Saltram House

Saltram House stands in Plympton, Devon, on land once used for salt harvesting. The present building began as a Tudor farmhouse before Robert Adam remodelled it in the 18th century for the Parker family. Nikolaus Pevsner called it the most impressive country house in Devon. Inside, Adam’s Saloon and Library remain among his finest interiors. The house still holds the Parkers’ collection of paintings, including works by Sir Joshua Reynolds, a childhood friend from Plympton. The Parkers rose from 16th-century Devon bailiffs to become one of the county’s leading families. John Parker and his wife Catherine expanded the house with Palladian façades that conceal its older structure. Their son, the first Baron Boringdon, worked with Adam and Chippendale to create a showpiece of Georgian England. Theresa Robinson, his wife, guided its decoration from afar and shaped its golden age. The estate’s parkland was laid out by Nathaniel Richmond during this period. Visitors walk through Adam’s grand Saloon, its plaster ceiling and door handles crafted to his design. The Velvet Drawing Room and Entrance Hall show delicate Rococo plasterwork. Upstairs, Reynolds’s portraits hang beside family watercolours by Frances, second wife of the Earl of Morley. Outside, lawns slope to the tidal Laira where mudflats give way to Plymouth Sound. The Castle summerhouse offers views across the water to the distant hills.