Tapeley Park

Tapeley Park is a grade II* listed country house in the parish of Westleigh in North Devon. The present mansion was built or enlarged around 1704 from an earlier structure and remodelled in the 19th century and again in the early 20th century. Pilasters, a portico, pediment and parapet were added to give it a Queen Anne style appearance. The estate was inherited by William Langham Christie from the Clevland family in the mid 19th century. His grandson John Christie, founder of Glyndebourne Opera Festival, later bequeathed Tapeley to his daughter Rosamund Christie. After her death it passed to her nephew Hector Christie, who briefly turned it into a hippie commune. In 2011 the estate featured in the Channel 4 programme Country House Rescue presented by Ruth Watson. The gardens are grade II* listed in the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. They open regularly and include Italianate terraces, a working kitchen garden and a permaculture garden. The estate covers about 6,000 acres across several locations. These include Saunton with its foreshore and beach, Braunton Burrows with its sand dunes partly a nature reserve and leased to the Ministry of Defence, Instow with its foreshore purchased from the Crown Estate, and the village of Westleigh. Visitors find Italianate terraces and two gardens open to the public. The working kitchen garden supplies produce while the permaculture garden shows sustainable methods. The wider estate stretches across coastal and inland sites. Saunton beach lies within the grounds and Braunton Burrows’ dunes form part of the landscape. The village of Westleigh sits within the parish and the foreshore at Instow belongs to the estate.