Trimstone

Trimstone is a small hamlet and manor in North Devon, England. It is a quiet, agricultural location,[1] which is best known for its Manor house, which dates from the 11th century, with buildings on the site being present from the writing of the Domesday Book,[2] and which is now a hotel.

Trimstone Country Hotel

The place-name, which is first documented as Trempelstan in 1238, is partly unexplained, but it may refer to a stone used as a stile.[3]

It is almost certain that Trimstone was one of 11 Saxon ‘villein holdings’ of the manor of Bradwell almost 1000 years ago, when William the Conqueror made his sister’s son, Ralph de Limesy, his tenant-in-chief there and there was likely to have been a settlement here well before that time. Trimstone is mentioned in the Domesday Book where it was held by Edric the Saxon before the Conquest and at that time there were 5 smallholders and 11 villagers. Whilst the place name Trimstone is unique in the world, its origin is uncertain. It could possibly relate to a cornerstone or stepping stone of some kind or could be linked to the Trempestane Family who lived here. It seems that originally Trimstone was held under the Manor of Bradwell and whilst early names on tax roles give no clues, in 1332 there were 25 tax-payers in Bradwell and in 1564, Richard Eyre of Bradwell transferred certain properties including Trimstone. However, the French ‘tremper’ means ‘to soak’ and with many natural springs and streams, it may simply have been always ‘soaking wet’! Was Trimstone the missing manor in Devon too? It was not listed as a manor but there is one of the original Devon manors listed and which has been unallocated – ‘Trisme’. It is known that in the “Crown Pleas” of 1238 (see the Devon and Cornwall Record Society, volume 28)(4), Walter Russel and his son Richard killed Roger de Trempestane and fled. They were in the Bradwell Titheing ‘which was in mercy’ and so they were ‘exacted and outlawed’. “Eyres” were periodic visitations by royal justices for hearing when the King’s Peace had been broken and a felony committed. The Crown Pleas mentioned the manor of Bradwell and Trimstone, both of which were ‘blamed’ for not arresting Walter Russel and his son. The Hotel as it is known today ‘started’ as a yeoman farmer’s abode with related farm buildings and parts of the centre of the building go back at least three to four hundred years. The original occupant must have been quite wealthy in that he afforded “3 hearths” – a taxable commodity at that time and best avoided, unless one wished to reflect their wealth and standing within a community! An introduction to the Returns at about that time states: “a three hearth house had 6-8 rooms and people with more than that were almost certain to be yeomen or extremely prosperous craftsmen”. In 1822, in order to pay Estate Duty, many well-known Devon families were forced to sell significant land interests in the area included the Manor at Bradwell and comprising the best part of 1200 acres stretching up to Willingcott, Buttercombe and Trimstone as well. Tenants at the time included many well-known local names, still much in evidence in the area today. Trimstone was mentioned specifically with some delightful sounding small parcels of land, 78 in all, named, no doubt, after previous tenants. There was also a 48 acre wood – assumed to be the one stretching down to Bradwell from Trimstone even now. George Langdon ended-up as the purchaser of the majority of the ground around Trimstone. In the 1841 census, there were 47 people including children living at Trimstone and working the land. This census shows the Langdon family with William as the head of the family farming at Trimstone. William was succeeded by George who was then succeeded by his son William, seeing the farm increase to 330 acres by 1861 and employing four men and two boys. The ‘Trimstone Estate’ was sold by the Langdons at auction in the 1870s. It was described as a “highly valuable and attractive freehold residence and agricultural property known as Trimstone and lying on a lovely position on the southern slope including a charming old fashioned house containing Hall, three sitting rooms, billiard room, nine bedrooms, bathroom, complete offices, acetylene gas and water by gravitation, stables and garage with terrace, tennis lawn, etc”. It had a “productive kitchen garden, a pair of cottages, extensive farm buildings and valuable pasture lands. This took place at the Kings Arms in Georgeham at “three o’clock on August 19th”. Mr Edward Anderton was the successful purchaser and by 1910 he owned 379 acres. In the summer following the death of Mr. Anderton in 1923, Trimstone was sold by auction to a William Pugsley of Arlington for the princely sum of £8,995. It was described then as a “highly valuable and attractive freehold residential and agricultural property known as Trimstone and lying most compactly in a lovely position on a Southern slope and including a charming old fashioned house”. It had a “productive kitchen garden, a pair of cottages, extensive farm buildings, corn mill with water power with highly valuable pasture lands of about 139 acres. The present owner is in possession of photographs take then including one showing the ladder to the lower lawn. The last large sale was when the Pugsleys sold the House and 126 acres. After that date, small parcels of land were sold-off by subsequent owners. The Bigge Family lived in the property as a family home until Dougie and Mary Turner bought the it in 1976 and created the beginnings of the Hotel and in 1986 amalgamated a cottage at the western end of the main property and added an extension to the east, which now houses the owners’ accommodation. This was subsequently sold in 1998 to Mr and Mrs Balfour. The current owners, Mr Philip Milton and his wife Helen, acquired Trimstone and 44 acres in 2007 who immediately set about systematically repairing, maintaining and improving it. The shippen, granary and other farm buildings have been converted to holiday accommodation and the original water wheel which was fed by the leat from the mill pond still exists within the indoor swimming pool area. The Milton family describe themselves as custodians of Trimstone Manor and hope that they are making history for all the right reasons for those who follow in their footsteps into the far and the distant future. They hope that people continue to come to stay or just to seek refreshment whilst they enjoy the House, the gardens and the grounds.(5)

References

1. "Other than Trimstone Manor which is a delighful hotel set in a very rural area, there is little to see in Trimstone". Tour-devon.com. Retrieved 2016-01-31.
2. "Trimstone Manor Hotel - New Website". Trimstone.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-01-31.
3. Victor Watts, ed. (2004). The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names. Cambridge University Press. p. 629. ISBN 978-0-521-16855-7.

[1] [2]

1. Devon and Cornwall Record Society, volume 28
2. www.trimstone.co.uk