Stafford, Dolton

Stafford Barton, entrance front, viewed in 2016, shortly after substantial repair and remodelling by the Doran family. Click on image to see full-size version.
Stafford Barton, rear elevation, in 2016. The projecting wing at far-left was built by Charles Luxmoore in the early 20th c. to accommodate a large decorative plasterwork ceiling circa 1600 imported from Barnstaple, now forming the ceiling of the large ground floor reception room. Click on image to see full-size version.

Stafford (anciently Stowford) is an historic manor in the parish of Dolton in Devon, England. The present manor house known as Stafford Barton is a grade II* listed building.[1] A house of some form has existed on the manor probably since the Norman Conquest in the 11th century. Surviving walls can be dated to the 16th century.[2] Many additions and renovations have taken place in the intervening years, and in the early 20th century Charles Luxmoore made many alterations and extensions and imported several major architectural features from ancient local mansions undergoing demolition so that "it has become somewhat difficult to discern its original form".[1] In the nineteenth century the estate was very substantial, with 400 acres of associated farmland and a large staff,[2] and by 1956, at the end of the Luxmoore tenure, it had grown to 1,460 acres with 7 farms, several cottages and smallholdings.[3]

  1. ^ a b Listed building text
  2. ^ a b Haigh, Lesley (2009) "Stafford Barton, Dolton, Devon: A House with History".
  3. ^ Advertisement by Connell's estate agent in Country Life magazine, 23 August 1956, Supplement, p.15. (Image in Ebay listing)