Devon has a varied geography. It contains Dartmoor and part of Exmoor, two upland moors which are the source of most of the county's rivers, including the Taw, Dart, and Exe. The longest river in the county is the Tamar, which forms most of the border with Cornwall and rises in the Devon's northwest hills. The southeast coast is part of the Jurassic CoastWorld Heritage Site, and characterised by tall cliffs which reveal the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous geology of the region. The county gives its name to the Devonian geologic period, which includes the slates and sandstones of the north coast. Dartmoor and Exmoor have been designated national parks, and the county also contains, in whole or in part, five national landscapes.
Nash's designs for the house included a three-storey octagonal tower, with two wings coming off it and a second square tower above a porte-cochère. Inside the drawing room occupied the ground floor of the tower, with a sitting room above. The dining room was designed to hold views across the valley, and the asymmetric rooms allowed for a panorama of views. To allow easy access to the gardens, the servant's quarters were moved to a separate wing, but made to be less prominent. A chapel was added in approximately 1862, and the house's loggia was converted into a conservatory.
The grounds were designed by Repton, and laid out by John Veitch. They extend to 140 hectares (350 acres), with 10 hectares (25 acres) of gardens, both formal and informal, and other pleasure grounds, while the remainder covers parks and woodlands. The main garden, known as the American Garden, includes ponds and ornamental shrubs. The house was designated a Grade I listed building and its gardens are also Grade I listed in the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.
The site should be distinguished from Luscombe in the parish of Rattery in Devon, about 16 miles to the south-west, the seat of the Luscombe family from before the 16th century to shortly before 1810. (Full article...)
Image 40Watercolour by Olive Wharry circa 1942 of St. Sidwell's Church, Exeter, after the Blitz. In the early hours of 4th May 1942 a 250kg bomb fell directly on St Sidwells. The church tower was left standing but was so badly damaged that it was pulled down shortly after. A replacement church was built on the site. From the Royal Albert Memorial Museum's collection (63/2004/4). (from Exeter)
Image 43The Higher Market, Exeter, in 1943; at this time the larger firms such as Mac Fisheries had joined the smaller shopkeepers' stalls in the market, which, before the war, along with neighbouring Goldsmith Street, was earmarked for demolition; a new Civic Centre was to be built on the site. (from Exeter)
Image 44Frontispiece to Shapter's "History of the Cholera in Exeter in 1832" (from Exeter)
Image 51Oil on canvas painting by an unknown artist c.1870. These houses were later demolished to make way for St Edmund's Church. The painting depicts the edge of the River Exe flowing under three arches of the Old Exe Bridge, with houses on the bridge and on the river bank, St Edmund's Church can be seen in the top left. (from Exeter)
Image 52MVPont-Aven: Brittany Ferries service to Roscoff, France and Santander, Spain in Millbay Docks (from Plymouth)
Image 68Population pyramid of Exeter (district) in 2021 (from Exeter)
Image 69Prysten House, Finewell Street, 1498, is the oldest surviving house in Plymouth, and built from local Plymouth Limestone and Dartmoor granite (from Plymouth)
... that Devon is the third largest of the English counties and has a population of 1,109,900?
... that the name Devon derives from the name of the Celtic people who inhabited the southwestern peninsula of Britain at the time of the Roman invasion?
... that Devon was one of the first areas of England settled following the end of the last ice age?
... that the St Nicholas PrioryinExeter is being restored with the same methods that were used 500 years ago?
... that Devon is the only county in England to have two separate coastlines?
... that there was no established coat of arms for Devon until 1926?
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