Exciting new project at Lupton House will reveal Torbay's past

By Julian Barnes
Published 26th Mar 2024, 17:00 BST
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The £50k grant from Historic England will open up unseen parts of the estate

Historic England has awarded a grant of £53,048 to the Lupton Trust, to repair one of the historic farm buildings at Lupton House and give it a new community use.

The range of 19th century farm buildings was to be the home of a community garden project, until the calves’ house became unstable in 2022, and was fenced off.

The Trust’s volunteer-run garden project began during the COVID-19 pandemic, and quickly became vitally important to the community as local people experienced loneliness and lost support as charities went into lockdown.placeholder image
The Trust’s volunteer-run garden project began during the COVID-19 pandemic, and quickly became vitally important to the community as local people experienced loneliness and lost support as charities went into lockdown.

Due to its success, the project continued after the pandemic. Volunteers supplied plants, garden furniture and equipment to help the project thrive, while visitors to Lupton House and the Coach House Café bought plants in support of the scheme. The Trust planned to develop the project further, but had to pause when the calves’ house started to deteriorate.

Historic England awarded emergency funding to repair the calves’ house in December 2023. Local contractors Riviera Stone Masons have recently completed the repairs.

Rebecca Barrett, South West Regional Director at Historic England, said: “Our grant has helped to prevent the loss of one of the outbuildings of Lupton House and to give it a great new use supported by the local community and volunteers.  We wish the project every success”. 

Janet Howard of the Lupton House Trust, said:“Now that the calves’ house has been repaired, we can really focus on our community garden project once more. We would love to bring more people together through a shared love of nature, and with their support, we can reopen the plant centre and establish many more volunteering opportunities to support it”.

History

Lupton dates back to 1086, when the first acres of woodland were documented in the Domesday Survey, making it one of the oldest historic sites in Torbay. Lupton House was built by Charles Hayne, Sheriff of Devon, in 1769 and was altered and expanded by George Wightwick in 1843. It is listed at Grade II* and the gardens are listed Grade II* on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.

The period between 1750 and 1880 brought about major developments in farmstead plans and buildings to improve animal welfare standards and increase productivity for the growing population.

At Lupton, a single range of buildings is laid out around a courtyard and brings together several functions, a design often used to promote efficiency. The calves’ house, cow shed and piggery housed animals over winter, with passages and stores to keep their food close by, and a separate dung yard, where manure for all-important fertiliser could be collected. Complete planned, or model, farmsteads of this period are nationally important and are normally listed where they survive in good condition. The farm buildings at Lupton were listed at Grade II in 1949.placeholder image
At Lupton, a single range of buildings is laid out around a courtyard and brings together several functions, a design often used to promote efficiency. The calves’ house, cow shed and piggery housed animals over winter, with passages and stores to keep their food close by, and a separate dung yard, where manure for all-important fertiliser could be collected. Complete planned, or model, farmsteads of this period are nationally important and are normally listed where they survive in good condition. The farm buildings at Lupton were listed at Grade II in 1949.

After it went out of use as a family home, Lupton House was a base for US service personnel in the Second World War and from 1956 it was used as a school. The last school, Gramercy Hall School, closed in 2004.

Lupton House was taken on by the Lupton Trust in 2008 and is now used as a venue and offers health and wellbeing activities. It is the home of Four Seasons, a Community Interest Company (CIC) providing work, employment and life skills training for people with disabilities, and Orchard Forest School, which offers opportunities to explore and connect with the tranquil ancient orchard setting.

Related topics:Historic EnglandTorbayBrixham
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