Dovery Manor Museum

Dovery Manor Museum stands in the village of Porlock, Somerset. The manor house was built late in the 15th century and enlarged in the 17th century. In 1895 it was restored for Sir Charles Chadwyck-Healey by Edmund Buckle. The building is Grade II* listed, recognising its special architectural interest. Its stone walls and mullioned windows still show the manor’s long history. The museum keeps local records and objects that tell Porlock’s story. Photographs, press cuttings and paintings fill its rooms. A special display recalls the January 1899 storm when the Lynmouth lifeboat was hauled over Porlock Hill by twenty horses and rescuers. Thirteen seamen were saved after the boat reached calmer waters at Porlock Weir. Behind the manor a herb garden is being brought back to its 15th-century use. Medicinal and culinary plants are grown there once more. Visitors walk past the restored beds and look up at the manor’s rear façade. The garden offers quiet views over the surrounding countryside.