 17th century farmhouse and dairy. It employs high quality natural materials and neat stylistic detailing. Gullet was originally a small fishing community by the creek.

Location

Protected Status

• Listed Building (II) 1492695: Gullet Farm Estate and associated structures and buildings.

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX73NE/58

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• HAMLET (Early Medieval to XIX - 1066 AD (Between) to 1900 AD (Between))
• FARMSTEAD (XVII to Early 20th Century - 1601 AD (Between) to 1932 AD (Between))

Full description

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

Two groups of buildings by the creek, marked as Gullet Farm.

Eames, K., 1989, South Pool, Devon: An Archaeological Survey, 62 (Report - Survey). SDV156787.

Gullet is recorded on the 1840 Tithe Map. Also known as Salcombe Gullet. It used to be a small fishing community.

Kirkwood, H., 2012, Private peninsula in Devon (Article in Serial). SDV366266.

The Gullet Estate is situated on a peninsula in the Salcombe Estuary between South Pool and Goodshelter Creeks. The house is built in the Arts & Crafts style, created from two thatched cottages. Behind the house are formal gardens, a walled garden and Home Barn a purpose built property with a ballroom and minstrel’s gallery.

Historic England, 2024, Gullet Estate, South Pool, Nr Salcombe, South Hams, Devon, TQ7 2RR (List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest). SDV366265.

Notification of an application to add Gullet Farm Estate to the List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest.

Historic England, 2025, Gullet Farm Estate and Associated Structures, South Pool, 1492695, 1494087, 1494094, 1495080, 1495081 (List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest). SDV366685.

Following a catastrophic fire in 1928, the house and nearby farm buildings was redesigned and rebuilt. The house is a striking and well-executed late Arts and Crafts country house design, incorporating a reimagining of the former 17th century farmhouse and dairy. It employs high quality natural materials and neat stylistic detailing.

Landscaping structures such as the sea wall, steps, gates, gate piers, and garden walls are of good quality and complement the house and are included in the listing. Overall, Gullet Farmhouse is a confident example of earlier 20th century country house design, of a similar standard but sitting somewhere between more modest houses built for professionals in the small towns of Devon, for example, Sharlands House, Braunton, (Grade II, 1912, NHLE entry 1492834), and more lavish country retreats, such as Coleton Fishacre, Brixham (Grade II, 1925-1926, Oswald Milne for Rupert D’Oyly Carte, NHLE entry 1324859).

Associated buildings Home Barn, with attached former laundry and walls, boathouse, Drive Cottage and former motor garage and The Dairy are listed under their own listed entry numbers.

The following buildings are not included in the listing: Walled garden, swimming pool and garden structures, Poolpark Barn with detached garage and walls, Water pumping station, Henniford Bungalow and 1-3 Henniford Cottages, Higher Close Bungalow, Upper Farm Buildings, Model Farm and Bank Barn.

Listed 16/09/2025

Historic England, 2025, National Heritage List for England 2025, 1492695 (National Heritage List for England). SDV366287.

A country house, of 1928-1935, designed and built on the footprint of a 17th century Devon farmhouse and dairy, located on the banks of a South Devon estuary. Following an initial refurbishment to the designs of notable London architect Herbert Read, the house was rebuilt following a fire.

The house is a striking and well-executed late Arts and Crafts country house design, incorporating a reimagining of the former 17th century farmhouse and dairy. It employs high quality natural materials and neat stylistic detailing. Herbert Read, along with Robert Falconer MacDonald (the client’s father and the son of prolific Scottish writer George MacDonald), was articled to George and Peto. They were prolific from the late 19th century, designing numerous central London buildings (many now listed at Grade II), as well as provincial works such as Lynton Town Hall, Devon (1898, Grade II*, National Heritage List for England (NHLE) entry 1206608).

The house is a graceful composition with a playful variation of roof slopes and building lines. The design respects the footprint, scale and spirit of the former farmhouse on the site, albeit replacing the Devonshire straw thatch to the roofs with stone slates. Architectural embellishments including stone, clay tile and brick detailing, and cast-iron rainwater goods, are of good quality. To the interior, the oak panelled entrance hall, chimney pieces to most rooms and well-crafted timber casements and doors have been retained within a modern refit, befitting an excellent example of a 1920s country residence. Some service rooms, including a flower room and a bar servery behind the fireplace to the living room also survive. The building’s planform is mostly unchanged and many original features survive.

Included in this listing are the entrance gate piers, garden walls, steps and sea wall.


Listed 16/09/2025, see listing description for full details.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

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