Hareston, Brixton

Hareston Farm in 2006

Hareston (anciently Harestone, Harston, etc.) is an historic estate in the parish of Brixton, about three miles from Plymouth in Devon. The mansion house built during the reign of King Henry VII (1485-1509) burned down partially in an accidental fire at the beginning of the 18th century, and in 1822 the surviving part, the Hall and Chapel, was being used as a farmhouse.[1] It was described by Candida Lycett Green in her 1991 book The Perfect English Country House as: "The most forgotten Manor House Farm In England, untouched for hundreds of years, sits safely, impossible to find, down miles of private sunken lanes which in the spring brim with Campion, Bluebells, Purple Orchids, Primroses, Violets, Speedwell and Stitchwort. Wooded hills rise behind this, the quintessence of an ancient English Manor House".[2]

  1. ^ Lysons, Daniel & Lysons, Samuel, Magna Britannia, Vol.6, Devonshire, London, 1822, p.74
  2. ^ Quoted in [1]