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Manor Houses

In February 2006, the DRA started a county-wide survey of Manor Houses, their outbuildings and surrounding landscapes; some of which have all but vanished.  We have already visited over 100 sites and have created preliminary reports on their known history and possible development,  (a selection of these are are available to view on our website).  We expect to continue this study for the next five years, hopefully developing into a long term research interest.

Farmhouses

Devon has an estimated twenty to thirty thousand Farmhouses, a substantial proportion of which retain evidence of their development over several hundred years.

There can be a fine line between Farmhouses and Manor Houses; as a result of this, you will find that many Farmhouses will be covered by the Manor House survey.  However, exciting and unusual Farmhouses are constantly coming to light and we expect new insights into their development and use to result from our surveys.

Farm Buildings

The majority of Farm Buildings we study belong to the 18th and 19th centuries.   As with the Farmhouses section, we have found the dates to vary significantly and our research has identified several previously unknown barns, stables and other agricultural buildings of the 15th to 17th centuries.

Parks and Gardens

These are a major feature of houses of manorial status, especially those which later developed to become the country houses of the rich. Our research into this class of house has already resulted in the identification of several previously unknown and important 17th to 19th century designed landscapes and formal gardens.  Many of these sites have been lost for centuries due to the demolition of the houses they were associated with, subsequent alterations and/or the loss of social status.

We have found our research into such landscapes to be almost entirely unique, archaeological surveys of these have seldom been carried out in Devon before.

Other Buildings and Landscapes

It is likely that the DRA will begin to research other building and landscape types in the near future.  If you have a property that you think we may be interested in, please contact us and we would be happy to consider a preliminary survey. 

Research Interests