Brunel Manor

Brunel Manor is a mansion on the outskirts of the seaside resort of Torquay, Devon, England. Ownership historyThe manor and its gardens were designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel to be his retirement home. He discovered the area while surveying for the Great Western Railway, and he and his family later spent many holidays in the town. He eventually purchased the plot of land with a view to designing and building his dream home to which he would retire. Brunel never saw the house or gardens finished due to his death in 1859. He had already imported large quantities of Oregon Pine timber and the foundations were laid, so a buyer had to be found who was prepared to work with what was already done. It was briefly owned by John and Robert Vicary but the site stood idle until acquired by paper manufacturer James Crompton in 1873. He re-designed the exterior appearance from Brunel's Italianate style to the French style and built the present house on Brunel's foundations. He also purchased a large amount of the surrounding land, the estate amounting to some 200 hectares (500 acres) at that time and named as Watcombe Park. During the following 90 years the house was variously occupied by Charles Ichabod Wright, Mr James Peck, Sir John Edwards-Moss, Frederick James Lund, Thomas John Crossman, Stockwell Teacher Training College (evacuated from London during World War II), and the Holiday Fellowship (who gave the estate its current name). Various portions of the estate were sold off with each transaction and by 1940 just 4 hectares (10 acres) of land were left.

Brunel Manor is a mansion on the outskirts of the seaside resort of Torquay, Devon, England. Ownership historyThe manor and its gardens were designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel to be his retirement home. He discovered the area while surveying for the Great Western Railway, and he and his family later spent many holidays in the town. He eventually purchased the plot of land with a view to designing and building his dream home to which he would retire. Brunel never saw the house or gardens finished due to his death in 1859. He had already imported large quantities of Oregon Pine timber and the foundations were laid, so a buyer had to be found who was prepared to work with what was already done. It was briefly owned by John and Robert Vicary but the site stood idle until acquired by paper manufacturer James Crompton in 1873. He re-designed the exterior appearance from Brunel's Italianate style to the French style and built the present house on Brunel's foundations. He also purchased a large amount of the surrounding land, the estate amounting to some 200 hectares (500 acres) at that time and named as Watcombe Park. During the following 90 years the house was variously occupied by Charles Ichabod Wright, Mr James Peck, Sir John Edwards-Moss, Frederick James Lund, Thomas John Crossman, Stockwell Teacher Training College (evacuated from London during World War II), and the Holiday Fellowship (who gave the estate its current name). Various portions of the estate were sold off with each transaction and by 1940 just 4 hectares (10 acres) of land were left.